Brian Kelly explains how Mississippi State defense allowed for long touchdowns to Malik Nabers

LSU came out and absolutely handled Mississippi State in the first half, and Brian Kelly credits the Tiger offense for making plays against MSU’s aggressive defense.

At the half, Coach Kelly was asked about the connection between QB Jayden Daniels and top wideout Malik Nabers, who combined for two impressive scores in the first 30 minutes.

“Yeah, obviously we’re taking advantage of some, you know, one on one matchups,” answered the LSU coach, explaining how the Bulldog defense forced them to take some deep shots.

“They got over-aggressive on the last play. And, you know, you have to do this. It’s an aggressive defense and they’re giving us some one-on-one matchups.”

After Daniels passed for 255 yards in the first half, Brian Kelly vowed to run the ball more in the second half if Mississippi State adjusts the defense and drops more defenders back.

“We’re gonna start running the football too if they get into some double-zones.”

Lastly, despite the three-possession lead, Kelly was still upset over the touchdown drive and long run from Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks that the defense gave up late in the second quarter.

And you know, disappointed we gave up a long run on just a simple crack replace by our corner. We just got to do the little things the right way.”

Kelly altered the team’s normal pregame routines quite a bit this week to ensure players would show up with a lot of juice right from opening kickoff.

Despite botching a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with a false start, the Tigers have still managed to pour on points in a hurry.

“We’ve got off to a good start,” Kelly told ESPN sideline reporter Katie George after the first quarter ended. “Obviously the penalty there on third down forces us to kick a field goal. Fourth down. That was unfortunate. I mean could go either way, but the guys are playing well.”

Moments after Kelly spoke to George his team struck again.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels found receiver Malik Nabers on his second touchdown pass of the day, hooking up for a 33-yard strike to extend the lead out to 17-0.

That was precisely how Kelly would have scripted things, with a fast start.

“They got off to a good start, it’s an early start,” Kelly said. “You really want them to get in here and quiet this crowd down, it’s a sellout. But off to a good start, we’ve got to keep playing.”

Malik Nabers balling out through injury

The Nabers explosion against Mississippi State has come following an injury he suffered during the fourth quarter. After recording his fourth catch of the game, Nabers landed hard on his right shoulder after being tackled by Mississippi State cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson.

Nabers got up favoring his shoulder, going to the sideline for treatment.

“Just a quick update, Malik Nabers, who had four catches on LSU’s opening drive is dealing with a right shoulder injury,” George reported on the broadcast. “He came off to the sidelines, athletic trainers were assessing it, working on it. He was writhing in pain. He’s on the bench right now with the wide receivers still trying to work through that pain, but something to keep an eye on moving forward.”

After that, Nabers returned to the action and began making an even bigger impact.

Through a quarter and a minute, Nabers has logged seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.