“When the sun finds its home in the western sky, it is a field of glory for sure… But much more than that, it is a sacred place, and it is Saturday night in Death Valley!”
If you have attended an LSU football game, there’s a good chance you’ve heard these words from famous Tiger Stadium announcer Dan Borne.
Every home game, LSU shows a hype video with Borne describing the history of Death Valley, from Billy Cannon to the chances of rain being — well, never.
Home dominance has been the identity of the Tigers for years, especially the ones that take place at night. Since the year 2000, LSU has a record of 138-23 at home, including a current win streak of 13 consecutive games since the 2022 season.
That includes an unfathomable 108-15 home record at night since 2000.
It would be an understatement to call it a home-field advantage for the Tigers. ESPN released an article this year in July ranking the top 25 college football stadiums, including atmosphere, tailgating and many other factors.
Notable schools such as Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State ranked numbers 3, 4 and 5, while the historic Rose Bowl took the No. 2 spot. Those are all great stadiums and atmospheres, but there was one place that was on top of the pedestal, and that was Tiger Stadium.
When EA’s new video game College Football 25 came out this past August, many college football fans were disappointed that LSU ranked third for the hardest place to play, behind Texas A&M and Alabama. Being in the top three was still a very good ranking, but EA heard the feedback and decided to update the rankings. About a month later, LSU jumped to No. 1, making them once again the hardest place to play.
Articles and video games may not be the most credible to determine some of the hardest places to play, but a two-time Heisman finalist and winner may know what he’s talking about.
Tim Tebow is known as one of the greatest college football players to ever touch the field during his time with the Florida Gators. Being one of LSU’s rivals, he has played LSU four times, including twice on the road, where his record stands at 1-1.
Tebow was on the Paul Finebaum Show in 2019 when No. 7 Florida traveled to Death Valley to play No. 5 LSU.
Discussing some of the challenges and obstacles that then-Florida starting quarterback Kyle Trask would have to face, he immediately mentioned the atmosphere.
“I mean, we talk about stadiums around the country that are big, that are loud, that are intimidating. I got to play in a lot of the best ones, Tebow said. “LSU is just different. LSU is different than all of them.”
The Tigers take on the No. 9-ranked Ole Miss Rebels this Saturday at 6:30 p.m., where they are 3.5-point underdogs at home, but this isn’t the first time this has happened, especially to the Rebels.
Ole Miss came to Death Valley in 2014 ranked No. 3 in the country and coincidentally as 3.5 point favorites against No. 24 ranked LSU.
LSU ended up winning the game 10-7 and pulling off the upset.
In 2022, Ole Miss came to Tiger Stadium ranked No. 7, while LSU was unranked. The Tigers were favored in this matchup, however, because of the fans and the atmosphere that LSU is known to have. Ole Miss came out to an early 14-3 lead, but LSU took over, winning the game 45-20.
The last time LSU was underdogs at home was in that same 2022 season when they played No. 6 Alabama and were 13.5-point underdogs.
A team led by former Heisman winner Bryce Young looked to make another dominant run. However, Death Valley at night is not easy to play, and it was clear on Nov. 5, 2022.
LSU came away with the win in a thrilling overtime victory, winning 32-31 after a game-winning two-point conversion by tight end Mason Taylor.
LSU is no stranger to being the underdog in their own house, so don’t be too quick to count out the Tigers just yet.
