The Tide is Turning in Baton Rouge, Brian Kelly Elevating LSU Program

Kelly continues to instill a new culture, bringing football program back to the LSU standard.

It doesn't get much better than Saturday night in Baton Rouge. After Brian Kelly and his LSU Tigers knocked off Alabama, social media was in a frenzy. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year, and after falling to Florida State in Week 1, all signs pointed to that being the case. Now, the Tide is turning at LSU.

Saturday’s victory over Nick Saban and his squad is monstrous not only for this football program, but for the city of Baton Rouge. After back-to-back down years, the city was itching for a chance to get back on the map: insert Brian Kelly.

Kelly came to LSU with nothing short of championship goals. You give him the resources, the talent pool, and the elite coaching staff he assembled; and the proof is in the product.

READ MORE: Everything LSU HC Brian Kelly Said After LSU Knocked Off No. 6 Alabama 

“So proud of my football team and in the way they just took it one play at a time,” Kelly said after the Alabama game. “It's for me just to see them grow, this was the next stage in development of our football team and that they needed to just not think about the outcome and think about one play at a time, get to the next play, focus, refocus, and that was that was the charge all week.”

Growth has been an important message this program has stressed all season long. After building off of the season opening loss, this program has done a 180. 

We’ve seen Jayden Daniels become one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC while this defense has lived up to the hype. It’s been a season of continuing to take that next step over the last few months.

“I knew after the Florida State game that we were going to get better. I knew this football team was going to be a better team in November,” Kelly said. "But I don't think that I've ever in my career kind of looked at the crystal ball and kind of said 'Hey this is how many wins we're going to get,' or 'How many losses?' What I did know is they had fight in them after the Florida State game.”

“The way they came back, the way they battled. You know we got an extra point blocked, that's that's on me. Like it wasn't on them. So I knew that there were good days ahead for this group. How they have worked out. And that's kind of why I went for it. I'm willing to do anything for this group because I think that they have shown that they'll make it happen some way, and they did again tonight."

READ MORE: Recruits React - Prospects Raving About LSU, Social Media Buzzing 

Brian Kelly: “I was emotional, not for myself, but for our team because I know what we looked like in January, and to see where we are today, that’s pretty emotional.” pic.twitter.com/rr2rhNV8Ig

— Harrison Valentine (@HValentineLSU) November 6, 2022

Beating Alabama is always a monumental feat for any program. They’re the golden standard of college football. But the Tide is turning in Baton Rouge. The playing field has been leveled. With the recruits Kelly is bringing in paired with his brilliance on the sidelines, the Tigers have the chance to return back to peak form.

It’s a small sample size of only nine games, but the start of the Kelly era has exceeded many expectations.