Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVSeptember 2, 2024
Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
While Brian Kelly slamming his fist on the table in his postgame press conference grabbed the headlines, a comment the LSU coach made about his quarterback might rankle fans more.
Following a 27-20 loss to USC, Kelly said Trojans quarterback Miller Moss “outplayed our quarterback” while giving broad praise of the Trojans signal-caller.
Moss went 27-of-36 for 378 yards and one touchdown while LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier was 29-of-38 for 304 yards, two touchdowns and a late interception. There wasn’t much to separate the two.
It would be one thing if Kelly had simply said Moss played well and was an integral part of USC’s victory. Saying he performed better than Nussmeier, however, might come off as overly negative of his own player. Nussmeier would be far down on the list of reasons for LSU’s defeat.
The expansion of the College Football Playoff has given the top teams an even larger margin for error. There’s no question LSU can still earn a top-12 seed down the line despite coming up short Sunday.
Still, it sounds as though Kelly is feeling the heat only one week into the campaign.
In his postgame press conference, he at one point hit the table in front of him and expressed his frustration with how “we’re sitting here again talking about the same things.” He specifically cited “not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them away.”
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“I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach … it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game.”
Brian Kelly says he’s “angry” with his team after the loss to USC. pic.twitter.com/vloYGyKDh2
The Tigers were up 17-13 entering the fourth quarter but watched touchdowns from Ja’Kobi Lane and Woody Marks lift the Trojans to a win.
“I’m so angry about it that I’ve got to do something about it,” Kelly told reporters. “I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach. I’ve got to coach them better because it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It’s ridiculous. It’s crazy.”
LSU doesn’t play another ranked opponent until it hosts Ole Miss on Oct. 12. That gives the Tigers some time to iron out their issues before they enter the meat of their SEC schedule.
