LAS VEGAS – Since Brian Kelly became LSU’s football coach in December of 2021, no less than three Tiger programs have won national championships.
Women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey won it all in April of 2023 in her second season. Jay Johnson followed with the baseball national championship in June of that same year in his second season as well. Then women’s gymnastics coach Jay Clark won the national title last April in his fourth season.
It is year three of the Kelly era at LSU, and he is getting antsy as the No. 13 Tigers open the 2024 season against No. 23 USC tonight at 6:30 p.m. central in Allegiant Stadium here.
“I’m going to change my name to Jay, because if your first name is Jay, you’re assured of a national championship,” Kelly said on the Brian Kelly Radio Show in front of a packed TJ Ribs restaurant in Baton Rouge Thursday night before leaving for Las Vegas on Friday. “And that assures everybody hear that you leave knowing that we’re going to win the national championship.”
Voice of LSU Chris Blair reminded his affiliates of the name change.
“All right fans, make note to be next week for the Jay Kelly Show,” he said.
0 FOR OPENERS: The best way for Jay, or Brian, Kelly to start his national championship season would be with a win over USC. Although with the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams this season, he could reach the postseason with two or maybe even three losses.
But Kelly does not want to fall to 0-3 in season openers as LSU’s coach, following 24-23 and 45-24 losses to Florida State in his last two season openers in New Orleans and Orlando, Florida, respectively.
“The players know that we haven’t had much success in our last two openers, but having said that, we played a lot of freshmen in that opener against Florida State two years ago,” Kelly said. “And those freshmen are playing prominent roles for us. We have a lot of freshmen that played those first two openers. Now, they’re veterans, if you will. And we expect that those battle scars from those first two years of playing a Florida State team that was pretty good are going to pay off in this opener against USC.”
LSU has lost four season openers overall as former coach Ed Orgeron fell in 2020 to Mississippi State, 44-34, at home and, 38-27, to UCLA in 2022.
LSU last lost four straight openers from 1991-94, then lost a school record fifth straight in 1995. Georgia beat LSU in 1991, then Texas A&M won the next four straight. LSU broke the string against Houston to open the 1996 season.
WIDE RECEIVER CHRIS HILTON OUT: LSU junior wide receiver Chris Hilton is not expected to play against USC with a bone bruise in an unspecified area. Hilton took part in the team’s warm-ups before the game Sunday, but was not fully dressed out. He has not practiced fully all week.
Freshman Kyle Parker of Lovejoy High in Allen, Texas, is expected to start in Hilton’s place. Parker was the No. 53 wide receiver in the nation by 247 Sports when he signed with LSU in 2023.
WHO IS GARRETT NUSSMEIER’S BACKUP? Watch closely tonight if LSU new starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has to leave the game due to injury. Kelly has not announced who his backup is. It will be either freshman Rickie Collins of Woodlawn High in Baton Rouge or junior A.J. Swann, a transfer after the 2023 season from Vanderbilt. He started six games there last season.
Collins was a four-star signee in 2023 as the No. 15 quarterback in the nation by 247 Sports. Swann was the No. 19 quarterback out of Cherokee High in White, Georgia, in 2022.
PAIR OF PUNTERS: Kelly said he plans to use two punters against USC – junior Peyton Todd and graduate Blake Ochsendorf, a graduate senior transfer via Louisiana Tech and Eastern Michigan. Peyton is a traditional-style punter, while Ochsendorf is a roll-out, rugby punter.
DRINKING VEGAS DRY: LSU fan Cortney Ferrington of Baton Rouge said LSU fans have been drinking Las Vegas dry.
“We’re boosting their economy,” she said Friday.
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