Brian Kelly Hit With Major Offensive Warning After Calling Out LSU Staff

Brian Kelly knows that he is standing in neck deep water. It’s his fourth year running and no national championship to speak of. They had a good start for the 2025 season, after beating the Clemson Tigers. However, Kelly ensured to keep his boys prepared before the LA Tech face off. It paid off as the Tigers secured a 23-7 win over the Bulldogs. But it exposed one of the biggest cracks in Kelly’s roster: the offense.  

Do you remember what the LSU head coach said before their big day? “I mean I think for us, when we go out and, look at what we’re trying to accomplish each week, it’s much more about each guy doing their job and doing it in a manner that allows 11 guys to look really good together,” Kelly had kept the bar high. But the reality was a lot different. After their Week 2 win came a warning from CFB analyst Josh Pate.

On September 7, Pate broke down Kelly and co.’s September 6 feat against LA Tech. The analyst shared, “LSU is an A minus for me. Some of their folks are a little down after last night. They only won 23-7 against Louisiana Tech. Well, you’ll notice we added Louisiana Tech on our best bets. I thought that game was pretty easy to see coming. Little bit of a let down spot, little bit of a look ahead spot. The offensive line very up and down.” The LSU offense has been a glaring issue.

Kelly’s quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, on his second throw of the night, underthrew a wide-open Barion Brown on first down, and the pass deflected off Cedric Woods into Michael Richard’s hands for an interception. And with this came Nussmeier’s first turnover of the year. Over the course of the game, the dropped passes and penalties slowed a Tigers’ attack that otherwise dominated the Bulldogs in time of possession (36:52 to 23:08) and total yards (366 to 154). The problems continued as the redshirt sophomore Kyle Parker dropped a potential touchdown pass in the second quarter.

Pate continued, “Folks all over Joe Sloan, unimaginative play calling. It’s this stuff happens all the time. I’m not absolving them. It may be a serious issue. Last night’s not enough evidence. So, they need to level up offensively. Okay. So, do a lot of folks, but you know what? A lot of folks aren’t undefeated already with a road win like they have. So, LSU is an A minus for me.” Having a valued road win against Clemson, Kelly’s squad can’t compromise on the offense. But even though Josh Pate may be giving them a longer rope, the head coach himself is left with a sour mood.   

A different tone from Brian Kelly this season

This time last year, the Tigers surrendered 178 rushing yards to Nicholls State. Right after that Kelly took the podium and there was not any frustration in his voice as he claimed, “I thought they played their tails off. They were physical.” But this time Kelly no longer walks on the path to compliment the opponent. 

Instead, Kelly’s tone was markedly different, he was frustrated. “We didn’t coach well enough, and we didn’t play well enough tonight, and that’s not our standard,” Kelly said. “And so they’re disappointed in that they didn’t live up to that standard. They want to do it. They just didn’t do it tonight.” Maybe, it was expected. After all, when it came to bolstering his roster, Kelly did not leave any stone unturned.

They brought back their fifth-year senior quarterback Nussmeier, junior linebacker Whit Weeks and redshirt junior linebacker Harold Perkins. So, the program could have the resources to turn things in their favor. That’s when Kelly admitted, “We got outcoached in a lot of areas. Hats off to coach (Sonny) Cumbie and his staff at (Louisiana) Tech. They did a great job tonight.”  

LSU OC Joe Sloan dialed up several deep shots, but Louisiana Tech’s coverage shut them down. Their rushing attack might have been also a major point that fueled Brian Kelly’s frustration. The Tigers only averaged 2.8 yards per carry until freshman Harlem Berry broke off a 43-yarder late in the fourth quarter. It’s now to be seen how Kelly and the other coaches fix these loopholes before their big game against the Florida Gators.