LSU’s Kelly calls big loss to FSU a ‘total failure’

The LSU Tigers opened their season in Orlando with a 45-24 loss against FSU on Sunday.

Final from Orlando pic.twitter.com/SWT3vpGAVg

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 4, 2023

After the game, LSU head coach Brian Kelly described the team’s loss saying, “This is a total failure on a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint that we have to obviously address and we have to own.”

Keys to the Game

Both teams came out strong to start the first half. LSU gained momentum after quarterback Jayden Daniels set up running back Tre Bradford on a 55-yard play to get the Tigers into the red zone. LSU was unable to convert on fourth down from the 1-yard line and allowed FSU to get the ball back and score. Despite the two times LSU failed to convert on fourth down in the first half, LSU led the ‘Noles 17-14 going into halftime.

But in the second half, it was all Florida State.

LSU struggled to score in the second half and allowed FSU to take over the game.

Both quarterbacks entered the season as Heisman Trophy favorites. But FSU’s Jordan Travis outperformed Jayden Daniels in this game. Travis completed 23 of 31 passes for 342 yards and five touchdowns. Daniels completed 22 of 37 passes including an interception.

After the game, Kelly admitted that FSU was the better team on the field.

“Congratulations to Florida State,” he said, “They played a great second half. They were the better football team tonight. We certainly are not the football team I thought we were. We got to do a much better job in developing our football team.”

Downfall for LSU

LSU was unable to convert on key third- and fourth-down plays. The Tigers went 3-10 on third down and 0-3 on fourth down. This led to the offense failing to score in the third quarter while FSU scored 10. But the biggest issue came in the fourth quarter when the defense failed to make a stop, allowing FSU to add 21 points on the board.

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“I know adversity is always going to strike at some time in this game. This is our first real piece of adversity that we have to address. I’m confident in our guys and our coaches will rally in the manner that they need to,” Kelly said.

Next Up

LSU faces the Grambling State Tigers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.