LSU head coach Brian Kelly couldn’t contain his frustration after the No. 13 LSU Tigers lost 27-20 to No. 23 USC in their season opener on Sunday night. Despite blowing a four-point lead with less than six minutes remaining, LSU couldn’t secure the win, prompting Kelly to vent his anger during the postgame press conference.

“We let some guys play their asses off tonight, and here we are again talking about the same stuff!” Kelly told ESPN, banging his fist on the table in frustration. He emphasized the team’s failure to finish strong, adding, “I’m so angry about it that I have to do something about it. I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach.”

Kelly specifically criticized his team’s lack of “killer instinct,” noting that this was the first time during his tenure at LSU that he had been “mad” at his team. He expressed disappointment in their inability to put USC away when they had the chance. “Unfortunately, it’s clear that we don’t know how to handle ourselves when we’re up in a game,” Kelly said. “We get complacent, we make more mistakes when we’re up instead of having a… better focus and a killer instinct of steel.”

The Tigers’ offensive efforts were undermined by 10 penalties totaling 99 yards, several of which came at crucial times. During USC’s game-winning drive, a targeting penalty on LSU put the Trojans in the red zone, leading to their go-ahead touchdown with just eight seconds remaining.

Despite outgaining USC with 421 yards of offense and controlling time of possession, LSU’s ground game struggled, managing just 117 rushing yards. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, but LSU’s offense faltered in the final quarter, resulting in two punts, a field goal and a game-sealing interception.

Kelly concluded by saying, “If we’re going to be the kind of football team I want, we’ve got to eliminate the stupid mistakes.”