Last season, there were a couple of coaches who had signed up for the ‘clock’s ticking’ narrative. To name a few were Mike Norvell, Billy Napier, and Ryan Day. While Day flipped his luck from zero to hero with a national championship, Norvell’s buyout came off as an unaffordable move. On the other hand, Napier saved his seat with the help of his quarterback, DJ Lagway. This time around, there is a new addition to the old narrative – LSU Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly. Amidst this, a college football analyst is riding on high confidence about LSU’s most anticipated game in 2025. While he does that, another analyst addresses the elephant in the room on what’s adding to the heat in Kelly’s seat.

SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum expressed his endorsement of the LSU hype, signaling a wave of optimism for the upcoming season. Now, Finebaum and optimism are, as we now know, a rare combo. It’s not blind trust. However, Kelly and his Tigers have worked to gain it. LSU made a significant push in the transfer portal, ultimately becoming No. 1 in team rankings for incoming transfers. This impressive offseason has positioned the Tigers with the ninth-best odds to win the national championship in 2025. “The hype for LSU football is not hype,” Finebaum said. “I think it’s real. The question I have is how does coach Kelly navigate that schedule is daunting.” For the schedule clarity, Greg McElroy has got us covered. 

The meeting with Clemson will be the first for the Tigers since the CFP National Championship Game in January 2020, when LSU posted a 42-25 win. But does that mean Kelly’s boys will be in the backseat? The analyst continued, “Moving over to the LSU side, Garrett Nussmeier comes back, and there are people that have been surrounding the LSU program, those that have been talking about LSU, being around the team and the players – they feel like this could be the year where Brian Kelly really breaks through. Nussmeier, like I referenced, he is now back in his second year as the starting quarterback. They’ve gone to the portal, they’ve adequately replaced several spots that needed to be replaced, they’re going to be great at wide receiver, should be pretty good along the offensive line and at running back, and then defensively, second year in Blake Baker’s system.”

Overall, Kelly’s LSU is 3-1 against Clemson, with all four previous meetings coming during the postseason. This year, they have their special weapon, their loyal quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier. Want to know about his energy before the season? “Coach, I’m a Tiger and I’m, I just want to let you know, I’m going to be here.” This was the quarterback’s message to Kelly. He is coming off a superb season, racking up 4,052 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. But he, too, had his low moments. Kelly’s quarterback came up with three picks and could only complete 50% of his passes. An absolute fish-out-of-water kind of situation. But so what? LSU OC Joe Sloan approved of how Kelly’s quarterback has improved himself. Now, it’s high time that the head coach cools down his seat.

Brian Kelly walks into 2025 with expectations on fire 

There are enough reasons for Kelly to feel the heat walking into 2025. With Nussmeier at the helm, they rode a six-game winning streak after the season-opening loss to Southern Cal. But their happy moments were short-lived. Kelly’s boys got into a triple loss loop. The Tigers ranked 92nd in sacks per dropback (7.1%), 113th in turnover rate (3.0%), and 120th in success rate (35.5%). On top of that, Kelly’s carries the burden of a program with a rich history.

LSU has claimed four national championships so far and 16 conference championships. Unfortunately, none of the victories are credited to Kelly’s name. As Gerald V.Dixon sprinkled some salt on his wounds. “You are the last coach out of four coaches to be the only one who has not been to the playoffs, or brought us home a National Championship. So, it’s due time here, when you cash in and put your own money, you are truly invested.” Days later, Joel Klatt, too, doubled down on the concern on his podcast. 

He said, “Expectations are sky high at LSU. Every coach this century has won a national championship at LSU. It’s why Brian Kelly went to LSU. Kelly needs a great start to the season, and that’s exactly where the pressure point is.” And what better way to prove his dominance than beating Clemson, which finished second in the ACC with a 10-4 record? “We all think that Clemson’s going to be the class of the ACC. If they’re in fact the ACC champion and you could notch a win in their building, what would that do to your playoff resume? It would be pretty good.” No more whispers— Kelly needs to roar like a true LSU tiger.