LSU's Brian Kelly on the Tigers Putting Things Together: 'The Clock is Ticking'

Kelly and Co. will travel to South Carolina in Week 3, face a challenging Gamecocks squad on the road.

Head Coach Brian Kelly as the LSU Tigers take on the Nicholls Colonels at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers reeled in their first victory of the season in Week 2 after taking down in-state foe Nicholls State 44-21 on Saturday night.

Now, Week 3 will present a different challenge with the Bayou Bengals heading to Columbia to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Kelly and Co. know the clock is ticking to piece it all together with the beginning of SEC play providing an opportunity to do so.

“I think you have to look at the bits and pieces of it,” Brian Kelly said. “Putting a consistent performance together is what we’re looking for and we haven’t done that yet, but it’s early in the season. Look, you’ve got to go on the road against a South Carolina team that’s going to have a lot of momentum coming off a great win against Kentucky. So, the clock’s ticking, right?”

No. 16 LSU has pieced it together in spurts, but not a complete four quarter stretch just yet. With a fiery foe in the Gamecocks coming for blood in Week 3, the Tigers will have to make adjustments in order to play a complete game.

“You’ve got to be able to put these things together now for four quarters. We had some nice momentum there offensively but we’ve got to get balance running the ball,” Kelly said. “Then, defensively, I thought we had some really good series in the second half after we cut the quarterback loose on the long run they really never threatened again.”

It's about "complementary football" for Kelly. We've seen flashes of the defense holding their end of the bargain in Week 1 against USC, but the offense failed to execute down the stretch.

In Week 2, it was the offense that shined with the defense allowing explosive plays against Nicholls State.

Now, it's about playing a complete game on both sides of the ball for four quarters and Kelly's program is aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

“It’s kind of what I talked about last week. We never really complemented our defense at any time. When they started to play well, we went three-and-out three times in a row and actually went backwards. So, we’ve got to get to complementary football and we’ve got to be more physical on both lines,” Kelly said.

“If that doesn’t happen soon, then we will be talking about things that we don’t want to talk about.”

No. 16 LSU will hop on a flight to South Carolina on Friday to prepare for their Saturday morning showdown against the Gamecocks. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT in Williams-Brice Stadium on the ABC Network.

More LSU News:

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Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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