Despite people being concerned with LSU football's close win over unranked South Carolina, it still ended in a victory that gets the team to 2-1 on the season so far. The one loss was against USC as Tigers head coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media about the game where he didn't hold back defending the team.

While a win is a win, there were some dreadful moments for the LSU football team as they almost had a near upset to the Gamecocks. However, Kelly would say that “it's hard to win on the road,” especially when facing a SEC team that has played well this season even though they are unranked according On3 Sports.

“We beat South Carolina on the road in a sold-out stadium in the SEC against a team that beat the pants off of Kentucky who played Georgia right to the end,” Kelly said. “So, if we want to do that game, I guess we’re going to beat Georgia by a lot if that’s how you guys want to play this thing.”

“The reality is, it’s hard to win on the road,” Kelly continued. “Given the fact that we made a lot of mistakes, we still found a way to win that football game.”

LSU football's Brian Kelly doubles down on effort from his team

Louisiana State University Head Coach Brian Kelly calls a timeout playing South Carolina during the fourth quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Saturday, September 14, 2024.
© Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There is definitely some validity to Kelly's points about the win though the program comes with high expectations since it has been through tons of success throughout the years. Still, Kelly had a ton of positives about the team after the win over South Carolina.

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“That’s incredible resolve and resilience amongst your group,” Kelly said. “To keep your group, your young guys, together — we had a lot of freshmen out there. We had a lot of young guys playing and they kept playing, they kept believing. I can build off that. Do we want to play cleaner? Yes. But at the end of the day, that was a good South Carolina football team, a good defense.”

“So proud of the grit and perseverance of our football team down 17-0 on the road in the SEC against a veteran team, especially on defense,” Kelly continued.

The success of the LSU football team will seemingly be on the back of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier who Kelly called special as he threw for 285 yards to go with two touchdown passes and one interception. They look to win two straight as they return home and next face the UCLA Bruins this Saturday afternoon.