LSU Football Preview 2025: Brian Kelly Has Been Better Than You Think - Sort Of

Originally posted on College Football News
By Pete Fiutak | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 10:55 PM ET

It’s so easy to dunk on Brian Kelly.

Touchdown Jesus knows, Notre Dame fans love to spend their idle time doing just that, as they meme away about how their program is rocking and rolling under Marcus Freeman, while LSU played for the Texas Bowl.

Kelly provides plenty of material with a screamy rant here, a punched table there, and a few goofy-fun things to lighten the mood.

Such is the life of being a high-profile head coach at a school that demands national titles, or at least College Football Playoff appearances. But Kelly has been better so far than he gets credit for ... sort of.

LSU Tigers College Football Preview 2025

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LSU Offense Breakdown
LSU Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

LSU has yet to win an SEC Championship, and it hasn't been all that close to winning a national title. It got to the 2022 title game and lost to Georgia 50-30, right after losing to a Texas A&M team that finished with a losing record.

Kelly is 0-3 now at LSU in season openers, last year’s team collapsed just when it was time to kick it in, the defenses haven’t been great, and …

Nick Saban went 28-12 in his first three seasons at LSU. Brian Kelly is 29-11.

In three seasons, Kelly has half as many double-digit win runs at LSU as Kentucky has enjoyed in 109 years of college football, half as many as South Carolina has put up in 117 seasons, one fewer than Mississippi State has logged in 120 years, two more than the none from Vanderbilt in its football history, as many as Auburn has scored since the 2010 national title campaign, and …

Texas A&M has as many double-digit win seasons since leaving the Southwest Conference as Brian Kelly has cranked out in the last three years.

There’s a LOT to criticize Brian Kelly about - I can not believe how much I defend him - but the dude is the winningest head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, and last year was the first in eight seasons that he didn’t win double-digit games - he won nine.

At just about any other school, considering the crash at the end of the Ed Orgeron era, there would be statues created for a coach who won 39 games with three bowl victories - and a Heisman winner - in his first three years. But this is LSU.

The school’s last three head coaches all won national titles. Orgeron did it in his fourth full season. Les Miles won it all in Year Three, but Saban did it in his fourth year.

This is Brian Kelly’s fourth season in Baton Rouge. It’s National Championship Winning time.

(Or, by any reasonable standard, at least get to the College Football Playoff.)

LSU Offense Breakdown
LSU Defense Breakdown
Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season

This article first appeared on College Football News and was syndicated with permission.

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