Leading into their Week 5 game against No. 13 Ole Miss, the No. 4 LSU Tigers looked like the top team in the SEC and a national title contender. Then came a 24-19 loss to the Rebels, and suddenly the sky is falling for head coach Brian Kelly, who entered the season with plenty of questions surrounding him. At least that’s how it appears to some.
One loss was enough for CBS Sports’ Will Backus to write off the rest of Kelly’s tenure in Baton Rouge, arguing he will never reach the standard of the three coaches before him (Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron) who all won national titles.
“It’s not now. It’s never for Kelly’s Tigers,” Backus wrote.
That’s a grim outlook for Kelly, now in his fourth season with LSU. Backus pointed out that despite it being just one loss, nothing seems to have changed with the Tigers under Kelly.
“…Week 5 proved that this is just the same ole Kelly-coached LSU team. Good, but not good enough to compete for anything that matters,” Backus continued.
The problem, he said, is that Kelly, who is 33-12 overall at LSU, still hasn’t put together a complete team.
“Kelly seems incapable of fielding a complete football team. That means he’s not the guy to take LSU where it wants to go.”
LSU’s Offense Has Been a Huge Miss
Even Kelly admitted during the postgame press conference his team didn’t play complementary football against the Rebels.
“At the end of the day, when you put it all together for four quarters, we didn’t play complementary football, which you have to do in this league,” Kelly said. “You have to be able to complement your offense and defense. When our offense started to move the ball, our defense couldn’t get the stop.”
The offense has been the bigger disappointment, starting with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Against Ole Miss, he went 21 of 34 for 197 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But overall, he has been, as Backus called him, a “complete dud” this season.
That’s a steep fall for a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate and projected top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Nussmeier has thrown for 1,159 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions—numbers that don’t even crack the SEC’s top five among passers.
As a team, LSU ranks 88th nationally in total offense and 79th in scoring offense, averaging 27 points per game.
LSU, Brian Kelly Could Still Turn Season Around
Backus’ comments may be premature, as there is still plenty of football left to be played. The Tigers have seven regular-season games remaining on their schedule, including four against ranked opponents.
The concern is how Kelly has fared in these situations before. After the loss to the Rebels on September 27, he is now 5-9 against ranked teams at LSU. That trend must change if he’s to hold onto his job.
The schedule offers little breathing room. After a bye on October 4, the Tigers face South Carolina at home before visiting No. 16 Vanderbilt. Then comes a brutal two-game stretch with No. 6 Texas A&M in Baton Rouge and No. 10 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. LSU will close the regular season at home against No. 5 Oklahoma on November 29.