LSU football's defensive struggles continued in their Week 3 shootout match with South Carolina. Head coach Brian Kelly's defense surrendered 398 total yards in the Tigers' 36-33 victory, making it their third consecutive game giving up 20 or more points. They host UCLA in Week 4, and Kelly promises to put the struggles to bed.

While he didn't shed much light on his defensive vision, he made it known that it's a clear priority in the upcoming game plan.

“We’re going to look at everything, and we’re still in that process of evaluating everything,” Kelly said on Thursday, per Thomas Goldkamp of On3 Sports. “In terms of what we’re coaching, how we’re coaching it, what players need to be on the field in certain situations, what does our offense look like in certain situations.

“All of that needs to be looked at carefully.”

LSU is ranked No. 16 in the country with their grind-it-out win over South Carolina, where they could've easily faltered against the lesser SEC contender. Mistakes were made from both sides of the football for the Tigers, but it evidently hasn't rattled Kelly. In fact, it appears that the confidence in his team has ballooned.

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What does head coach Brian Kelly plan to fix for LSU football in Week 4?

The Tigers defense is 91st in the country, allowing 380 yards per game and 6.3 yards per play. While the NCAA wasn't kind with the schedule they bestowed upon LSU to kick off the season, it's still alarming to watch the Tigers give up this level of positive volume to their opponents.

As Kelly and his coaching staff continue crafting their defensive game plan for the week, and likely moving forward, perhaps he should relentlessly mention to his team that they've given up at least 150 rushing yards in their previous two affairs. If they let that happen against UCLA in Week 4, who's averaging 83.5 yards per game on the ground, then they will find themselves smack dab in the middle of another stressful situation.

LSU's bright spots offensively cannot continue to carry the workload if this team is going to have any chance in the College Football Playoff this year. Despite heroic play from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier through three games, there's not always going to be a bail-out options once LSU begins squaring off against their daunting SEC schedule to round out the regular season.

The defense will be the primary thing to watch when the Tigers face the Bruins on Saturday.