Brian Kelly expresses disappointment following the LSU Tigers' 'unacceptable' defeat.

 LAS VEGAS — Brian Kelly slammed his left fist onto the news conference table with such force that his water bottle nearly toppled over.

Following No. 13 LSU's 27-20 loss to No. 23 USC in their season opener, after holding a four-point lead with just under six minutes remaining, Kelly expressed his frustrations bluntly.

"We had some guys play their butts off tonight, and here we are again, talking about the same issues!" he exclaimed, striking the table. "We're not finishing when we have an opponent on the ropes. On the sidelines, it feels like the game is already over."

This marked the first time during his tenure at LSU that Kelly admitted to feeling "angry" with his team, citing a lack of "killer instinct."

"I'm so angry about it that I need to take action," Kelly said. "I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach. It's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It's ridiculous. It's crazy."

Despite amassing 421 yards of offense and controlling the time of possession by six minutes, LSU failed to capitalize. Their opening drive spanned 74 yards over 13 plays and consumed more than seven minutes, yet they came away with no points. Though they trailed for most of the first half, LSU managed to take the lead twice in the third quarter.

"Unfortunately, when we get a lead, we don't know how to handle it," Kelly noted. "You've got to put teams away. We had the chance to finish this game, but we got complacent and made more mistakes when we were ahead, instead of maintaining focus and a killer instinct. That’s disappointing."

Kelly's concerns were echoed by the Tigers' 10 penalties for 99 yards, compared to USC's six, with several occurring at critical moments. A targeting penalty on LSU during USC's game-winning drive placed the Trojans inside the red zone, where they promptly scored with eight seconds left.

It wasn't just penalties that hindered LSU; their ground game also struggled. Earlier in the week, LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell confidently stated, "We're going to run the football against the Trojans."

However, by the end of the game, LSU had only 117 rushing yards, relying heavily on quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. After scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, LSU's offense stalled, allowing USC's revamped defense under coordinator D'Anton Lynn to make crucial third-down stops.

"They had every right to be confident," said Lincoln Riley regarding LSU's offensive line. "But so did we. We just didn’t make a big deal about it in the media."

Out of the 13 third downs LSU faced, they converted only five. Following their go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, their next four drives resulted in two punts, a field goal, and an interception by Nussmeier that sealed their fate.

"For us to become the kind of football team I envision, we need to eliminate foolish mistakes," Kelly asserted. "We also have to improve our ability to play off one another."