Year one of the Brian Kelly era in Baton Rouge went better than most people expected. LSU football ended up beating Alabama football and winning the SEC West division to go to the SEC championship game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they came up short losing to the eventual national champion Georgia football team. Now, year two of the Brian Kelly era is about to begin, and #5 LSU starts off the season with a massive matchup against #8 Florida State football. One issue for the Tigers, however, is that star DL Maason Smith will not be able to play due to a one game suspension.

Maason Smith received the one game suspension due to an autograph signing event back in 2021, and now he won't be able to play for LSU football on September 3rd against Florida State. Brian Kelly knows how important Smith is, and he explored all options to try and make him available for the huge matchup.

“We looked at all the options out there, certainly, and wanted to make sure that we examined everything that was possible,” Brian Kelly said according to an article from Yahoo Sports. “We looked at everything. We looked at a Week 0 game to bring in another opponent prior to Florida State. We looked at every imaginable option, but time ran out.”

If LSU was able to add another game to their schedule before Florida State, Smith would be able to serve his suspension during that game and he would be available for the game against the Seminoles. Unfortunately, the Tigers will have to take the field without Smith. Still, it's going to be a very exciting game for LSU.