There’s lots driving on this Week 1 matchup between the No. 9 LSU Tigers and No. 4 Clemson Tigers for LSU head coach Brian Kelly.
He hasn’t received a season opener but as head coach at LSU, and the Bayou Bengals are 0-5 in season openers relationship again to the Ed Orgeron period.
Within the greater image, LSU has but to make the Faculty Soccer Playoff with Kelly as head coach, and heading into Yr 4, the strain in Baton Rouge is at an all-time excessive.
Beating Clemson on the highway could be an enormous feather in LSU’s cap immediately on this early season, and this can be a sport that the Tigers have been getting ready for all offseason.
It isn’t nearly preparation for Kelly, although. There’s an previous saying it soccer that goes like this: “It isn’t concerning the X’s and O’s, it is concerning the Jimmy’s and Joe’s”.
What which means is the extra gifted crew normally comes away the winner, and Kelly alluded to that on Wednesday on an SEC convention name. Within the course of, although, he could have taken a bit little bit of a jab at his previous LSU groups.
“Effectively when it comes to the opener, we upgraded our roster,” Kelly stated, in keeping with Thomas Goldkamp of On3. “And I feel that that’s most likely on the finish of the day the largest factor. Look, all people talks about iron sharpening iron. We didn’t have iron on a regular basis. We had iron vs. butter. Butter doesn’t like iron.”
Calling half of his roster over the previous three seasons principally “comfortable as butter” will not make Kelly any buddies with the LSU squads from 2022, 2023 and 2024. At this level, Kelly would not have the posh of desirous about friendship, although.
He wants to consider profitable, and profitable large, and that is why bringing in additional expertise has been the main focus of this offseason for LSU.
Kelly’s switch class was ranked No. 1 within the nation after LSU introduced in a number of intriguing gamers this offseason through the switch portal.
In all, 18 contemporary faces had been introduced aboard within the portal. That is new expertise for Kelly and his workers, nevertheless it additionally helps LSU’s depth this season.
“The competitors in camp was a lot completely different when you will have the sort of depth that we’ve got constructed right here,” Kelly stated. “It’s taken time, proper? We nonetheless have some work to do.”
That work begins on Saturday at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium.
