Brian Kelly on receipts for 2025 season: ‘We’ll see you at the national championship’

LSU finished the regular season 8-4 and while they won’t be heading to the College Football Playoff, the Tigers did round its season out on a high note with consecutive wins over SEC opponents.

At one point in the season, LSU was ranked as high as No. 8 in the AP poll. However, after three losses in a row down the stretch, many counted the Tigers out in the later stages of the year. They were still able to dig deep and despite some hurdles, managed to win the last two games before the postseason.

“I’m proud of my team,” head coach Brian Kelly said postgame. “The last two weeks, they listened to the narratives out there that they were not excited to play for anything and the season was over, and they simply went out and played inspired football. The last two weeks, they put consistent performances together. … This team over three years is 19-2 at home.

“So, whatever camp you want to jump into, go right ahead. We had five freshmen and two sophomores on defense today playing their tails off. We’re taking receipts and we’ll see you at the national championship.”

Kelly’s bold statement heading into the postseason could be a sign of good things to come in Baton Rouge. While they weren’t able to get over the hump this season, LSU won 10 games in each of his first two seasons leading the program.

With the playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, the thought was that LSU could be a contender for the CFP right away. That looked to be the case at one point in the season, but ultimately slipped through the Tigers’ grasp once the latter half of the season hit.

This sets up a pivotal offseason for Kelly and his staff. They’ll look to be active in the transfer portal and already have a top 10 reruiting class for 2025 as they seek a playoff berth next season for the first time since 2019.