Will the real Death Valley please stand up?No. 4 Clemson welcomes No. 9 LSU to Memorial Stadium on Saturday night to open the college football season with a titanic top-10 showdown. Under the pitch-black South Carolina sky, the two storied programs will collide in a massive tilt with plenty at stake for a season opener.Primetime games in Clemson have a different feel to themGettyBrian Kelly is desperate for a hot start in his fourth year at the helm in Baton Rouge after beginning each of his first three seasons 0-1. Dabo Swinney, meanwhile, is looking to restore his team’s status as a national power and prove they can compete in this era of the transfer portal and NIL. Two Heisman hopefuls in Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier will try to launch their campaigns with a booming start.This game has everything. But there’s one problem that has both proud fanbases up in arms: they both call their home stadiums Death Valley.Sure, the official names are Memorial Stadium (Clemson) and Tiger Stadium (LSU), but everyone knows them by the same iconic nickname.But who did it first? Where did it come from? And what does it even mean?Both schools have different origin stories for the now famous moniker, but there’s one clear winner when it comes to who claimed it first.The Clemson Tigers take the crown.In the late 1940s, Presbyterian College head coach Lonnie McMillian referred to Memorial Stadium as “Death Valley,” noting that his teams could never win there—that they were always going there to “die.”The nickname stuck, and Clemson has proudly embraced it ever since.LSU stumbled upon the moniker in a different, though somewhat similar, fashion. In the 1950s, Tiger Stadium was considered one of the loudest venues in all of college football. Opposing teams would refer to it as ‘Deaf Valley.’Over the years that gradually morphed into Death Valley, as it was a more intimidating label and a clever play on the original words.LSU will tell you that they are the one and only Death ValleyGettyA night game in Tiger Stadium is one of the best atmospheres in all of sportsGettyBy the 1960s Tiger Stadium was widely known as Death Valley.On Saturday night, it’s a battle of the Death Valleys. One fan joked online, “‘Winner gets to keep the naming rights.”The last time these schools met, Joe Burrow was pointing to his ring finger as he led LSU past Trevor Lawrence and Clemson in the national championship game in January 2020.Overall, Clemson holds a 3-1 all-time series lead over LSU.As these two titans of the sport prepare to clash, here are a few testimonials over the years on just how hard it is to play in each Death Valley.Clemson’s Death Valley“Everything just seems like a hushed roar. That’s all you hear. You really can’t hear anybody standing next to you. You just have to shake your head and pretend like you heard what they said. I think it’s just the mystique of Clemson, seeing the guys coming off the hilltop and the way the stadium is shaped.” — Marcus Jones, North Carolina All-AmericanClemson proudly claims itself as Death ValleyGetty“I remember being nervous before the game because there were 80,000 people dressed in orange. It’s intimidating. I even threw up before the game. It’s the only time I’ve ever done that.” — Dave Brown, former Duke quarterback“When Clemson players rub that rock and run down the hill, it’s the most exciting 25 seconds in college football.” — Brent Musburger, ABC Sports“I came here knowing it would be loud and that Clemson would hit me hard, but to me, the noise was the biggest factor. I know I didn’t concentrate as well because of it.” — Herschel Walker, after Clemson’s 13-3 victory in 1981, his only regular-season loss at GeorgiaLSU’s Death Valley“The toughest place to play in the SEC is LSU, Death Valley. The fans there are relentless. They don’t stop at all. They keep going.” — Darren McFadden, former Arkansas All-American running back“It was electric. When Death Valley is rocking, it seems as if it might actually take flight. On Saturday, I went back to Baton Rouge to see Alabama barely beat LSU, and was, once again, reminded that Tiger Stadium is the best place in the world to watch a sporting event. … I’m not sure what it was like to walk into the Coliseum, but I bet it was something like this.” — Wright Thompson, ESPN The Magazine / ESPN.com (Nov. 10, 2008)“Death Valley in Baton Rouge is the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in. There are very few stadiums in America worth a touchdown, but the Bayou Bengals certainly have that advantage in Tiger Stadium.” — Adrian Karsten, former ESPN sideline reporterBurrow led LSU over Clemson in the national championship in January 2020Getty“For three hours on Saturday night, I don’t know that there has ever been an atmosphere in sports that I’ve been a part of that was as memorable to me. I have no dog in this fight. I mean, look, I’ve been to games where I’ve watched Maryland win a national championship—that was very personal to me. Makes me think of my dad who left us too soon.“I have nothing but being a sports fan on the line on Saturday night. And I’ve never seen something that felt like that. Or heard anything that was as sustained as that. … Everything that was part of the experience, I was told it was going to be awesome. It was better than I was told it was. … There is nothing I would put ahead of that that I’ve EVER seen in any sport. When you’re there, you don’t want to miss anything.” — Scott Van Pelt, ESPN Radio, on the 2012 LSU-Alabama game in Death ValleyWhatever Saturday night brings at Memorial Stadium, it’s sure to be epic—and Death Valley will be rocking. That’s a guarantee.Welcome back, college football. We missed you.