Looking ahead to the week four matchup of LSU football vs. UCLA, coach Brian Kelly took the time to discuss his team and what they most need to work on before their second SEC-Big Ten game of the 2024 season.
Getting started fast will be key for the Tigers in today’s week four matchup of LSU football vs. UCLA
It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but LSU is currently 2-1, and has the potential to be so much better before the 2024 college football season ultimately comes to a close later this year.
Among the top priorities for the Tigers moving away from last week’s 36-33 victory over South Carolina is getting off to a hot start in each of their matchups – something the 2023 version of purple and gold football excelled in all season long.
For whatever reason, though, something was lost over the offseason. That killer instinct just hasn’t been there through a full four quarters in the first three weeks of the season, and it’s something that LSU coach Brian Kelly has spent plenty of time thinking about, particularly over the last week or so.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s on our walls. Start fast. Attention to detail,” the Tiger head coach said during Thursday’s media availability. “Four quarters of LSU football is: one, start fast, that’s the first quarter. Second quarter is attention to detail, third quarter is effort and enthusiasm and fourth quarter is finish strong.”
At its best, 2024 LSU football has looked like one of the best teams in the country. With quarterback Garrett Nussmeier slinging the rock on offense and linebacker Harold Perkins Jr causing constant havoc on the defensive side of the ball, this team has all the talent it needs to make it as far as they want to.
At their worst, however, they’ve been sloppy, undisciplined, and have found themselves struggling to take control in each of their three games.
Now, it’s just a matter of removing those silly mistakes, and more than anything else, that’s up to coach Brian Kelly to get his team right during the week leading up to game day.
“We talk about it every day, about starting fast, so it’s one of those things where then you have to look at, alright, what’s our practice preparation look like? Do we start fast in practice and preparation? So for the last two weeks, we have gone 11-on-11, ones vs. ones in the first 15 minutes of practice. So, we’re backing up all those things with actionable items relative to what we’re doing.”
As we look ahead to the week four matchup of LSU football vs. UCLA, there’s no reason the Tigers should struggle. In fact, coach Kelly’s squad should be able to dominate, especially when considering its a home game against a team that most recently lost to Indiana by a score of 42-13.
If they’re going to put together a complete game at any point this season, now is the time to make it happen, and for the LSU coaching staff, starting fast and finishing strong are priorities number one and two.
“At the end of the day, we gotta play at a higher level, and we gotta coach our guys at a higher level, and that’s gonna get us off to a better start.”
The purple and gold will return to non-conference play this weekend, as Big Ten foe UCLA will travel to Baton Rouge, LA, for a battle vs. LSU in Tiger Stadium this Saturday, September 21, 2024. The game will take place at 2:30 p.m. CST and will be available to watch live on ABC or ESPN+.
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