Brian Kelly Is Mad At Brian Kelly

The most frustrating thing about LSU’s season-opening 27-20 loss to USC in Las Vegas Saturday night begins with a positive.

On the first drive of the game, the LSU offense under Garrett Nussmeier looked sharp. Nussmeier’s throws were crisp, on time and target, and perfectly layered. The drive stalled out in the red zone, but hard to be mad about a season-opening drive against USC that results in points, no matter the year. Especially one with a new quarterback and receiving core.

But instead of taking the points and cashing out, Brian Kelly, like many in Vegas this weekend, doubled down and let it ride. The fourth down attempt was no good, and LSU came away with nothing to show for arguably their best drive of the game.

I won’t fault Kelly for believing in his team and being aggressive. It’s the one quality I kind of like that he has. But every coin has an obverse, and passing up three points to start the game was emblematic of the poor coaching that would later cost LSU dearly through a pattern of mistakes that added up:

• When Kyren Lacy made a tremendous catch to tie the game, he mimed pointing a shotgun at the defensive back’s head, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that allowed USC’s dangerous Zacariah Branch to set the Trojans up in great field position.
• Coming out a timeout after a dubious call against the Tigers, LSU was called for a delay of game penalty while Brian Kelly berated the officials.
• Despite the general overall defensive progress shown, several USC drives were propelled forward by LSU defensive backs making no effort to track the ball, allowing for textbook defensive pass interference call.
• After having a stellar first half, Kyren Lacy all but disappeared from the game as LSU’s play calling grew more and more conservative as the game wore on, including less and less downfield throws.
• After forcing USC into a 2^nd and 15 at the LSU 47-yard line with less than 20 seconds left, a bust in coverage and an easy targeting penalty moved USC down to the LSU 18, where they scored on a running play to take the final 27-20 lead.

It’s a fifth-straight season opening loss for LSU, and a third straight from Kelly, but this loss is more than just a by-product of opening the season against good teams. It’s a referendum on Brian Kelly.

When Brian Kelly was hired as LSU head coach, he was sold as a master program builder, a coach who took Notre Dame to the limits of what the program could become with the available talent. He was sold as a ballcoach’s ballcoach, one who would make sure the program did the right things to establish itself as a model of consistency.

Fast-forward to Sunday night, when Brian Kelly angrily slammed the table in his post-game press conference delivered the following rant:

“We had some guys play their butts off tonight and we’re sitting here again, we’re sitting here again talking about the same things! About not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them away. But what we’re doing on the sideline is feeling like the game is over.”

“I’m so angry about it that I’ve got to do something about it. I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach. I’ve got to coach them better because it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It’s ridiculous. It’s crazy.”

“Unfortunately, it’s clear that, when we get up in a game, we do not know how to handle ourselves. You’ve got to put teams away. We had an opportunity to put this team away. We get complacent, we make more mistakes when we’re ahead instead of having a, you know, better focus and a steely eyed killer instinct. That’s disappointing.”

That is a rant that you would love to see in year one or maybe even year two. Not to open year three when you sold yourself as somebody who would establish that their teams would play buttoned-up football. After a certain amount of time, the mirror becomes less of a reflection of things you need to change and more of a reflection of who you are.

While LSU is recruiting well, the teams are just as undisciplined in 2024 as they were in 2022, there has been no real staff cohesion, entire units were perhaps exposed as a liability (defensive line and secondary), and the playcalling and game management left plenty to be desired.

For as much as he’s gotten clowned on for his antics post-2019, at least Ed Orgeron lived up to the billing as a master recruiter, cashed in on the alignment of Joe Burrow, Ja’marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire et al., and won a national championship, fulfilling what The Binder said he would do.

Last year with a potentially similar lineup of Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., Harold Perkins, and Will Campbell, Brian Kelly ended the season in Tampalando, Florida.

The season isn’t over, and there’s a lot of room for LSU to get it right before their date with Ole Miss on October 12^th. And they very well may. Nor will LSU fire Kelly for another eight-win season, the money will not allow it. LSU will grin and bear another New Year’s trip to sunny Tampalando with an eye to next year.

But last night’s loss raises more existential questions than ones about this year’s results. As we go forward, I just want to evaluate the season on one question:

What about Brian Kelly leads you to believe he can win a national title at LSU? That’s why Brian Kelly was hired. That’s the expectation at LSU. That’s what the 100 million dollars are for.