Brian Kelly isn’t ready to write Clemson off after the Tigers’ loss to LSU, but he does think something looked off in a way that went beyond the roster.
Speaking on Early Read with Danny Kanell and Roy Philpott, via On3, the former LSU head coach said Clemson no longer resembles the teams he has seen in earlier matchups under Dabo Swinney. Kelly has faced Clemson six times, including the national championship team and the Tigers in 2018, 2020 and 2025.
“Well, I’ve played them [six] times,” Kelly said. “Obviously the national championship team, played them ‘18, ‘20…‘25.
They’re not the same football team and nobody is, right? Everybody transitions, everybody moves.
They’ve moved on some great players, but they’re certainly not at the talent level that some of the teams that I have seen. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t win college football games.”
Kelly’s history against Clemson is deep enough to make his view worth hearing. Notre Dame lost a rain-soaked 24-22 game in Death Valley in 2015, then got flattened by Clemson 30-3 in the 2018 College Football Playoff. The Irish hosted Clemson in the 2020 regular season, but the Tigers answered with a 34-10 win in the ACC Championship Game.
This time, Kelly said the issue in LSU’s 17-10 win at Death Valley last season was not just about who was on the field. He argued the coaching and scheme needed a harder look.
“And in this instance, I think it’s important that on both sides of the ball, the offense and defense, you evaluate your coaching.
“Taking a step back, I see how important football is. In other words, let me drill down on this.
The Xs and the Os and the scheme and utilizing your players the right way. How do you play with tempo and without tempo?
All those things matter. And it looked like LSU had, and I hate to say this, but it looked like they had a schematic advantage over Clemson.
And that shouldn’t be. That shouldn’t be.
So we’ll chalk it up to not having a great game and then Clemson plays much better moving forward.”
Kelly also addressed Swinney’s tense exchange this week with The State reporter Chapel Fowler, whose question focused on Clemson’s roster construction. Kelly said he didn’t like how either side handled it.
“I didn’t like the question because I thought it was shortsighted and emotional from a fan base that was let down and disappointed. I think he needs a deeper season to figure that out.
And then I was disappointed that Dabo didn’t walk into that press conference going, ‘I need to take every one of these on the chin.’ So that’s my take,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s bigger point was clear: Clemson still has enough to win, but it has to put its current talent in better positions, especially on the schematic side.
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