Brent Venables debates which is 'real Death Valley' between Clemson, LSU

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables will lead his Sooners team into the LSU version of Death Valley on Saturday for the first time. While Venables has not experienced a game at LSU’s Death Valley, he is incredibly familiar with Clemson’s.

For years, Clemson and LSU have gone back and forth in regards to who has the real Death Valley. Brent Venables, who coached at Clemson for a decade, offered his thoughts during his press conference this week.

“Well, let me just look at these stats here,” Brent Venables said. “Um, the one that we’re going into this week, um, 14-1 in home night games since coach Kelly’s been there in three years. They’re 18-2 overall at home.

“Listen, I’ve heard from every coach that I love and respect that’s been in all the biggest venues, the best of the best, and everybody points to Death Valley, Baton Rouge, night game, hope that your team doesn’t have to be scheduled. Because that’s the toughest challenge there is in college football.”

With that said, Venables isn’t taking anything away from Clemson. After all, the Tigers had won 40 straight home games before being upset by South Carolina two seasons ago.

Clemson’s Death Valley is also an incredibly difficult place to play, and Brent Venables has seen that first hand.

“There’s history [with] both. There’s a real history that, you know, there’s a paper trail, if you will. There’s a rock trail that goes back to Death Valley, California for Clemson and I remember as a kid I didn’t know where Clemson was. Hell, as an adult I didn’t know what town Clemson was in,” Venables said. “I’m like ‘What town is that in? Clemson?’ I didn’t even know what state it was in. I just thought Clemson was a college. I didn’t know it was the town name.

“I just knew that there was a mystical hill that I thought came out of nowhere. Where’d they come from? It seemed like an intimidating thing, and it really is, in its own right. Incredibly intimidating, loud, environment. As good as there is.”

Brent Venables knows that his Oklahoma team will have its hands full playing at LSU in Death Valley on Saturday, but he is excited for the challenge.

“I know we’re going to get the best out of the LSU faithful, but it’s something that you’re really looking forward to, as well, because you love a challenge and that’s gonna be a real thing,” Venables said. “But you tell your players, again, that external factors don’t win. The execution, physicality, effort, do the things that we can control. But something that I’m looking forward to.”