Losing by three touchdowns as a favorite in a national showcase game was bad enough, but at least LSU head coach Brian Kelly didn't proclaim victory ahead of Sunday night's game.
“I think you all know me. I’m pretty careful with what I say and how I said it. Never have I been cavalier or disrespectful to an opponent in my 33 years,” Kelly said on Tuesday, via the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. “So if somebody wants to prop up a comment and inflate it into something that it is not, that’s what social media is about today.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for coach (Mike) Norvell. I know who the opponent was. It ’s just not in my background or nature to make those kinds of comments.”
One problem: Kelly very much did say LSU was going to beat Florida State. Beat "the heck out of" Florida State, to be exact.
Appearing on his weekly radio show last Thursday, Kelly and host Chris Blair were talking about the improvement in the way LSU practices in comparison from Year 1 to Year 2, and how that was a bellwether for how the entire program has developed in his time in Baton Rouge.
Kelly then said LSU was by no means a finished product -- 40 percent of the travel roster would be making their first trip as Tigers last weekend -- but that new-ness was not a crutch. LSU was still going to beat the heck out of Florida State.
“I think we’re in a really good position in Year 2. Look, I will say that there are some areas that still need to be improved. We’re going to take 15 freshmen on this trip and 14 transfers, so nearly 40 percent of this travel roster are going to go overnight for the first time with LSU, and that’s not a disclaimer of any kind. We’re going to go beat the heck out of Florida State. But what I’m saying is, we’re still developing our football team with new players, freshman players, transfer players. We’re still in that process of developing, and it’s only going to get better as we continue to develop the program. So it’s pretty exciting from my perspective that where we sit here, going into Year 2, the future’s pretty bright. If I was buying a stock, I’d buy some LSU football stock.”
The crowd on hand clearly took Kelly's comment as pre-game bravado: they applauded after the "beat the heck out of" line. So this isn't a case of Kelly being misunderstood.
Listen for yourself beginning around the 12:10 mark here.
A coach proclaiming they were going to win that weekend's game is by no means controversial, and the loss was not the end of LSU's season. All in all it's not that big a deal.
Which is why it's odd that Kelly denied saying something he clearly said.