The LSU Tigers hired former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly to help them win games, and they gave Kelly just over $100 million over the next 10 years to do it.
It appeared that Kelly’s new team was on the way to at least overtime against Florida State in their 2022 opener, under the most improbable of circumstances. The Tigers were down 24-10 late in the fourth quarter until quarterback Jayden Daniels hit receiver Jaray Jenkins for a 22-yard touchdown with 4:07 left in the game, and then, with 1:20 left in the game, Florida State running back Treshaun Ward fumbled a pitch from quarterback Jordan Travis at the LSU one-yard line.
Now, it was up to LSU to go 99 yards in just over a minute to tie the game — or, at least score a touchdown, make the score 24-23, and set things up for the game-tying extra point.
Because as you are about to see, extra points are by no means a given. The Tigers drove all the way down the field with quick passes, and Daniels’ 17-yard pass to tight end Mason Taylor took the ball to the Florida State two-yard line with one second left. It was originally ruled that Taylor was out of bounds at the one-yard line, but after an extended replay, it was decided that the Tigers would have the ball at the two-yard line, Taylor’s right knee had gone down in bounds, and LSU would have to snap the ball right when the clock started with one second left.
That happened, and Daniels once again hit Jenkins for a touchdown — this time, as regulation expired.
All that was left to do was for Damian Ramos to kick the extra point, and were were headed to overtime.
But even 99-yard touchdown drives aren’t automatically rewarded by the Special Teams Gods.
ONE OF THE WILDEST ENDINGS TO A COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME YOU WILL EVER SEE‼️ pic.twitter.com/5t3gqOXtgu
— ESPN (@espn) September 5, 2022
Yes, the extra point was blocked, and Florida State escaped the Superdome with a 24-23 win by the skin of their collective teeth.
“We played with more of a sense of urgency in the last 12 minutes, but our margin for error was so small, we couldn’t make any more mistakes,” Kelly said after the game. “I was proud of our resolve, we battled, but we just have to learn to play the game the right way. And that is for four quarters.”
And certainly, with no blocked extra points.
Should Kelly have gone for a two-point conversion there, considering that Ramos had a field goal attempt blocked in this game as well? That’s the kind of question that will lead to a lot of sleepless nights for a head coach.
“As it relates to the [blocked] field goal, it came from the same left side, we made an adjustment after the field goal and made a switch in personnel, and that didn’t work, either,” Kelly concluded. “That’s on us. We have to do a better job coaching.”
And not even $100 million will make that go away.