Brian Kelly Postgame Interview: LSU Coach Admits He “Has to be More Involved” After Gators Loss

Just one month ago, the LSU Tigers were riding high. They were 5-1, fresh off a thrilling overtime victory over the Ole Miss Rebels, and tied for first place in the SEC. The last three weeks, though, have humbled them.

First, it was a loss to Texas A&M. A home beatdown from Alabama followed. Then today, a 27-16 road defeat to previously 4-5 Florida. This three-game losing streak is likely to knock LSU out of next week’s College Football Playoff rankings.

Nonetheless, Coach Brian Kelly isn’t happy with another loss. He addressed his team’s lengthy skid postgame and told the reporters that he intends to dig deep to help rectify the Tigers’ issues.

“I have to be more involved in what’s going on… I have to be able to figure out how to help our players to get through this. This is a rough spot for them. But we’ve gotta help them. And, as [a coach], that’s what I have to do.”

LSU posted nearly twice as many first downs (25) as Florida (13) on Saturday. The Tigers also thoroughly dominated time of possession (41:43-18:17) and punted just twice. However, they failed to sack Gators quarterback DJ Lagway and let their signal-caller, Garrett Nussmeier, get sacked seven times.

The Tigers reached Florida territory on four of their six possessions that succeeded their second-quarter touchdown drive. They failed to find the end zone on any of them and ended up with only two field goals. Kelly admonished his squad for not being more efficient in key situations.

“You can’t just continue to move the ball up and down the field and not convert… they don’t give you a pat on the back because you had the ball longer… and that [comes down], to a large degree, [to] making that sure everybody is doing their job.”

LSU (6-4) wraps up the 2024 regular season with home games versus Vanderbilt (6-4) and Oklahoma (5-5) each of the next two Saturdays. They will hope to secure these two wins and aim to earn the best Bowl bid available.