LSU’s playoff hopes officially came crashing down Saturday night after their 49-25 blowout loss to Texas A&M. What began as a promising first half, with touchdowns by Trey’Dez Green and Harlem Berry and the scoreline at 18-14, quickly turned into a complete second-half collapse. This gave the Aggies their first Death Valley triumph since 1994.
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By the end of the third quarter, frustration among fans had reached its peak as Tiger Stadium erupted with chants of “Fire Kelly!” LSU’s offense imploded, its defense faltered, and a once-promising season slipped further away.
Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was even benched after repeated sacks, and Brian Kelly’s decisions, from play-calling to substitutions, only fueled the crowd’s anger.
For many around LSU, Saturday’s loss was more than just another disappointing night. It felt like a turning point for the worse, which led former Tigers safety and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark to publicly voice his frustration with what he saw from the program.
“I initially wanted to come here and say what I felt about the state of our team,” Clark began in a video shared on “X” following the loss. “After watching a team [the Aggies] with our former strength and conditioning coach be more physical, seem more conditioned, be more in tune, give more effort, execute at a higher level than we did…”
Clark, who’s never been shy about holding his alma mater accountable, then lamented the lack of edge and physicality that once defined LSU football.
“Four years ago, when Brian Kelly took over, he took over to make this a professional outfit, an organized outfit, a respectable outfit, after the last three coaches, I believe, won championships in the first four or five years.”
That said, rather than choosing to be overtly critical of the players after their most demoralising loss of the season, Clark urged fans to be empathetic to them.
“Don’t give up on these boys. They’re straining and they’re working. There are people there who have given lifetimes of their adulthood to our school. They want to win. They want to tackle, they want to intercept, they want to block, they want to throw,” RC said.
But even as he defended the team’s effort, Clark made it clear that accountability starts at the top. “I’m frustrated too,” he admitted. “And I think BK needs to be better, too. Sloan needs to be better, Baker and on down the list need to be better, man.”
I’m disappointed watching LSU play. Brian Kelly was supposed to usher in a new era of LSU football. This year is underwhelming to say the least, but I will keep supporting.
They’re good men & women in that building. Really good coaches who have come back to rectify things, &… pic.twitter.com/AXAQeXvAYi
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 26, 2025
This was a passionate, measured reflection from one of LSU’s very own, who has seen both the glory and the grind of Tiger football. Yet it also felt like the culmination of what Clark had warned just days before.
On First Take before the Texas A&M game, he had cautioned that Brian Kelly wasn’t coaching for his job that Saturday, but that a loss would make the rest of the season exactly that.
“If he doesn’t go out and win against Texas A&M,” Clark said then, “that fire gets turned up real hot on Brian Kelly. And he has to win out for the rest of the season, or somebody in Baton Rouge, in Louisiana, will be putting up that money for the buyout.”
Now, with LSU’s playoff hopes shattered and the fan base restless, it seems Ryan Clark’s warning is coming to life.
