Brian Kelly has been really good at this third-year stuff.
In each of his last three tenures, his program experienced a breakthrough in the third season. He hopes to continue that trend as he begins his third season as LSU’s head coach in 2024.
The Tigers could be the SEC’s big surprise this season, and Kelly said he’s focused on the day-to-day process “that’s usually been pretty good at my other stops.”
In Kelly’s third season at Central Michigan in 2006, the Chippewas improved from 6-5 to 9-4, won the MAC West, and Kelly was off to Cincinnati.
In his third season with the Bearcats in 2009, Kelly’s team improved from 11-3 to 12-0 and reached the Sugar Bowl as the coach moved on to Notre Dame.
In his third season with the Fighting Irish in 2012, Kelly’s team improved from 8-5 to 12-1 and reached the BCS Championship Game.
(By the way, in Kelly’s first tenure at Division II Grand Valley State, his third team dropped from 8-3 to 6-3-2 in 1993, though he wound up winning 77 percent of his games over 13 seasons).
As Kelly enters his third season at LSU, the Tigers are trying to improve from a pair of 10-win seasons and grab one of the 12 spots in the expanded CFP.
LSU had just 39 scholarship players on hand when Kelly arrived from Notre Dame, and the coach said his third team will be the deepest group of Tigers he has had. The key to whether LSU can break through is whether it can be more balanced than it was a year ago.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels led the most productive offense in the country, but the Tigers faded from SEC title contention because of one of the poorest defenses in school history.
Kelly said he believes the program has accomplished its off-season goal to “make the kind of strides that bring our defense up to the standard necessary to play for a championship.”
He changed defensive coordinators, replacing Matt House with former LSU assistant Blake Baker, who was a key contributor to Missouri being the SEC surprise team in 2023, as the coordinator for those Tigers.
Kelly also brought in defensive line coach Bo Davis from Texas to try and upgrade a unit whose improvement will be central to the fortunes of the defense and the team as a whole.
A more effective performance at the line of scrimmage should enable linebacker Harold Perkins to be one of the most dynamic defenders in the country. Baker hopes to intensify the defense’s aggressiveness if the cornerbacks demonstrate they can handle more man-to-man coverage.
As for the offense, no one is expecting Garrett Nussmeier to duplicate what Daniels did before moving on to the NFL’s Washington Commanders. But if Kelly gets the defensive improvement he expects, one of the top offensive lines in the country and a bevy of skilled runners and receivers should enable Nussmeier to be successful.
Nussmeier has played in just 18 games in three seasons and made his only start when Daniels sat out the ReliaQuest Bowl in January. Nussmeier passed for 395 yards and three touchdowns in a victory against Wisconsin.
Joe Sloan has taken on coordinator and play-calling duties and retained his role as quarterbacks coach after former coordinator Mike Denbrock left for Notre Dame.
Nussmeier isn’t the running threat that Daniels was, but his arm strength is exceptional. Improved decision-making should enable him to be one of the more productive passers in the SEC.
In addition to the annual SEC gauntlet (which includes a visit from conference newcomer Oklahoma in the regular-season finale), LSU also has challenging non-conference games against USC (in the Sept. 1 season opener in Las Vegas) and UCLA (Sept. 21 in Tiger Stadium).
Kelly’s first two teams got off to slow starts by losing their openers to Florida State in the Caesars Superdome two years ago and in Orlando last season. If this team can break through with a victory in the opener, it could set the stage for a breakthrough season.
The Tigers host Vanderbilt and avoid Georgia, Texas, Missouri and Tennessee, get Ole Miss and Alabama at home.
