SEC Media Days are underway, and LSU head coach Brian Kelly took the stage on Monday.

One of the hot topics of conversation was the Clemson-LSU matchup to kick off the season, which sees Kelly’s Tigers facing off with Dabo Swinney’s Tigers.

“We got an incredible challenge that we are excited about and one that we are looking forward to,” Kelly said at SEC Media Days.

Kelly went in-depth on the highly anticipated showdown, detailing exactly how he has been trying to motivate his team.

“Goal-setting is something we are all very familiar with in college football. Everybody talks about goals,” he said. “We have made this a specific goal, meaning it is tangible for our guys. You go through our weight room, and we have a Clemson paw print on the bags that we hit every day. It is on every monitor in the building to go 1-0.”

The two teams have met four times on the gridiron, with LSU holding a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two programs have squared off twice during Dabo Swinney’s tenure, splitting the two contests. The most recent matchup came in the 2019 national title game with LSU winning 42-25.

One of the more intriguing storylines surrounding this particular season opener is that both teams play in stadiums called “Death Valley.” In a light-hearted moment, Kelly made a point to share his opinion on which school is the real Death Valley.

“We still think we are THE Death Valley. They can use the name, too. We are letting them borrow it,” Kelly added. “But at the end of the day, it is about the respect I have for him (Dabo Swinney) and what he has developed in his program and then maintaining that consistently year in and year out.”

Photo courtesy of Stephen Lew-Imagn Images