LSU head football coach Brian Kelly opened his weekly in-season press conference Monday by thanking his team.

“I told our team I was really proud of the way they have just embraced change and do the things that we've asked them to do to become more consistent on a day-to-day basis.," Kelly said. "We've been able to make the progress necessary to have a modest winning streak.

“It should be noted that these guys are doing everything possible to make sure that LSU football regains its place and they're working really hard at it but there's still a lot of work ahead for us.

“This month will tell us a lot. We've got an SEC slate in front of us over the next four weeks which will challenge us to a new level.”

Meaning the non-conference prelims are over until one last game in November vs. UAB. The Tigers (3-1 overall, 1-0 in the SEC West) dive into the heart of its conference schedule. Five of LSU’s remaining seven league games are against currently ranked opponents.

In LSU’s next four games before its usual open date prior to the Nov. 5 game against No. 2 Alabama, the Tigers travel to Auburn Saturday, face No. 8 ranked and unbeaten Tennessee at 11 a.m. on Oct. 8 in Tiger Stadium, travel to Florida on Oct. 15 and then are back at home vs. No. 14 and unbeaten Ole Miss.

"In the next month, there's gonna be some good days and there's gonna be some bad days and they (his team) cannot try to do things differently,” Kelly said.

“It’s like Mike Tyson’s line `Everybody's got a plan until they get hit in the mouth.’ We're gonna have to stick with our plan and stick with our process every single day. We're gonna have to trust it and keep going.”

Since LSU season-opening 24-23 loss to Florida State, Kelly and his staff have addressed problem areas after each game, whether it’s finding the right starting offensive line combination or getting new quarterback Jayden Daniels to stay in the pocket more to find open receivers rather than bail out too quick.

"We know where our issues are,” Kelly said. “We're thin in some areas. And so, we’ve got to make sure we keep our team rested. We've got to stay away from injuries.

"But it's a team that will fight. There's no doubt about the fight. These guys will fight for the right reasons.”

Kelly said that Daniels has no lingering effect from staining his back in the third quarter of LSU’s 38-0 shutout of New Mexico last Saturday. He also expected starting safety Jay Ward back from injury but said starting running back Armoni Goodwin (hamstring) is day-to-day.

Also, the Tigers this week get the services for the first time this season of Arkansas transfer defensive back Joe Foucha. He was held out while he had to clear up NCAA eligibility issues.

“He has been in our defensive structures (in practice),” Kelly said of Foucha. “Over the past four weeks when when got ready for team time for our opponent, he would come over to the scout team and he was a pain to deal with because he was so good. I've been able to firsthand see his action on a day-to-day basis and he'll be ready to play right away.”

Here's Kelly on other subjects:

On what QB Jayden Daniels showed in his 24 of 29 passing performance (83 percent) for 270 yards vs. New Mexico

“There are a couple of things. Decisiveness is starting to be part of his vocabulary instead of being hesitant and that comes with knowledge of the offense. The other thing is that he has become a lot quicker in his setup. I mentioned him having quick feet but slowing down and not rushing through progressions. One of the bigger plays in his development was the pass he threw to Jaray Jenkins in the red zone. That was his fourth receiver through a progression.

“Those are the kinds of things you're looking for in terms of development of a quarterback. I think a little bit of everything was coming together. He's becoming more comfortable and more decisive.”

On Jack Bech’s performance vs. New Mexico as the Tigers’ new punt returner

“Fearless, fearless. We'll work on a couple of things where fearless shouldn't be always the number one criteria for returning punts. We want some decision making in that, but that's how Jack plays. He's at his best when he's not worried about any factors other than competing and getting the ball in his hands. It's fun to watch, right? That's just the kind of player he is.

“You can see what kind of impact he can have in our punt return game. When you have a punt returner that can break it, the trickle down is the other 10 guys want to block for him.. It adds a great energy to the entire group.”

On the improvement of the offensive line

“I don't know that it was our banner day this past weekend. That (New Mexico) is a tough defense. They're standing up. They're moving around. There's so much movement.

“Offensive linemen want to see what they're going to hit and that wasn't the case on Saturday. The guy in front of you wasn't going to be there on the snap of the ball. That takes a little bit of the aggressiveness away from the offensive line.

“We have that this weekend (at Auburn). They're (the LSU offensive line) are gonna have to put their hand in the dirt. They're gonna have to get off the ball. They're gonna have to move people against their will. And I think you'll see a good indication over the next month of this offensive line and really having to get after it.”

On Kelly’s past experience dealing with hurricanes and the possibility of playing on a wet field from the possible expected remnants of Hurricane Ida

“I’ve been two remnants of hurricanes (when coaching Notre Dame), one at North Carolina State, which was abysmal, and the other one was Clemson.

“They affect the game conditions in terms of your passing game and running game. The kicking game is affected dramatically. So, you have to plan accordingly.

“You prepare for it. And then, quite frankly, you have to react accordingly during the game. I'm not making too much of it. I'm not going to put it too much on our players. Our players just need to play. As coaches, we’ll adapt accordingly during the game.”

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