Brian Kelly says LSU must be 'more decisive,' trust reads against FSU

LSU leads Florida State 17-14 at the half of a top-10 showdown in Orlando, Fla., at Camping World Stadium, but the lead could easily be larger.

The Tigers came up empty on a pair of fourth-and-short attempts, including one inside the 5-yard line on the opening drive of the game. Coach Brian Kelly bemoaned his team’s decision-making as the cause of the lack of execution in key spots.

“We have not been effective, obviously,” Kelly said. “We had the big opening drive and weren’t able to cash in. We’ve got to be more decisive in whether we give the ball or we pull it. And we’ve gotten away from what our reads are. We’re just trying to do a little bit too much. We’ll settle down here, we’ll go through it again and we’ll just be more disciplined with our reads and we’ll be fine.”

Kelly was frustrated at various points during the first half, including with a handful of penalties and with some key mistakes. Among them were a turnover by his special teams unit on a muffed punt.

But he also seemed frustrated with the officials for some of the physicality being allowed, something ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe asked him about during a halftime interview.

“They’ve got big offensive receivers and they’re getting off the line and we’ve just got to do a better job,” Kelly said, seemingly biting his tongue on any criticism of the officials.

Scoring Recap – FSU vs. LSU

Florida State’s opening scoring drive in the game came despite a setback that might have killed the drive, an offensive pass interference penalty that backed them up to first-and-25 from inside their own territory.

However, a big run by Trey Benson picked up 12 yards, then quarterback Jordan Travis converted a third-and-13 moments later on a pass to receiver Johnny Wilson — the culprit of the offensive pass interference call — that went for 17 yards.

Moments later, receiver Keon Coleman caught a short slant and housed it for a 40-yard touchdown, making it 7-0 Florida State in the first quarter.

But LSU answered quickly, with a 33-yard reception by Kyren Lacy putting the Tigers down to the 1-yard line, where running back Tre Bradford plunged in to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:48 to play in the first quarter.

LSU then took the lead on a 1-yard Noah Cain touchdown run that capped a five-play, 51-yard drive midway through the second quarter.

Florida State would level the score at 14-14 on Coleman’s second touchdown reception of the game, a terrific leaping grab over an LSU defender in the right corner of the end zone for a 21-yard score.

LSU was able to push the ball down the field quickly and connect on a 36-yard Damian Ramos field goal just before the half, making the halftime score 17-14 LSU.