Top-ranked LSU Tigers faced an upset against the USC Trojans in the 1st game of their 2024 campaign and coach Brian Kelly was not happy with the team’s failure to play “complimentary football.”
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Despite leading 17-13 at the end of the 3rd quarter, the team failed to stop USC’s first-year quarterback Miller Moss who ran a quick play in the final minutes, resulting in a game-winning touchdown with just 8 seconds on the clock.
After the game, Coach Kelly addressed the media expressing his disappointment with the team. He claimed that they didn’t do “a good enough job” handling themselves and it changed the outcome of the game:
“We had an opportunity to put this team away. And we got complacent, we made more mistakes when we’re ahead instead of having better focus and a steely-eyed killer instinct and that’s disappointing.”
Talking about the two penalties received by LSU players, he called it the most concerning part of the game and took the blame for the players’ behavior.
After Kyren Lacy scored LSU’s first touchdown, he received a penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior for his ‘rifle-firing’ celebration.
Jardin Gilbert was ejected from the game for ‘targeting’ the opponent’s offense player. Gilbert’s absence cost the team dearly as USC running back Woody Mark rushed the final 13 yards to score the winning touchdown.
Furthermore, the coach elaborated on the team’s “host of situations” that resulted in the loss, like the failure to capitalize on its lead as the offense didn’t do enough for the defense to cover.
Poor execution, not running routes: Kelly on poor offense
Kelly was not happy with the team’s execution of the game. Rapping the offense’s performance, he blamed the failure on the team’s lack of preparation and not even running the routes properly. He blamed the offense for not scoring from the ‘red zone’ despite holding possession for most of the game resulting in higher pressure on the defense.
He appreciated the defensive line’s zeal but claimed that it was still not ready and a work in progress.
The team fumbled the ball twice inside the 20-yard line of the opponent’s endzone. In the 4th quarter, LSU failed to convert a touchdown in the red zone and settled for a field goal instead.
This gave the USC Trojans enough time to run one final play to take the win.
Looking at the game, Kelly clearly has a lot of work left to do and the season ahead will depend on his ability to get the house in order after a disappointing showing.
