The LSU Tigers improved to 3-0 by defeating the Florida Gators 20-10 in Death Valley. It wasn't the most impressive performance in the world, but hey, a win is a win, right? Well, Brian Kelly certainly had this mindset when he met with the media postgame. When he was asked about how his offense played on Saturday, he simply wasn't having it.
“Stop, really? Is that the first question?” Kelly asked. “We won the game 20-10. Try another question. What do you want me to tell you? I just laid it out for you. We played the game to win the game. We played the game to win the game.”
When asked about LSU's struggles on third down, Kelly only became more hostile:
“It’s one game,” Kelly said. “Last game, we were good on third down. You’re looking at this from the wrong perspective. LSU won the football game, won the game. I don’t know what you want from me. What do you want? You want us to win 70-0 against a Florida to keep you happy?”
The third question that really set Kelly off was centered on LSU's running game, which mostly no-showed outside of their last play of the game.
“We can run the ball,” Kelly said. “Did you see the last play of the game? That’s all you need. You just need one. Those are ridiculous questions and I’m getting tired of it. That football team just worked their tail off to get an SEC win and you want to know what’s wrong. You know what? You’re spoiled, you’re spoiled. This team is 17-1 at night, 17-1. Give them some respect, how about that? Give them some respect instead of micro-analyzing every little thing. This is ridiculous for a group of seasoned reporters. That kind of question is so out of line.”
Kelly simply wasn't having anything that even hinted at LSU's offense being an area that needs improvement. All he seemed to care about was the defense and the final score. Winning the game is the most important thing, especially given now that they're 1-0 in SEC play, but process should matter too. Honestly, what has Kelly done to react like this?
Brian Kelly hasn't earned the right to get snippy with the media
Watching any head coach treat the media for asking fair questions like this wouldn't be great, but a guy like Nick Saban, for example, is arguably the greatest head coach in college football history. If he felt like reacting this way, he'd get a pass if he were still coaching. What has Kelly accomplished?
I mean, he's spent four years with LSU and hasn't made it to the College Football Playoffs a single time. He was unable to get LSU to the playoff, even with Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman Trophy in his final collegiate season under Kelly.
The Tigers have gotten off to a pretty good start this season, but they haven't exactly played well. Their one good win, back in Week 1 vs. Clemson, doesn't even look all that great right now, given Clemson's Week 3 loss against Georgia Tech.
The Tigers got a win, and they're extremely talented, but have they really looked like a top-three team in the country? I'd argue no, and at least part of that can be blamed on coaching. I mean, why is scoring 20 points such a challenge? Why was putting away a Gators team falling apart such a chore?
Media hit the nail on the head with LSU criticisms
The worst part about Kelly's meltdown was that the media was spot-on. Kelly getting emotional and ripping the media doesn't change that.
Their offense has not been very good to start the year. They've been held to 23 points or fewer in each of their three games, and if it weren't for a Dashawn Spears pick-six, they would've scored just 13 points against the Gators, a team with all sorts of turmoil right now. Now, those 13 points would've been enough to win, but is their offense the cause of that? Obviously not.
Their production on third downs was atrocious on Saturday, as LSU went 4-for-14 in those spots. They were able to win the game, and, as Kelly noted, were better in Week 2 (9-for-16), but does that excuse completing just 28.5 percent of their third-down opportunities? If they were facing a better team, who's to say they would've overcome that?
As for the running game, sure, the last play of the game was electric, but if it weren't for that 51-run rush from Caden Durham, they would've ended the game with just 51 yards on the ground. Yes, that one Durham rush counted for exactly half of LSU's rushing yards. Taking that 51-yard attempt out of the equation, the Tigers had 21 rushing attempts for 51 yards. They averaged just 2.4 yards per carry without that big play. The big play happened, and they deserve credit for it, but where was it the rest of the night? Why has running the ball been difficult?
It's not even as if Garrett Nussmeier played particularly well on Saturday, as he completed 55.5 percent of his 27 passing attempts for 220 yards and a touchdown to go along with an interception. Nothing about this offense has impressed much thus far, and Kelly still has the gall to freak out when asked why that unit has underperformed.
The media had valid criticisms and simply wanted answers. Why Kelly felt the need to react like this is beyond me.
Brian Kelly has to ignore his own advice if he wants LSU to win a National Championship
What really stuck out in Kelly's postgame comments was that he didn't want the media "micro-analyzing" every single thing. Well, he might not want the media to do this, but if LSU is going to live up to its lofty potential and make a real push toward being National Champions, Kelly is going to have to go against his advice and start to really pay attention to the smallest of details.
They're 3-0, but does this team look like a true contender? There's more to this game than wins and losses, especially in September. Kelly must ask himself if this offense can seriously win it all with how its playing right now. The defense is great, but asking them to hold elite competition to 10 points or less as they've done in all three games thus far, just isn't realistic. Expecting to win every week when scoring 23 points or fewer, especially against elite competition, just isn't realistic.
Kelly must really take some time and figure out what's gone wrong. Why did this team struggle so mightily on third down? Why was running the ball such a challenge? Why has their offense been unable to seal games early against subpar competition?
Again, wins are wins, but wins in September for this LSU program shouldn't mean much. The expectations are incredibly high, and there are valid causes for concern that suggest LSU won't meet them without major changes. Kelly's reluctance to acknowledge that there even is a problem could end up resulting in LSU falling short of expectations once again.