LSU’s Coach Brian Kelly’s increasing frustration was evident from the opening week. He singled out anger at his team during a press meet after a third consecutive season-opening neutral-site loss to USC with a score of 27-20. With costly late-game penalties and poor finishing, Kelly vented his displeasure strongly, declaring himself responsible for not coaching the team better to find a way to win the game. His discontent with players prematurely celebrating the game’s conclusion attests to his disappointment with his team’s performance.
Despite last night’s loss, Kelly’s team played reasonably well, unlike their poor performances during the 2022 Florida State game and 2023 rematch, the LSU debut and sequel games, respectively. The recent loss was amid a competitive atmosphere between the two teams struggling to cope after losing their Heisman-winning quarterbacks. Kelly’s team had improved enough to hold a 17-13 lead until late in the fourth quarter, only for it to break following Major Burn’s unsportsmanlike conduct after halting a USC fourth down.
With LSU’s failure to utilize the advantageous position, followed by USC securing a strategic lead with Moss’s successful throw, the game dynamics changed. Despite Nussmeier’s efforts to level the game, USC’s Moss’s spectacular catch and subsequent decisive play resulted in USC retaining the lead. The bittersweet defeat troubles Kelly and his team, with the coach explicitly stating that the team lacks the killer instinct to seize the moment.
While it is a norm for the coach to calm down the players, keeping the season’s length in perspective, Kelly viewed the game differently. He emphasized the importance of avoiding blunders, adopting a killer instinct, and maintaining team harmony. Despite pleas calling for patience in tweaking issues, Kelly seemed little appeased. He cited the team’s one-sided pressure on their defense, which he believes was not ready to handle the strain.
Interestingly, Kelly had previously expressed discontent with not recruiting more defenders and his subtle critique that his team’s defense barely contained Lincoln Riley’s offense. Despite containing Riley’s three touchdowns effectively, he felt it was not enough and that the defense could not be left alone to shoulder the responsibility. The rhythms of the game reminded him of the consistency of such defeats in the past, irrespective of the year.
Despite achieving ten wins per season over the past seven years, Kelly’s teams’ significant losses often overshadowed their successes. While the Notre Dame fans made peace with such inconsistent performances since they had enjoyed the wins after a dry-spell, LSU fans, whose past three coaches had all won national championships, were not as forgiving. Continuous losses will not be tolerated by the fans who saw a glimmer of hope but were disappointed. Kelly’s expressions of anger and determination will need to translate into action to reassure the expectant fans.
