Brian Kelly may have to think twice about offering any more predictions this season.
Just days after telling fans on “The Brian Kelly Show” on Thursday that the Tigers would “beat the heck out of Florida State” in their opener, the LSU head coach had to backtrack following the team’s disastrous 45-24 loss Sunday.
Despite the No. 5 Tigers holding a 17-14 halftime lead over the No. 8 Seminoles, FSU stormed back with 31 unanswered points to take control of the game.
“This is a total failure from a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint that we have to obviously address and we have to own,” Kelly said after the game, per ESPN.
“I know adversity is always going to strike at some time in this game, and this is our first real piece of adversity that we have to address. I’m confident our guys and our coaches will rally in the manner that they need to.”
The defeat was LSU’s largest as a ranked team in the season opener since the AP poll era began in 1936.
Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis dominated the Tigers for 342 yards in the air and five total touchdowns, while wide receiver Keon Coleman added 122 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
The Tigers squandered four chances to score from the one-yard line during the opening drive of the game, failing to find the end zone as quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked.
In the second quarter, Daniels was again denied on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
“The buck stops with me, and I’ve got to get our football team to understand and recognize that you’ve got to play this game for four quarters with a mentality,” Kelly said.
“We just did not, for some reason. We thought we were somebody else. We thought we were the two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs or something. I don’t know what we thought, but we were mistaken.”
LSU should have an easier time next week when it takes on Grambling in the Tigers’ home opener.