GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Wow, I can’t wait to see Brian Kelly after he beats a Quad 1 team, or at least one with a better record than 6-6!
Following a convincing and, yes, impressive, 37-17 win over Oklahoma Saturday night, LSU coach Brian Kelly channeled his inner Deion Sanders and then some after his second straight victory. Never mind Oklahoma just finished 6-6, and the team he beat last week – Vanderbilt – also just finished 6-6. Each beat Alabama, yes, but Alabama has three losses and may not make the playoffs either, and those two have 12 between them.
GARRETT NUSSMEIER LEADS LSU TO ROUT OF OKLAHOMA
“I’m proud of my team,” Kelly started slowly after his unranked team improved to 8-4 after a mid-season No. 8 ranking. “The last two weeks, they listened to the narratives out there that, ‘They were not excited to play,’ and ‘The season was over,’ and they simply went out and played inspired football. The last two weeks, they put consistent performances together.”
Then Kelly put his game face on like neon Deion and like he wants a playoff game next week, and the week after, and the week after, instead of some Music City or Gator Bowl.
“So, whatever camp you want to jump into, go right ahead,” he cracked. “We had five freshmen and two sophomores on defense today playing their tails off. So, you know, again, we’re taking RECEIPTS, and, you know, we’ll see you at the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.”
Wow! I love it.
Deion Sanders famously said last year during a 4-8 inaugural season as Colorado’s head coach, “You better get me now, I keep receipts.” That was after a 42-6 loss to Oregon. Now, Sanders, who inherited a 1-11 team from 2022, is 9-3 and ranked No. 25 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
“This team’s building. We’re excited about them, and we’re really proud of them,” Kelly said.
A question followed later from yours truly:
“You said, ‘See you at the national championship.’ You’re talking about, like next year? Near future? Or?”
Kelly shot back, “What do you think?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you. It’s a hell of a quote.”
“What do you think?,” Kelly asked again. He means next year. In this world of NIL and the Transfer Portal, there is no two or three years from now any longer. He is talking LSU in the national championship game in the 2025 season. He does have quarterback Garrett Nussmeier coming back.
Then he explained himself professionally as usual without any attempts at a Cajun accent.
“Here’s my point,” he said. “There’s a standard here. I didn’t come down here to go 8-4. I’m not happy about 8-4. Nobody in that room is happy about being 8-4. What they’re happy about is they played well after a three-game losing streak. They bounced back, and this game teaches you lessons about grit and toughness and perseverance and not giving up and lettin’ go of the rope.”
Whoa, now he’s even channeling his inner Skip “Hold The Rope” Bertman in the same press conference.
“They easily could’ve fractured,” Kelly rolled on. “Instead, they stuck together and stayed committed. And they beat two teams that were really good (6-6!) football teams in this league and have pelts (skins on the wall from the Alabama wins) to show that they are good teams. I’m not making that narrative up.”
Pelts? From Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, which are a combined 5-11 in the SEC. Pelts from what? A muskrat?
Kelly wasn’t just making up this narrative, but he sure as hell was making the most of it. Or like when the fraternity brother in “Animal House” notices that Bluto (John Belushi) had the wrong country when he said “It wasn’t over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.” And his bro said, “Forget it, he’s rolling.”
And Kelly was rolling. Forget that the two teams he beat are a combined 12-12.
“So, at the end of the day, we want to win every game,” Kelly said. “What I’m happy about is the way our guys responded to adversity. The big picture is I’m excited about our future regardless of what people seem to think.”
Some goof balls in the media actually said with seriousness that Kelly may get fired this season. Truth is, he could go 8-4 or 7-5 next year and not get fired. A Sporting News writer actually ridiculously wrote recently that the only thing keeping Kelly from getting fired was his commitment from No. 1-ranked prep quarterback Bryce Underwood, who just flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan last week.
“And that’s OK,” Kelly said. “But nobody knows what it (LSU’s program) looks like from the inside. I’ve got the best perspective of that. And you can write away and have your own opinions. I don’t listen to what you have to say.”
Uh, obviously, you do.
“And we’re going to build it the way we know that we’re going to build it,” he said, like the voice in “Field of Dreams” to Kevin Costner. “And, I’ll see you in the national championship game.”
“Which one?,” I asked again.
And Kelly just smiled big. It was a Deion smile.
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