Brian Kelly Sets Expectations Straight for LSU’s LA Tech Clash by Delivering Warning Lesson From Stark Past

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly is playing a risky game of stepping-stones. Stepping on one loose stone means he puts his head coaching role in jeopardy. However, an SEC coach has set high expectations for Kelly’s boys. That, without saying, adds to his pressure. “They have playoff expectations here, and it’s a better depth chart than he’s had in Baton Rouge. If they aren’t in the CFP, I think there’s some serious pressure here,” said the anonymous SEC coach. No idea what the future has in hold but Kelly and co. are now coming off with a win against the Clemson Tigers in the 2025 season opener. But the head coach does not want his boys to take things easy. Rather, he puts them on high alert. 

Talking about the potential of Kelly and co.? The Tigers have already proved one of the biggest critics, Paul Finebaum, wrong after breaking their problematic trend. However, Kelly still keeps his boys on the edge, warning of a full-house effort in their game against LA Tech on September 6.

On September 4, Kelly faced the media. When asked about whether LSU is keeping its doors open to any kind of improvement, the head coach did not safeguard his team. Rather, he pointed fingers at their ghosts of the past. Kelly stated, “Yeah, 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.” Talking about team efforts? 

Their season opener showed some glimpses. After all, it would not have been possible for Kelly’s squad to defeat Clemson otherwise, since the program hadn’t won a season opener in his first three seasons. Not just this. Their luck didn’t favor on the opening week of the season overall since 2019, when their former quarterback Joe Burrow was throwing darts all over the place.

Kelly thus dug up some instances from the past, “And we had instances where we had two or three guys not doing their job, but eight other guys were. We want all 11 guys doing their job.” We don’t have to tread a lot in the past. This time, last year, Kelly’s boys failed in the first weekend of the season against the USC Trojans. The Tigers had 10 penalties for 99 yards to the Trojans’ six, many of which were selfish or undisciplined and came at critical junctures.

Cut to 2025. Their offense was not perfect but just efficient enough to win the game. Their 43% success rate, was not great but had put them in the 59th percentile, which is above average. Kelly’s defense was able to dial up the blitz and get after the Clemson quarterback. But should only the players be held responsible?

Wake up call for Brian Kelly’s assistant coach

That’s when 2X Super Bowl Winner, Booger McFarland, jumps into the conversation with his take. No, not the players, he straightaway put Kelly’s offensive coordinator Joe Sloan in the hot seat to get judged. Talking about the stats of Sloan’s position? Last season, the Tigers’ offense ranked at No.47, averaging 315.2 yards.

“At some point, I think if you’re Joe Sloan, the OC, you’ve got to show a willingness to run the football. Because if I’m a defensive lineman, if I’m Peter Woods, if I’m [T.J.] Parker, and I know that all we’re doing is getting off the rock, rushing the passer, man, you can’t block me because the defensive line, we’re better athletes than the offensive line. And if I know what you’re doing, it’s going to be even harder for you to block me. So, I think to answer your question directly, it has to happen,” said McFarnald. 

Oftentimes, Kelly’s offense has been charged as one-dimensional. And what are the side effects? It makes it easier for the opponent to predict their move. It’s high time that LSU breaks free of the convenient path and adopt the non-obvious downs, like 2nd-and-8, to gain moderate yardage. While it’s yet to be seen if we can see Kelly’s squad coming out of their comfort zone, they got the perfect fuel to push through the rest of the 2025 season.

Do you remember when Paul Finebaum made his Week1 Predictions? Unfortunately the Tigers could not make it as the ESPN analyst picked Clemson over LSU in his prediction for the winner. And here we are. So, obviously Brian Kelly could not stop himself from sending a sharp jab in Finebaum’s way. “You had a tough loss this weekend, and you came on the show, so I appreciate that,” the head coach joked. “I think you and I both understand in this business, you get good days and you’ve got bad days. You just move on and keep doing your job.” Will Kelly turn the season into his ultimate comeback tour?