Brian Kelly ducks leading questions to share specific game-changing moves LSU Tigers need to make right now
The LSU Tigers and Brian Kelly are coming off their third loss of the season, and their second terrible defeat in a row of 15 points or more. Obviously some changes need to be made and quickly if LSU is going to salvage what's left of the 2024 college football season.Several media members tried to […]
The LSU Tigers and Brian Kelly are coming off their third loss of the season, and their second terrible defeat in a row of 15 points or more. Obviously some changes need to be made and quickly if LSU is going to salvage what's left of the 2024 college football season.
Several media members tried to send Coach Kelly some tough leading questions this week, implying he might need to make some roster moves, coaching changes, or even suggest that the team might have a toughness or effort issue. Kelly wasn't having it. Instead, he spent much of his time with the media leaning into what he believes the team needs to change to reach their goals that still remain.
When asked about the team's toughness and execution (or lack thereof), Kelly had this to say:
"No, look at the end of the day, the guys are who they are. We're in there fighting as hard as we can. It's hard to overcome a lot of mistakes that are being made, but we have to help them also. We've got to put them into position to succeed as well…It's both working together. Our coaches have to go be able to do a great job of being more consistent in getting them in the best position to succeed. And then they have to be more consistent in their execution."
It's true. It might not be what fans or media want to hear, but pointing fingers, assigning blame to any one coach or player, is useless. The coaches need to do a better job of figuring out how to put the players in position to stop mobile quarterbacks and find more consistency in the run game. However, the coaches aren't the ones playing on the field.
While the offensive line has been excellent in pass blocking this year, their execution in run blocking has been wildly inconsistent. And frankly, some of the LSU defenders have just simply blown gap assignments that have led to some of the biggest runs by opposing quarterbacks this year.
Kelly tried his best to keep his cool while having to repeat a lot of the same things throughout his presser as more media members tried to get him to suggest that his players weren't good enough or that offensive coordinator Joe Sloan should be on the hot seat:
"I don't evaluate coordinators during the season. Everybody gets to second guess a play call here or there. That's the nature of the business, right? What we want to be is more consistent in the running game. And I think I've made that clear…And Joe [Sloan, the offensive coordinator] understands that."
LSU ranks 113th among FBS teams in rushing yards per game this season. Coach Kelly has made it clear, that can't stay the same. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan has got to find a way to get the running game fixed. That was repeated throughout Kelly's time with the media.
In fact fixing the run game was at the very top of Kelly's list of specific game-changing moves that LSU has to make right now if they still want to finish strong this season:
"So what do we have to do to help Nussmeier? That's run the ball better. That's going to be something that can happen right away. What can we do to help in the quarterback run game? Can we play more multiple coverage looks? Can we be in different fronts? If you watched, we played some five-down defensive fronts to help in those situations. I think there's always the opportunity to grow and get better in the season."
Kelly went on to talk through how making such changes could help LSU find their way to yet another 10-win season if all goes well. But Coach Kelly might not understand how extremely unlikely reaching 10 wins is at this point.
In order to reach 10 wins, LSU would not just have to make every one of those changes, see them come to fruition, and win every single remaining regular season game. They would have to somehow also make it to the SEC Championship Game via some concert of ridiculous losses by the teams ranked ahead of them now in the conference standings, and then win it. Not likely.
This season has been disappointing, and it's likely going to stay that way, but Coach Kelly is right. This LSU team is so close. They just need to fix a few key things down the stretch. That could help them build momentum towards a brighter future, even if it can't take away the sting of three losses.
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We'll be back with more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to watch Brian Kelly full presser you can check that out in the video below!
