LSU Football Sideline Had The Other USC On Its Mind Late In Its Win Over Gamecocks

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Amid all the angst and chaos of LSU’s wild, at times sloppy, come-from-behind 36-33 win at South Carolina, LSU coach Brian Kelly heard a voice that instilled confidence in him.

“8:56 … 8:56 … 8:56. Remember the USC game.”

Kelly turned around, and it was star senior wide receiver Kyren Lacy. LSU was just forced to punt from its 34 yard-line on 4th-and-1, and South Carolina, which likes to call itself USC, took over at its 25 with 8:56 to play and leading 33-29.

The Gamecocks could put the game away with a touchdown drive, but LSU’s defense recovered a fumble and forced a three-and-out punt before the Tigers put together a game-winning touchdown drive for the 36-33 lead with 1:12 to play.

“Kyren Lacy’s going up and down the sideline, ‘8:56, 8:56, remember 8:56 against USC,’” Kelly said. “You learn so much just being on the sideline and listening to your team and how they’re handling setbacks.”

LSU had let a 17-13 lead against USC, as in Southern California, in the season opener on Sept. 1 in Las Vegas slip away in the fourth quarter in a 27-20 loss. The Tigers also lost a 29-24 lead with 14:56 to play at South Carolina, but their 36-33 lead stood.

“So, you learn that this group understands that there’s so much more to this game than just between the lines. It’s between the ears as well,” Kelly said.

When LSU center DJ Chester snapped the ball too early for quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, USC recovered it at the Tigers’ 24-yard line with 11:57 to play. A touchdown, and the Gamecocks are in control comfortably at 37-29. But the defense forced a field goal instead and just a 33-29 deficit.

“Snapping the ball when you’re not supposed to,” Kelly said. “How the other players are talking to him and propping him up in that situation and making sure he can bounce back from that. Just hearing the positive talk when we’re down.”

Or Nussmeier pleading with Kelly to challenge the officials’ call that originally ruled Nussmeier’s 29-yard completion to Lacy to the South Carolina 4-yard line on the Tigers’ game-winning drive was out of bounds.

“He kept coming to me on the sidelines, ‘Coach, he caught that ball. Let’s challenge it,'” Kelly said. “They weren’t going to review it. Then they reviewed it. We were about to challenge it, because he (Nussmeieir) kept begging me. And he was right. He’s just in tune to everything that’s going on in the game. You just love to have your quarterback like that.”