After a Week 1 loss to USC, head coach Brian Kelly has guided LSU to a 2-1 record, with wins over Nicholls and South Carolina. Despite the team being lucky to escape with a victory in Columbia, SC, in Week 3, Kelly defended the strength of the win over the Gamecocks.
Despite not having the Georgia Bulldogs on their regular season schedule in 2024, Kelly, with plenty of sarcasm in hand, said that his Tigers team would beat the No.2 ranked Bulldogs quite comfortably if you consider the last two weeks of results.
Brian Kelly Says It’s Hard to Win on the Road
At one point on Saturday, it looked like Brian Kelly was heading to a barrage of media questions asking why his team are at 1-2. When South Carolina starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers left the game with an injury, the tide turned, resulting in a Tigers win.
Despite LSU’s problems during the game, Brian Kelly was bullish about the win. He cited how hard it is to win on the road, especially in the SEC. Finding a way to win that football game was impressive, he said, despite making plenty of mistakes.
Before that, Kelly spoke about how if you look at past results of LSU and Georgia, then they would beat the Bulldogs comfortably, obviously a tongue-in-cheek opinion:
“We beat South Carolina on the road in a sold-out stadium in the SEC against a team that beat the pants off of Kentucky who played Georgia right to the end. So, if we want to do that game, I guess we’re going to beat Georgia by a lot if that’s how you guys want to play this thing.”
Brian Kelly is right about road wins in college football; they are never easy to obtain. South Carolina especially is a hostile atmosphere, like several other SEC home stadiums, especially under the lights. This game was not a late-night match-up, but Sandstorm by Darude was pumping out of the speakers, resulting in the home crowd being rowdy for the first SEC home game.
Say what you want about the performance; coming away with a victory is huge for the program, especially for their playoff implications. If they were at 1-2 heading into the rest of the season games, they would kiss any big post-regular season games goodbye.
Can Brian Kelly Guide LSU to the 12-Team Playoffs?
Sitting at 2-1, LSU can likely afford one more slip-up on the schedule if they want to make the playoffs this season. The Week 1 loss to USC isn’t catastrophic, especially if the Trojans go on to make the Big Ten Championship with one or two losses.
It would be a significant achievement if Brian Kelly could guide this team to the playoffs with the schedule in front of them. According to ESPN FPI, the Tigers have a 5.8% chance of making the playoffs. This shows the task at hand for Kelly and the tea, with the likelihood that it won’t happen if the team does not improve.
If Brian Kelly can guide this team to the playoffs with the schedule in front of him, it would be a significant achievement. According to ESPNS FPI, The Tigers have a 5.8% chance of making the playoffs. Its shows the task at hand for Kelly and the tea, with the likelyhood it won’t happen if the team does not improve.
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