Brian Kelly Sends 'Death Valley' Message To Dabo Swinney, Clemson

"We still think we are the Death Valley. They can use the name too. We're letting them borrow it. But I would say, at the end of the day, it's about the respect I have for [Dabo Swinney] and what he's developed in his program, and then maintaining that consistently year in and year out."

In fairness to Clemson they had the nickname first — which most historical accounts attribute to Presbyterian head coach Lonnie McMillian who compared Memorial Stadium to Death Valley back in the '40s.

Still though, Kelly maintains that he holds Dabo and his football team in high regard and he looks forward to another battle this fall.

"I know Dabo very well. He's extremely passionate about the game, but he wants to teach through this game. He wants to develop his players spiritually, intellectually, socially. He wants to give them the opportunity to be the best version of themselves on the field and off the field, and he runs a program accordingly," Kelly explained.

"He gets knocked all the time for not wanting to take transfers. That's not really the heart of it. He's not bringing anybody who doesn't have the right fit. We all know what that means. You might have the skills, but you might not fit the culture, and he's developed a winning culture there and I respect him for what he's done."