LSU went to Gainesville hoping to get back on track. Instead, LSU dropped its third straight game and got knocked out of the SEC race.
2024 can be chalked up as a disappointment for an LSU team whose eyes were on the College Football Playoff.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media after the game, highlighting the issues and explaining how LSU needs to move forward.
“Obviously, very disappointing,” Kelly said, “Not able to do enough things to win this football game. Ineffective offensively in terms of too many negative plays and the inability to finish off drives.”
Kelly said the defense allowing explosive plays remains a problem too.
“When you’re playing in this league, in the SEC, where it’s a razor-thin margin for victory and defeat. If you don’t have a clean performance, you’re going to struggle,” Kelly said.
These issues aren’t new. We saw them in the opener against USC and again in the losses to Texas A&M and Alabama. Florida, with its 4-5 record, was supposed to be a chance for LSU to right the ship, but that didn’t happen.
“As coaches, we have to take responsibility. Players have to own their end of it. And we are in the situation that we’re in because we’re largely not effective enough in those two areas, negative plays on offense not finishing off drives,” Kelly said.
LSU no longer has the SEC or playoff to play for. With two games left, Kelly said it becomes about overcoming adversity.
“Our team’s gotta make a decision, you know, how they move forward. And we’ve talked about it,” Kelly said, “I’m pretty confident they know what needs to happen in terms of their mindset.”
LSU gets to return home to close out the regular season, beginning next week with Vanderbilt and wrapping the schedule up with Oklahoma.
“We’ve got to do it together,” Kelly said, “If you’re not a thumb pointer, if you’re not somebody that’s saying, ‘I’m going to work and continue to work to be better, then we don’t have a place for you in the last couple weeks.”