By Sean Labar
Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are now out of contention for the College Football Playoff and it’s safe to say the 2024 season was a massive letdown for the fan base no matter how it ends.
In an matchup against the Florida Gators— a team that has struggled all season in the SEC— LSU marched into Gainesville as the favorite but ended up losing a third-straight game.
Ultimately, the result was Kelly ending a 7-year streak of coaching his team to 10-win seasons.
The two SEC squads halftime knotted at 10 but the LSU offense struggled mightily after the halfway mark and the Tigers settled for two field goals in the second half. Florida rose to the occasion and found the end zone twice in the second half to secure the statement victory.
Gators quarterback DJ Lagway went 13-of-26 for 226 yards and a touchdown while Jadan Bagh paced the rush attack with six carries for 65 yards and a touchdown. Florida’s offense had 340 total yards and did not have a single turnover.
LSU converted on 13 third downs, won the time of possession battle 41:43 to 18:17 and outgained the Gators in all phases, but crumbled down the stretch.
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While Kelly’s job security is almost certain for the 2025 season, there are plenty of LSU fans flocking to social media to call for him to get fired.
While Kelly has had a ton of regular season success at both Notre Dame and LSU, he has yet to lead a team to a national championship win and until he proves he can do it, there will be questions if he’s the right coach at LSU.
LSU expects to compete for national titles every year and aspires to return to the top of the SEC where the recent success has been dominated by Georgia and Alabama.
During Saturday’s loss to Florida, Brian Kelly absolutely lost it on one of his players on the sideline. I’m not a professional lip reader but it’s not hard to see what he is saying. It’s clear he realized in that moment the 2024 season was over in terms of the expectations for the program.
https://twitter.com/mccann_hunter/status/1857900778117022101
Just an awful look overall.
With Nick Saban retiring, Kelly’s path to getting the Tigers back to regular conference championship games and making the College Football Playoff on a consistent basis looks more possible than ever, yet LSU has fallen short yet again.
Kelly is feeling the pressure as his seat gets hotter and hotter.
