Coach Brian Kelly shares initial thoughts on Nicholls matchup

With less than a week remaining until the start of week two of the 2024 college football season, LSU coach Brian Kelly took some time to speak about Nicholls and just how dangerous they have the potential to be, if given the opportunity.

LSU coach Brian Kelly outlines the championship culture built into Nicholls football

The 2024 LSU football team has officially put week one in the backs of their minds, and that means it’s time to prepare to face off against FCS opponent Nicholls State out of Thibodaux, LA.

“We’re very familiar with Nicholls State. They’re a team that wins and has 17 starters back from last year’s team,” coach Brian Kelly began while speaking on their week two matchup. “Playing LA Tech, I thought they did a great job. They had a number of turnovers, made it difficult for them all day, and it’s a team that wins their conference championship.”

STICKS THE LANDING!!!

Quincy Brown with a beautiful TD grab from Pat McQuaide. Colonels down 8 pic.twitter.com/7fNj631aZt

— Nicholls Football 🏈 (@Nicholls_FB) September 1, 2024

Coming off a season in which they went 7-0 within the Southland Conference, Nicholls is no stranger to winning football games and most recently gave Louisiana Tech a run for their money, coming up just short by a score of 17-25 this past Saturday in week one.

“They’re used to being in the playoffs. A defending conference champion, they know what it’s like, and they play up when they get a chance. They’ve beaten BCS opponents before. They beat Kansas in 2018, so they know what they’re doing. This is a well coached football team, Tim [Rebowe] does a good job, this is a great opportunity for them, and so we’ll have to be very well prepared and I know our guys will be. We’re excited about the opportunity to be home for our first game this year and look forward to the challenge.”

Immediately following the LSU loss vs. the USC Trojans in week one, coach Brian Kelly didn’t exactly hide his frustrations over the performance as a whole. It was a sloppy game from start to finish, and in many ways, it felt as though he believed the Tigers would have come out on top had it not been for their silly mistakes.

Getting things cleaned up will be particularly important heading into week two, as Nicholls has the makings of a team that can catch just about anyone off guard if given the opportunity. Thanks in large part to the majority of their starting rotation returning in 2024, the Colonels are widely viewed as the favorite to repeat as Southland Conference Champions and should not be taken lightly, especially with SEC play just around the corner for the purple and gold.

Luckily for the Tiger program, as he outlined in Tuesday’s press conference, LSU coach Brian Kelly appears to understand the championship culture that they’ve built over in Thibodaux. Now it’s just a matter of coming out and taking care of business in this season’s home opener on Saturday evening.

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