Rece Davis considers whether Brian Kelly table slam was real, staged

Brian Kelly’s emotional postgame press conference after LSU‘s 27-20 loss to USC made headlines during Week 1 after he pounded the desk in frustration as the Tigers were outscored 14-3 in the final quarter.

Some have called into question the authenticity of Kelly’s postgame reaction in the days following the loss. ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis, who noted that he knows Kelly on a personal level, doesn’t think it was staged — but rather to emphasize the point he was making.

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“I think it’s authentic, but I think there were some theatrics in the message,” Davis told Ryan McGee. “Brian Kelly is not afraid of his players. In this day and age where there are people who want to appease their players — not him, pal. Not him.

“The mistakes that LSU made that helped USC in crucial moments, there was some lack of execution at different times that cost LSU opportunities to score that might have changed the complection of that game, but I think [Kelly] is angry and I think that he is probably very irritated by the fact that for the third-straight time and every year during his LSU tenure they’re 0-1 out of the gates.”

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LSU totaled over 400 yards of offense — but gave up 450 more on the defensive side of the ball including a last-second touchdown for the Trojans.

During the game, however, the Tigers had several avoidable mishaps. Kyren Lacy was flagged for making a gesture toward a USC player, and Major Burns was flagged for a costly penalty down the stretch. Kelly and Burns were seen talking on the sidelines during the aftermatch and hugged it out before moving on with the game. However, Davis feels as though wanted to make a statement in his postgame press conference.

“When you go to the news conference afterward, you’re either talking to the media, talking to the fans or talking to the players. He was talking to the players,” Davis said. “… I think the fist pound on the table was directed mostly at his players and saying figuratively, ‘I’m dropping the hammer. This is stopping.’ My gut says that it will.”

Looking ahead, the Tigers will look to bounce back at home against Nicholls in Baton Rouge on Saturday before beginning SEC play on the road against South Carolina the next week on Sept. 14.