Brian Kelly ‘Not Happy’ With LSU Staff as $1.6M Decision Proves Costly

Garrett Nussmeier dropped back to pass on 1 & 10. It was his second pass of the game. Senior receiver Barion Brown was wide open on the left. The pass was well short. Ball deflected off Louisiana Tech DB Cedric Woods and his teammate Michael Richard got the interception. Despite the win, poor plays like these are the reason why coach Brian Kelly wasn’t happy. The cost of this unranked win was $1.6M and some key injuries.

It was Nussmeier’s first turnover of the year, but it underscored the kind of offensive miscues that plagued LSU Tigers all night. Dropped passes, missed reads, and penalties clogged up what should have been a straightforward performance against an overmatched opponent. LSU’s 23-7 win over Louisiana Tech at Tiger Stadium looks comfortable on the surface, but the tone inside the building was anything but. That interception felt like a metaphor for the Tigers’ evening: the opportunities were there, but the execution fell well short.

Brian Kelly didn’t sugarcoat things afterward. “Look, we’re happy with the win. We’re not happy with the production across the board. We’ve got to coach better. That’s the bottom line,” he said. The LSU coach pointed directly at the inability to establish the run as a concern. Until freshman Harlem Berry ripped off an electric 43-yard carry with 3:41 left in the game, LSU was averaging just 2.8 yards per rush. For an offense built on balance, that number is alarming. Kelly hammered home the dual responsibility: “Players need to make more plays, but coaches need to coach better. Long way to go.” OC/QB coach Joe Sloan has a lot of things to take care of.

The miscues didn’t end there. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Parker dropped a sure score during Q2, the kind of play that changes momentum and forces a defense to adjust. Instead, LT’s secondary grew more confident, logging four pass breakups by halftime. On the final drive of the half, the offensive line gave up a sack that killed what could have been a scoring possession. Those are self-inflicted wounds. The kind that magnify against better competition.

Nussmeier, typically steady, looked rattled at times. Beyond the interception, his throws were scattershot, including multiple uncharacteristic misses that stalled drives. An unnecessary Q4 sack was particularly costly, not because of field position but because it was avoidable. A veteran QB simply has to sense the pocket collapsing. Brian Kelly’s frustration boiled over in halftime comments: “We have to execute better. That’s the bottom line. The guys are playing hard. They’re playing a 3-3-5 defense, and when you get opportunities, you’ve got to take advantage. We’ve had some drops.” His words cut straight to the heart of the matter. Talent wasn’t the issue, discipline was.

Meanwhile, the defense did its job. LSU’s front seven suffocated Louisiana Tech, holding the Bulldogs to just 50 passing yards through three quarters and only 154 total for the game. They controlled time of possession by nearly 14 minutes, suffocating any rhythm Tech tried to build. But for all of that defensive dominance, the $1.6 million price tag for bringing in the Bulldogs, paired with two key LSU injuries on the night, made the evening feel costly in more ways than one. The Tigers left Tiger Stadium with a win, but also with bruises, both literal and metaphorical.

Brian Kelly won but at what cost?

If LSU’s 23-7 win over Louisiana Tech already felt more costly than it should have, the injury list turned it into a full-blown headache. What likely didn’t help the Tigers’ sputtering attack was the absence of senior center Braelin Moore, who managed just one snap before going down. The Virginia Tech transfer injured his left leg on the opening play, and just like that, LSU’s offensive line was shuffled against a scrappy Tech defense.

That blow alone would have been enough to rattle the Tigers’ rhythm. But things got worse in the fourth quarter when sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green was helped off the field. By the end of the night, he had a brace strapped to his right knee and was moving with crutches.

ESPN analyst Matt Moscona summed it up bluntly: “First Braelin Moore. Now Trey’Dez Green is down. This game is costing LSU a lot more than the $1.6 million they’re paying Tech.” Green had given LSU a spark in Week 1, hauling in their first touchdown of the season against Clemson. Losing him now strips the passing game of one of its most promising young weapons.