Moore, Gamecocks got whipped in Clemson’s Death Valley
By: will-vandervort July 14, 2015

The first shots taken in the Clemson-Carolina trashing talking war did not come from Steve Spurrier or Dabo Swinney this year. Instead it came from South Carolina linebacker Skai Moore.

When asked by a member of the media during Tuesday’s SEC Media Day session which was the real Death Valley, Clemson or LSU, Moore had no issue in answering the question. Alyssa Lang, a sports reporter for WLTX Channel 19 in Columbia tweeted his answer.

https://twitter.com/AlyssaLang/status/620977149155999744

But more did not stop there. Watch this clip.

This isn’t the first time a player representing South Carolina has taken a shot at Clemson. In May, after reading Deshaun Watson’s comment on how he said he planned to never lose to the Gamecocks in his career, junior college transfer Ulric Jones took to twitter and wrote, “I’ll make sure to bust his ass! Mark my words.”

Jones later apologized to Watson and Clemson fans for his comments.

I wasn’t in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, and I’m sure Moore was just playing along with the media. However, he did answer it, and it was not the best answer to give.

It is interesting he answered it in the first place. Moore has never played in Baton Rouge and has not experienced a game in LSU’s Death Valley as a player. The Gamecocks last trip to LSU was in 2012 when Moore was a senior in high school at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida.

He has played in Clemson’s Death Valley, though. He was on hand to watch Deshaun Watson shred the Gamecocks for 269 yards on 14 of 19 passing, while accounting for four touchdowns on a torn ACL. He was also on hand as Artavis Scott broke his tackle near the goal line and stayed in bounds while tip toeing down the sideline to complete his 70-yard touchdown in the Tigers’ 35-17 victory last year.

Clemson wide receiver Artavis Scott keeps his footing and stay in bounds after USC linebacker Skai Moore failed to push Scott out of bounds. Scott scored on the play, a 70-yard touchdown.

Clemson wide receiver Artavis Scott keeps his footing and stay in bounds after USC linebacker Skai Moore (No. 10) failed to push Scott out of bounds. Scott scored on the play, a 70-yard touchdown. / Photo by Kevin Vandervort

In front of 82,570 fans last year, Moore and the Gamecocks melted under the pressure of Clemson’s Death Valley. The Tigers’ offense totaled 491 yards, while the nation’s No. 1-ranked defense limited USC’s most successful offense under Spurrier to 339 total yards, including just 63 on the ground.

So Moore might believe LSU’s Death Valley is the real one. That’s fine. He is entitled to his own opinion. The facts show, however, he and the Gamecocks got whipped in the only Death Valley he played in.