LSU Star Candidly Admits Clemson Disadvantage to Soften Brian Kelly’s ‘Death Valley’ Jab

For so long, the rivalries were limited only to who played the best on the gridiron. But a month before Brian Kelly’s LSU and Dabo Swinney’s Clemson face off, there occurred a fight over who holds the true claim to the “Death Valley” nickname as Kelly breathed fire, reigniting the long-running rivalry. “You need those [championship] traits when you’re on the road [at Clemson]; when you’re at Death Valley Junior,” the LSU head coach stirred the pot. Now, one of his players is back at it, trying to soften the blow.

That’s none other than LSU center Braelin Moore. The last time the LSU Tigers and the Clemson Tigers met was on January 13, 2020, in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The end result? Kelly’s boys secured a 42–25 victory, capping off an undefeated season and clinching their fourth national title. So, already, Swinney’s Clemson is burning with a fire of revenge, and then came the Death Valley jab. What is Moore saying about their August 30 face-off?

On August 23, Kelly’s center sat down with the media in Baton Rouge. He shared about what he is going to bring to the table. “Extremely important. Communication is key, especially in an environment with 90,000 people. You call it Death Valley for a reason — you can’t hear each other,” that’s how he lowkey admitted the reality of the stadium’s intensity while framing LSU’s response as disciplined and prepared. Moore continued, “We just need to be on the same page. Some guys don’t have much game experience, so being there for each other is vital.” But what makes Kelly’s center hold importance moving into the 2025 season?

LSU held a scrimmage, inside Tiger Stadium, on  Saturday, August 23 night, for the team’s 21st practice of the preseason. That’s when Moore caught the buzz after individually working. Hailing from Virginia Tech, he was one of the top-ranked offensive linemen in the transfer portal and brings 20+ starts of experience to LSU. Already, he has turned Kelly into his biggest hypeman.

As the LSU head coach said, “Our center position in Braelin Moore kind of sets up the rest of the group for success. His combination work is outstanding, his recognition of fronts. You know, getting us to be an elite offensive line, if you have a center that can kind of set the stage for that, it allows everything else to kind of fall into place, and it’s starting to fall into place quite nicely.”

Coming back to the “Death Valley” debate, history shows that Clemson University started using the name in the late 1940s. However, Kelly’s program used it much later, after they grabbed a win over Clemson in the 1959 Sugar Bowl. Now, how is Swinney’s squad coping with it?

TJ Parker’s warning shot for Brian Kelly’s LSU

Just like Moore talks about the prevalence of a high-pressure situation, LSU defensive end Jack Pyburn accepts that the pressure is for both teams. He faced the media and said, “We’re going to have to be at our best, and I hope they’re at their best, too, and I’m looking forward to it. But it is going to be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that we want.” Even donning the LSU jersey, he did not shy away from exposing the loopholes in Kelly’s squad.

As Pyburn pointed out, “If you talk about winning a national championship and playing in the playoffs and going on to do special things, you have to start it off the right way.” Now, that’s true. Kelly and co. are still fighting to get rid of the curse of things turning awry in their season openers. 27-20 loss against USC in 2024, 45-22 loss against Florida State in 2023, 24-23 loss against the Seminoles in 2022; their luck recently never favored them at the beginning of the season. In such a case, should they be messing with Clemson, who comes with a ‘don’t mess with us’ warning?

Right after Brian Kelly’s Death Valley Jr. comment went viral, came Clemson EDGE TJ Parker’s sharp comeback. No longer sugar coating things, he straightaway came with a threat, “They can have their opinion. We’re gonna handle all that on August 30…” He further added, “At the end of the day, we can do all the talking, but we still have to play. So, we’re gonna see, you know what I’m saying? They’re hyping up everybody across the board, all these transfers they got — we’ll see.” Now, let’s see if Kelly regrets poking the Clemson hive after all that talk and no sting in the win column.