After predicting that LSU football would go into Tallahassee and topple No. 8 Florida State, head coach Brian Kelly had to eat his words when his No. 5 Tigers were trounced, 45-24, Sunday night. Perhaps even more painfully, though, he was forced to come to grips with the harsh reality that his team might not be at the level he expected going into the season.

“This is a total failure from a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint that we have to obviously address and we have to own,” Kelly said, per ESPN's Andrea Adelson, after LSU was utterly decimated in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers, who were looking to avenge last season's heartbreaking defeat vs. the Noles, came out of the gate hot. Quarterback Jayden Daniels linked up with Tre Bradford for a 55-yard reception that immediately put them in enemy territory. A few plays later, and the team was on the 1-yard line with a fresh set of downs. LSU was denied entry into the end zone each time, including on fourth down.

LSU overcame the brutal failure and another ill-fated and costly fourth-down play early in the second quarter to secure a 17-14 lead at halftime. Those missed opportunities would come to roost, though. Florida State QB Jordan Travis put on quite the show for the home crowd in the game's final 30 minutes, throwing three touchdowns to leave the visiting Tigers completely stunned. Kelly did not mince words when addressing his team's drastic decline.

“The buck stops with me, and I've got to get our football team to understand and recognize that you've got to play this game for four quarters with a mentality,” Kelly said. “We just did not, for some reason. We thought we were somebody else. We thought we were the two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs or something. I don't know what we thought, but we were mistaken.”

The Georgia comments have to sting. Brian Kelly did also say that he believes LSU football will learn from this rude awakening and come back stronger for it. But they clearly have a long way to go before they can be placed in the same conversation as the Dawgs or any true national championship contender.