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As fans lock in their predictions for LSU football's opener against the USC Trojans, there is another aspect to the game that takes it back to three years ago when each of the respective head coaches made huge changes. Both Tigers head coach Brian Kelly and USC's Lincoln Riley both surprisingly left their previous programs of Notre Dame and Oklahoma respectively and took on new opportunities, a moment in college football history that both can relate to.
Those announcements that were soon after another back in November of 2021 no doubt shocked the college football world at the time as three years later, they get to face off against one another. One would think that both Kelly and Riley haven't had the time with one another to reflect on the big decisions as the Tigers coach believes they would share a humorous moment according to ESPN.
“We get like 20 seconds to talk to each other as we're passing through hallways,” Kelly said. “But certainly if we did have a chance, it would probably be the first thing that we would talk about, and laugh about it now. We wouldn't have laughed about it then.”
Funny enough, Riley would echo the same sentiments about how a conversation about everything would go which results in a “good laugh.”
“I saw him at the [NFL] draft; we caught up for just a second,” Riley said. “At some point, though, we will have a good laugh about it.”
LSU football head coach Brian Kelly relating to Lincoln Riley
Kelly who has huge goals for the LSU football team this season admits that during the days of deciding to leave the Fighting Irish and join his current spot, it was a stressful time as it no doubt also was for Riley who left a successful situation with the Sooners. In fact, both Notre Dame and Oklahoma had two of the top six winningest teams per ESPN.
“It was pretty tense and difficult, timing-wise, for both of us,” he said. “It's one of those situations where we'll both probably have a different perspective on it, but one that each one of us would appreciate.”
While the two head coaches do share a ton of similarities in terms of the situations they left, developing professional players, and more, there was a difference in the teams they ended up going to. The Trojans had been disappointing for several years beforehand while the Tigers were a couple seasons removed from a national championship under Ed Orgeron.
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“SC won four games before we got there, [Kelly] didn't quite take that over,” Riley said. “I'm sure they had some work to do and I'm not an expert in what he was taking over, but that one was a little more established and down the line than what we grabbed onto.”
“We are playing catch-up,” Riley continued. “We're playing catch-up in facilities, we're playing catch-up in NIL, we've been playing catch-up in resources within the program, we've been playing catch-up in damn near every way you can think of. But when we catch up, and we are going to catch up, that's when the things that this place has that others don't [will] show up again. It's coming.”
Brian Kelly looks ahead to crucial LSU football game against the Trojans
It all leads to the eventual matchup between the two teams Sunday night where whoever wins could be the start of their college football playoff and national championship pursuit. Kelly sees a lot of dominoes falling because of the game as the Tigers look to start the season hot against the Trojans.
“It gives you a good indication of where your strengths and weaknesses are, when you play a team like this coming out of the gates,” Kelly said. “So there is a lot that will be uncovered. You just would rather not be behind, coming out of the first game, where you put yourself in a very difficult spot.”
“Clearly, momentum is a big thing in the opener.”
At any rate, the LSU football team is ranked No. 13 as they are favorited by six points to take down the ranked No. 23 USC football team Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (EST).
