An opening-game loss had Brian Kelly so furious that he unleashed his frustrations on some furniture.
The LSU coach slammed a table while ripping his team after being upset by No. 23 USC, 27-20, on Sunday night in Las Vegas.
The No. 13 Tigers led 17-13 entering the final six minutes before allowing two touchdown drives.
“We had some guys play their butts off tonight and we’re sitting here again, we’re sitting here again,” Kelly said before pounding the table, “talking about the same things. About not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put ’em away, but what we’re doing on the sidelines is feeling like the game’s over. And I’m so angry about it that I gotta do something about it.
“I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach and I gotta coach ’em better because it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It’s ridiculous.”
“I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach … it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game.”
Brian Kelly says he’s “angry” with his team after the loss to USC. pic.twitter.com/vloYGyKDh2
— ESPN (@espn) September 2, 2024
Sunday’s game marked Kelly’s third opener with LSU, and he said it marked the first time he’s been angry with his team, per ESPN.
The Tigers have yet to win an opener under Kelly, falling to Florida State in each of his first two seasons, but had a golden chance to prevail Sunday when they held a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
LSU’s defense, though, folded when it counted.
The Tigers first allowed a three-play, 64-yard drive to give USC a 20-17 lead with 5:44 remaining before rallying to tie the game with a field goal with 1:47 remaining.
LSU then yielded an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that gave USC the 27-20 edge with eight seconds remaining.
“Unfortunately, it’s clear that, when we get up in a game, we do not know how to handle ourselves,” Kelly said. “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.”
Sunday marked LSU’s first game since reigning Heisman winner Jayden Daniels left for the NFL, and new starter Garrett Nussmeier played well — completing 29 of 38 passes for 304 yards while adding two touchdown passes and one interception.
On the flip side, Miller Moss, replacing No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams, completed 27 of 36 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown pass.
Kelly thought USC had the advantage in that matchup.
“He outplayed our quarterback,” Kelly said, according to ESPN.
LSU also hurt itself by tallying 10 penalties for 99 yards, compared to six committed by USC.
The Tigers can at least take solace in this loss not being a potential season-ender due to the expanded 12-team playoffs, but with the gauntlet that is the SEC, this setback leaves the Tigers with little room for error.
“For us to be the kind of football team I want, we have to eliminate the foolish mistakes,” Kelly said.
“Finally, we have to be able to play off of each other much better.”
