Brian Kelly raves about LSU's identity after beating Auburn: 'That's a culture win'

No. 25 LSU has bounced back quite nicely from a season-opening 24-23 loss to Florida State, reeling off four straight wins. The last one, a come-from-behind 21-17 victory over Auburn, is what first-year coach Brian Kelly described as ‘a culture win.’

The Tigers trailed by 17 points on the Plains before rallying to blank their like-named counterparts and score 21 unanswered.

“As I told our guys, that’s a culture win,” Kelly said immediately after the game. “That’s a program win where you’re doing the right things to win a game like that.”

The win wasn’t without its ups and downs. Even as LSU attempted to put the game away in the fourth quarter up 21-17 neither team seemed to actually want the win.

Kelly’s squad punted twice and fumbled after it went ahead. Luckily, Auburn was plagued by its own miscues, muffing a punt and throwing an ill-timed interception as the clock ticked away.

That interception, though, was a heck of a play by LSU defensive back Greg Brooks Jr. He simply snatched the ball away from the intended target, effectively sealing the win for LSU.

“An exciting win for our guys, certainly coming back from a 17-0 deficit on the road is not where you want to be but we found a way,” Kelly said. “It’s been the DNA of this group to battle, to fight, and they certainly did that tonight. They found a way to win.”

‘Culture win’ vs. Auburn likened to golf saying

Kelly had another interesting way of describing his team’s win, which more closely resembled a game of hot potato the further into the fourth quarter it progressed.

“Look, at the end of the day, there’s a saying in golf: There’s no pictures on the scorecard, there’s just what you score,” Kelly said. “Tonight there’s no pictures on the scoreboard for us.”

And yet, when LSU goes into the conference offices to turn in the scorecard at the end of its round against Auburn, it’ll still read as a ‘W.’

It moved the Tigers to 2-0 in SEC play, still standing atop the SEC West standings with Alabama. Ole Miss also remains unbeaten, though the Rebels have just one league win to Alabama and LSU’s two.

Kelly’s hoping the ‘culture win’ at Auburn doesn’t serve as a justification for being satisfied, but instead encourages players to work even harder.

“We just found a way to win this game,” he said. “That’s really what you’re trying to do in the SEC West. It’s tough competition going on the road. It’s a tough crowd that you have to overcome. Was that our best performance? I hope not. But it was gutty, it was gritty and it was one that I’m proud of our guys and the way they hung in there down 17-0.”