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Brian Kelly on the hot seat? LSU coach roasted after brutal loss to Florida

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Brian Kelly told anyone who asked when he left Notre Dame for LSU that he did so because he wanted to be around the best. He wanted to have the “resources to win a national championship.”

On Saturday, as Notre Dame blasted Virginia to move to 9-1 and take another step toward hosting a College Football Playoff game, Kelly’s Tigers lost to Florida in The Swamp 27-16. The defeat officially ended any chance of making the SEC Championship Game and extinguished any hope of sniffing the CFP.

A year after a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback was confined to a meaningless bowl game because of deficiencies on one side the football, everything seems to have collapsed for the Tigers.

LSU is 6-4.

It has lost 3 straight games, all of them by at least 10 points.

The Tigers play Vanderbilt next.

Should they falter again, Kelly will find himself in boiling-hot water.

But maybe we don’t even need that qualifier. If the reaction to Saturday’s result is any indication, Kelly’s seat is already warming up beneath him.

This hit the timeline prior to the fourth quarter:

In the final frame, LSU was outscored 14-3, outgained 120-96, and out-hit. The Tigers had 10 rushing attempts in the fourth quarter that lost 16 net yards.

LSU outgained Florida 382-339, but don’t be misled. The Tigers ran 92 plays to Florida’s 42. Despite the Grand Canyon-sized gap, LSU was never able to lean on the Gators. Florida averaged 7.9 yards per play. LSU averaged 4.2. It fumbled 3 times and missed a field goal.

Down 7 in the final 6 minutes of the fourth quarter, Kelly kicked a field goal instead of playing for the tie. Florida answered with a 55-yard gut punch from Jadan Baugh 90 seconds later.

LSU has a top-5 recruiting class heading into the Early Signing Period, which begins on Dec. 4. That class is headlined by the No. 1 overall recruit in the country, Belleville (Mich) quarterback Bryce Underwood. Kelly’s buyout also stands at more than $61 million.

There are compelling reasons to keep him around.

But in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s loss, some probably won’t care. Florida was just run off the field by Texas a week ago. And LSU never really got control of the game.

https://twitter.com/Ri_S_OB/status/1857934510173618281

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.

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