There was never a time before or during his first season as LSU’s head football coach that Brian Kelly has projected a win total, not even in random thoughts he kept to himself.
“I didn't put any wins or losses on this team,” Kelly said Monday at his weekly in-season press conference as the Tigers begin preparation for their final home game of 2022 vs. UAB at 8 p.m. Saturday. "I put I want to play hard, I want to be better in November. I want to teach them how to win.
“I think we've hit all of those markers. And that's kind of where I wanted this program to be. So, I think we're where we should be at this time.”
Play hard? Yes.
Improve from the start of the season to now? Yes.
Learn how to win? Yes.
But also be ranked No. 6 nationally at 8-2 with the SEC Western Division title, already clinching a spot in the Dec. 3 league championship game?
Yes, the Tigers are 6-1 in SEC play with one final league game remaining Nov. 26 at Texas A&M. Along the way, LSU has improved to the point where it doesn’t play its best and win such as last Saturday’s 13-10 victory at Arkansas.
“Winning is a habit and losing his habit,” Kelly said. “What we can take out from that game is that they (his team) have done the things necessary to make winning a habit and just like losing becomes a habit. They found a way to win that football game.”
And it’s always better to learn a lesson in a win than a loss, which is what Kelly and his offensive staff did in Fayetteville.
Since LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels had been on fire in the Tigers’ three-game win streak over Florida, then- No. 7 Ole Miss and then-No. 6 Alabama – he accounted for a combined 14 TDs (7 pass, 7 rushing) and averaged 346 total offense yards – Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman had a basic but effective defensive game plan.
Daniels was sacked a season-high 7 times. Arkansas limited Daniels’ escapes from the pocket. He had just 96 total offense yards and didn’t account for a TD.
“It wasn’t let’s get to this gap and that gap or let’s be gap sound, or let’s make sure he (Daniels) doesn’t run,” Pittman said after the game. “It was blitzing and let’s get him on the ground.”
Kelly admitted it was something the Tigers weren’t prepared to handle.
"It was an aggressive defensive gameplan that was unique in that sense, but we have to be better,” Kelly said. “We have to prepare for those kinds of situations where defenses just say, `We're just going to give you everything we got and what do we have to lose?' It falls on me and our offensive staff to prepare for those kinds of situations. And we'll be prepared and it won't happen again.”
Kelly also noted that freshman linebacker Harold Perkins performance in the last three Tigers’ wins -- 22 tackles, 6 sacks, 6 quarterback hurries, 3 pass breakups and two forced fumbles – has him anticipating possible adjustments by opposing offenses.
"It's gotten us thinking about do you spy Harold now?” Kelly said. “Do you (the opposition) have somebody from the running back position to try to shadow him. So, we're prepared for all of these eventualities as we move forward.”
Perkins had 8 tackles, a school-record tying 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, a QB hurry and a pass breakup at Arkansas. He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for a second straight week and also won Walter Camp national Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Kelly noted LSU’s defensive line with starting ends BJ Ojulari and Ali Gaye, starting tackles Mehki Wingo and Jaquelin Roy and reserve end Savion Jones did their jobs so Perkins could do his.
“They make a lot of that happen because they flush that quarterback and then you've got a guy (Perkins) that can just chase them down," Kelly said. "It's pretty impressive that the marriage between the two where you have a group that can get a quarterback outside the pocket and then (someone) go chase it down.”
Here's Kelly on other subjects:
On UAB
“This is a mature veteran football team that has a very good offensive structure. This is a team that knows what they want to do. They want to run the inside outside zone play. They want to be play action pass. Defensively, they're in a three-down four-down structure. It's a well-coached football team. And it's a team that, quite frankly, is better than its record.”
On LSU’s team chemistry
"It's huge. I don't know that I've ever had a really good football team that didn't like each other. Generally speaking, they like each other. I think it starts because everybody's held accountable to the same level, like the best player doesn't get special treatment. Everybody gets treated the same way.
“When you start with that premise, everybody knows that, that they're all pulling the same way and that gradually they start to get closer and closer as a group. And that began in January.
“It's just been able to build along the way and they enjoy being around each other. They enjoy the road trips. They enjoy being on the plane. They enjoy being on the bus and in the hotel together. You can sense that and you can feel it. It's a fun group to be around.”
On LSU’s 17-player senior class that will be honored Saturday
“This senior class and watching them become SEC West champions is so gratifying because they made that choice. They could have been average. They could have been poor. They could have just been good. They've chosen to be champions. They've gone to work every day, both in the classroom and on the football field. To me, this senior day is the choices that these guys made have been outstanding.”
On playing Georgia in the SEC championship game
"We'll have plenty of time, to get information on Georgia. We're pretty much aware of who they are and what they're about. Our focus will be on UAB and (Texas) A&M because those games matter for us in terms of where we are and the development of our program. These singular games are so important to us.
"Look, I get the SEC championship game is what it is, right? But as we're climbing this ladder for us in terms of development of our program, these games are so pivotal for us. It's crazy to be able to think of anything else but these individual games."
