The topic that Brian Kelly is an ugly fit for the LSU Tigers squad has picked up the buzz. Before Saturday, October 18, LSU had dominated the series, going 14-1 against Vanderbilt since 1976, while the Commodores hadn’t beaten the Tigers in 35 years. Poor Kelly! He now has to carry the blame for being the unlucky head coach. Every door he may be running to for some source of motivation must be closing in his face. That’s when an analyst came up with the much-needed boost for Kelly and his boys. They must be desperately in need of some before the crucial Texas A&M face-off.

On October 22, the SEC Unfiltered founder, Chris Phillips, dropped his take. According to him, Kelly and Co. are en route to hand over an upset to the Aggies. Hard to believe, right? Here came Phillips’ piece of advice. “Logically, there is nothing that tells me that LSU is going to show up Saturday night and beat a Texas A&M team that’s sitting 7-0 and has looked good and has answered every question at this point. But Bear, the SEC Unfiltered Tour is not about logic,” said the analyst. What does logic say? 

Under Kelly, LSU is 6-7 when labeled as the underdog. The Tigers’ average scoring margin in those games is -5.2, and their average output against the spread is -0.5. What about Kelly’s defense? It’s running on broken wheels. Against the Commodores, the cracks got exposed. The Commodores dominated early, going 51 minutes without a punt and finding the end zone on four of six possessions. Was that enough woe for the head coach?

Sadly, no. Kelly’s squad surrendered a late second-quarter field goal thanks to poor defensive play. Vanderbilt controlled possession for 13 minutes and converted over half of their third- and fourth-down tries, while Diego Pavia tormented the Tigers with his dual-threat play. But Kelly’s offense, too, witnessed tough moments. Facing second-and-long and third-and-long, LSU’s offensive line couldn’t handle Vanderbilt’s pass rush as Clark Lea unleashed the blitz, keeping Garrett Nussmeier under relentless pressure.

The Saturday game against Texas A&M is predicted to be a possible final, as they might get thrown away from the race. But Phillips urges throwing something else out of the window. “Everybody’s telling this LSU team how bad they are, the best news you got is you get to rally the troops, lock arm-in-arm with your brothers, and come home Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd in Death Valley…throw logic out the window on Saturday night when the Tigers take the field. I got LSU winning this game 27-24 over Texas A&M,” came his boldest take. Oh, wait, Mike Elko has his ears open, and here came a warning for Kelly and Co. 

Mike Elko keeps Brian Kelly and LSU on high alert

The Aggies are in the process of bolstering themselves. After all, they had to after they allowed over 500 yards against Arkansas. “You go back to work and fix the things that need to be fixed and get ready to play better on Saturday,” said Elko. After all, this weekend’s game is the first time experience for the Aggies under Elko, and he wants to etch a good memory for the fans. 

“Excited to go down to Tiger Stadium. Excited to play in Baton Rouge at night. It should be a great stage and great opportunity,” came Elko’s alert for Kelly. Here comes a comparison. Averaging 464 yards and 36.1 points per game with 31 touchdowns in seven games, Texas A&M’s 17th-ranked offense has been unstoppable. On the flip side, Kelly’s unit has ranked 81st and struggled to find the end zone, managing just 25 points per game.

Despite giving up more than 500 yards against Arkansas, Texas A&M’s 37th-ranked defense should bounce back, as Nussmeier’s limited playmaking outside the pocket was exposed by Taylen Green on nearly every drive. As if Kelly’s hot seat was not enough to spread panic in the Tigers squad. The LSU head coach is now carrying the burden of a $20 million investment that many believe has been a “waste.” While analysts like Phillips keep hoping against hope, LSU insider Preston Guy held Kelly accountable. 

He said, “A lot of people are looking at this and saying, well, ‘He’s wasting $20 million of talent right now on the field.’ A lot of people believe in this 85. I believe this 85-player roster is good enough to be in a 12-team playoff.” Amidst this difficult time, the universe granted Brian Kelly some good news. LSU starting DT Bernard Gooden made his way back to practice after being sidelined during the Vanderbilt game. But he still sits on the “questionable” bench. Kelly just has to take the insider’s advice to heart and believe that anything- even magic- is possible.