LSU’s Brian Kelly sent ‘season-defining’ warning on Vanderbilt, TAMU, Alabama that overlooks South Carolina

LSU’s Brian Kelly sent ‘season-defining’ warning on Vanderbilt, TAMU, Alabama that overlooks South Carolina originally appeared on The Sporting News

LSU Tigers football coach Brian Kelly is already behind the 8-ball in his race to the postseason. Based on recent trends in the sport, like the Oklahoma State Cowboys firing Mike Gundy after he gave up money in his contract to spend on NIL, Kelly’s employment in Baton Rouge is on notice. LSU didn’t spend $18 million on its roster not to make noise in the SEC.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich believes the Tigers don’t have a strong enough resume to make the College Football Playoff if the season ended today. LSU owns wins over preseason darlings that have disappointed mightily, the Clemson Tigers and Florida Gators, in addition to a win over the Group of 5 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and FCS SLU Lions. The Tigers lost their last game to the Ole Miss Rebels, 24-19.

Dinich also predicted a season-defining stretch for LSU over the next month, with a curious omission.

“LSU is entering a season-defining stretch, with three of the next four games against ranked opponents. The Oct. 18 trip to Vandy won't be easy, but Bama just wrote the blueprint to beat the Commodores. LSU gets Texas A&M at home,” Dinich wrote.

LSU cannot overlook South Carolina in Week 7

It will be a major mistake if Kelly doesn’t focus on getting his team up for the South Carolina Gamecocks this Saturday. Sure, the Gamecocks’ weaknesses play into the Tigers’ game plan, but when there’s a transformational quarterback like LaNorris Sellers coming to town, LSU cannot be reactive.

Kelly and Blake Baker need to make sure coverage is tight and spy on Sellers, forcing him to make plays in the passing game. Sellers does plenty of damage in broken plays. Being overly aggressive in rushing five or more is not a wise move against Mike Shula’s offense.

Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Alabama make for a tough stretch. But overlooking South Carolina makes it a potentially fatal one for Kelly’s coaching career at Louisiana State University.