LSU Football Coach Brian Kelly Safe For Now As Tigers Squeak By South Carolina

LSU head coach Brian Kelly’s reputation wasn’t on the line during Saturday’s road tilt against South Carolina, but a loss to the Gamecocks would have been enough to plant the seed of doubt.

Crisis averted.

Tigers running back Josh Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:12 to play, and Gamecock kicker Alex Herrera pulled a 49-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer to give LSU a big win in its SEC opener. It was a win that Kelly needed in a big way after the Tigers dropped the season-opener to USC and didn’t look crisp in last week’s win over Nicholls.

There is plenty of frustration in Baton Rouge. Kelly has dropped all three of his openers since taking the job prior to the 2022 season, and that became apparent after the loss to the Trojans in Kelly’s now-infamous desk-slamming incident in the post-game presser.

"We had some guys play their butts off tonight and we're sitting here again, we're sitting here again talking about the same things! … About not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them away," he said.

The Tigers committed nine penalties, turned it over on downs in the third quarter after four plays inside the 3-yard line when momentum was squarely on their side and gave up 12 chunk plays to a team that was forced to substitute Robby Ashford in for injured quarterback LaNorris Sellers in the second half. If that 8-play, 55-yard drive hadn’t resulted in six, the subsequent frustration with Kelly would have grown to a loud roar.

Has the shine worn off on Kelly at LSU? Not yet. However, the idea that he peaked in Year 1 when the Tigers won the SEC West can be entertained at this point.

As it stands, though, the Tigers still have everything in front of them. The loss to the Trojans doesn’t eliminate them from the College Football Playoff race and, of course, doesn’t mean anything in the race for the SEC title. If they reach those goals, will it be because of Kelly or in spite of him?

Not all wins are the same, and Saturday’s win over the Gamecocks left a lot to be desired.