It took Brian Kelly one week to flip his own narrative and LSU's CFP chances

It's only been one game but it may be time to give Brian Kelly and LSU their flowers.

Austen Bundy

Louisiana State University Head Coach Brian Kelly during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Saturday, August 30, 2025. / Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No, the sky is not falling down. The LSU Tigers defeated a Top 25 opponent in Week 1 under head coach Brian Kelly.

While it may come as a shock, the No. 9 Tigers outlasted the No. 4... well, Tigers in a 17-10 barn burner down in South Carolina. It was a battle for Death Valley supremacy and the Bayou Bengals went on the road and took care of business in one of the most hostile environments in college football.

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, a Heisman Trophy favorite, went 28-for-38, throwing for 230 yards and a single touchdown. It wasn't super flashy but that's about as efficient a performance a coach could ask for in a Top 10 matchup.

Garrett Nussmeier touchdown pass to TE Trey'Dez Green vs Clemson #LSUvsCLEM #LSUvsClemson pic.twitter.com/OJ8fP494uL
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) August 31, 2025

Brian Kelly exorcises some demons to kick off hot seat season at LSU

Entering Saturday, fans' mouths were watering at the prospect of this matchup between Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and LSU's Brian Kelly. Though, history didn't appear to be on the latter's side.

Kelly had an all-time record of 35-37 against Top 25 opponents entering the contest and with Clemson leading 10-7 at the half, the Tigers were 155-11 in those situations under Swinney. Kelly and his Tigers erased that narrative in the second half and helped him get some monkeys off his back.

Last year, Kelly was criticized for blowing a lead against USC in Week 1 which led to a less-than-stellar rest of the season for LSU. Now that narrative has been reversed and Kelly has a little bit of breathing room going into the rest of the year.

It could be premature to declare but a massive upset win over the No. 4 team in the country and a likely contender for the ACC title will go a long way in the eyes of the College Football Playoff Committee's eyes. Now, the Tigers just have to handle business the rest of the way to guarantee themselves a spot in the 12-team field.

Especially with No. 8 Alabama stumbling against unranked Florida State. LSU has a gigantic advantage over the rest of the SEC when it comes to chasing the title and a playoff spot.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a Contributor to Fansided.com with previous bylines at Yardbarker and CNN. Austen has had an on-again, off-again relationship with sports journalism, beginning in college with the Pac-12 Network at Arizona State University in 2015. He now resides in the Washington, D.C. area and covers the NHL (Go Caps!), College Football and some Olympic sports like Swimming. If it runs, skates, shoots and scores - you can probably find him watching that game.