Brian Kelly critical of team, staff following LSU loss to FSU but proud of resolve

Brian Kelly will always remember his debut at LSU, and so will the rest of the college football world.

While the game wasn’t pretty, it featured one of the most memorable endings you’ll ever see — LSU capping off a 99-yard, game-tying drive with an extra point as time expired, except that extra point was blocked. Instead of the Tigers taking the game to overtime, the Florida State Seminoles celebrated a thrilling 24-23 victory.

Afterwards, a dejected Kelly spoke about his team and coaching staff to the media, explaining there’s multiple areas LSU needs to clean up over the rest of the season.

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“Mistake after mistake for us, in particular in the first half,” stated Kelly. “You know, obviously more mistakes in the second half. We started to overcome some of those and played with, I would consider more of a sense of urgency with the last 12 minutes. Our margin for error was so small that we couldn’t make any more mistakes.

“I was proud of our resolve. We battled, but we just have to learn how to play the game the right way, and that is for four quarters. We didn’t play with the kind of sense of urgency that I want for four quarters, and that was evident in our play. We didn’t tackle very well, we couldn’t get off the field on third down. We didn’t execute very well offensively. We had two turnovers in our punt return game, which we thought would be an asset for us, and then we had a blocked field goal and a blocked extra point. Anytime you have those kinds of situations, you’re setting yourself up for a long night.”

While Kelly recognizes there’s plenty LSU has to clean up following their loss, the Tigers leaders was elated that his team was right there at the end with the Seminoles.

“Despite all those things, I stand here in front of you with having an opportunity to bring the game into an overtime situation. So what we did well is we battled. Proud of the way we battled,” added Kelly. “What obviously we need to do better is play with a sense of urgency for four quarters, which we did not.

“What we learned is we’ve got to coach better. I mean, we’ve got to have our kids coached in a manner where they’re ready. I’m accountable for that. We have to have them tackling better, and executing better in all phases.”

Nevertheless, Brian Kelly may not be happy with the mistakes his program made on Sunday, but the tenacity and resolve of the Tigers give him hope for 2022.