Coach Brian Kelly not ready to “cancel” the LSU football season

When it comes to being a college football fan, it’s easy to think too hard about the present. This is especially true in the sport’s current era, where just four teams can make the playoffs. Naturally, a second loss feels like the end, and this is what many LSU football fans felt following Saturday’s SEC loss to Ole Miss. However, coach Brian Kelly doesn’t quite share that sentiment as he shared his thoughts on the remainder of the 2023 season.

Coach Brian Kelly addresses remainder of the 2023 LSU football season

When you’re a coach in the SEC, the expectations are to be SEC Championship caliber. This is especially true when you happen to be the head coach of LSU football, a storied program with four national and 16 conference titles.

Now, coach Brian Kelly is a part of that history, and expectations are high. He certainly didn’t make things any easier for himself when he opened up with a 10-4 season in 2022.

In 2023, however, the Tigers sit at 3-2 following a brutal 49-55 loss to Ole Miss, and fans are getting restless. It makes sense, too. While the offense has been excellent in every capacity thus far, the defense has been about as bad as it gets.

Final from Oxford pic.twitter.com/TFf2enaHwW

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 1, 2023

When looking at scoring totals, the offense ranks No. 7, putting an average of 44 points on the board per game. In contrast, the defense ranks No. 105, allowing 31 points per game.

While it might feel like the end of the world, coach Brian Kelly sees this as an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to be critical of themselves and get better in turn.

“Listen, we’re not canceling the season. We’re gonna be there, and we’re gonna work our tails off to get better,” coach Brian Kelly said following the Tigers’ loss to Ole Miss. “And it was gut-wrenching; it was difficult of a loss. And our guys felt it too, and we’re gonna go back to work, and we’re gonna work our tails off to get better. And we’re gonna work to get our offense even better. And hopefully, that will be good enough to go up to Columbia and go back on the road in an SEC matchup against a really good football team and get a win. We’re trying to get to week to week now, day to day, and that’s where we’ve got our focus.”

The 2023 season is, in fact, not over, but if LSU football doesn’t turn things around, it could be a tough remaining seven games. The Tigers face off against Missouri this weekend in Columbia in another top-25 matchup for coach Brian Kelly’s squad.

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