LSU Football: It's NOW OR NEVER For Brian Kelly In Year Three

[Music] College foot is officially back in session week zero is complete week one is Among Us and capitalizing off of week one to conclude the end of what was should be a very intriguing week one USC and LSU now we've already previewed the Tigers and the Trojans but there's so many more sto story lines to get to you're talking about two head coaches that are primed for needing a big week one win to secure their place as some of the top coaches in college football more than just preseason height more than they're just overrated hello everyone I'm Lucas Hill here of SEC unfilter make sure you check us out on YouTube make sure you subscribe hit the Bell notifications for every time we post a new video also check us out on every social media Instagram Facebook X and Tik Tok SEC unfiltered and joining me now to talk about this big matchup and much more from the Trojans and the Tigers is the host of locked on USC it's Mark culing Mark glad to hear the flight to Vegas was a good one man how are you feeling feeling great I haven't lost any money yet so it's always good can't wait cannot wait for this game as far as I'm concerned you know I've been around um this game's been in the making for 20 years when USC and LSU split that National Championship back in 2003 2004 so while this doesn't settle everything it sure does a sure is a nice way to open the season how's that right and I heard earlier whenever you were on with Matt moscona earlier I think on Monday and you guys mentioned about the level and significance of that game specifically are there still hard feelings when it comes to that knowing that who need who really deserv the national title back in ' 03 I don't think there's any hard feelings it was just you know the system kind of cheated both programs I guess that's the best way to do it you know you look back at that season and USC lost one game and triple overtime on the road um and when they finished off Michigan in the Rose Bowl it's just it's hard to say you know what that's not one of the best teams in the country if not the best team and it's just a shame that USC and LSU didn't get to play that game uh they played two times in their past USC came into Baton Rouge back in 1979 left with a victory they W on to the National Championship that year uh five years later 1984 LSU returned out to LA they they kicked Us's butt 24 to3 so um yeah this I guess we can call this The Grudge Match the best of three 40 years in the making right but like you mentioned mark this is a matchup that's it's basically 20 years in the making go ahead I was just gonna say yeah I don't think there's any hard feelings I think just you have two rabid fan bases that are that have really probably been looking forward of this game ever since they saw him the schedule ever since it appeared yeah and so let's just go ahead and just dive into them when the first thing you look at when you look at both of these teams you're talking about first year defensive coordinator you guys obviously with Dean Lynn and Eric Henderson uh Henderson's coming from the Rams who was the former defensive line coach and Deans Linds coming in from UCLA LSU on the other hand with Blake Baker coming in from Missouri who's kind of already made a name for himself in the improvements that they had at Missouri so talk I know I'm a southern guy and this might be just my me my bias but talk to me about these two defensive coordinators that are coming in from USC and Lyon Henderson and what they to the table and what you've seen so far from the fall and from Spring seeing how the defense has been ever since the disaster that Alex Grinch brought last year yeah as far as I can comment um with with Baker um is he's bringing over the the the system that he had at Missouri and it was working really well now the difference between Dent Lynn is not only is he bringing his system to USC but he's also bringing in some more talent that USC lost into the draft Ellis you lost some talent to the draft as well USC hit the portal hard to try and supplement what they needed specifically more size uh and more help on the defensive line and at the linebacker positions it was just fortunate that he also was able to bring in some defensive uh some secondary help as well two safeties one from UCL Kamari Ramsey another All Conference player achil Arnold from Oregon State and then you have a couple of quarterbacks he brought along as well one from UCLA John Humphrey another one from Mississippi State you might be familiar with uh D Carlos Nicholson so I think the biggest difference is both programs are putting in new systems however one program is using the parts that were still behind for the most part LSU and dant Lynn is saying all right I'm going to take all my new pieces and I'm going to make my system work this way so it's going to be a nice chess match to see which program has made the biggest jump as far as Improvement goes and coming out I think it's going to take it's going to take a while too just for both defenses to get settled and I think it will take up until maybe close to the end of the second going into the second half as well to get both defenses adjusted to their respective new alignments from what previous years have shown as well absolutely for USC fans they just want to see a defense on the field that that looks like they know what they're doing uh there was point it got to the point last year where you literally can the opposition knew that at at a certain point in the snap count Alex Grinch is gonna have his defensive front shift and once that shift happened you knew the the the the play was going the opposite direction every single time USC fans just want to see a competent defense on the field that they know what they're doing they know how to tackle because they have the talent that's that's never been the issue at USC these last couple of years it's been more about scheme and the culture hopefully Lincoln Riley is ready to say you know what I am not just going to be an offensive-minded coach I'm going to back up my words that I said at the end of the season everything going forward is going to be with the defense in mind first making sure this team is a championship caler program so we're going to find out so will Campbell was quoted earlier in the week saying that this is going to be a fist fight and that gets a lot of people Juiced up they're gonna you know USC is going to use that for pregame height videos you know that LSU is going to use that and try to use that as words I don't see it really as fighting words to me to be honest with you I just see it as the truth it's going to be a fist fight and you look at the matchup that you're expecting you got two first round offensive tackles in Emory Jones and Will Campbell on the outside going up against at what should be an improving USC front four led by be Alexander so talk to me about that chess match up front yeah you know I I love the way will Campbell talk you know he's an upper classman he's been through the wars before this isn't his first rodeo and he he said it plainly we're going there for business we're going there to get in a fight and that's that's the ultimate sign of respect for your opponent yeah I mean it comes off as hey you know we're going for a fist wi we're going to kick some but I like that kind of talk you need that type of juice behind you and if it you know if it helps motivate the opposition great you you can only you know run on emotion for so long eventually you gotta play the game right so yeah LSU has a Hu in my opinion they have the advantage on the offensive line you talked about your two bookends you're big across the board USC their goal if they can get pressure on Garrett nus me I think that can help you know stem the tide a little bit number one USC has to stop the run and that's going to be the first thing I think LLC is going to do Will Campbell even talked about that we're going to run the ball if USC can't stop the run it doesn't matter they're not going to have they're not going to be able to get pressure on Garrett because they're not going to throw the ball unless it's absolutely necessary so that's the chess match can damp MN can Eric Henderson and sha newa get that front four can coach Matt ANS who's taking over at the linebackers can he make a can those guys make enough of an impact can the scheme out scheme what LSU plans to do with Brian Kelly's offense and your new offensive coordinator Joe Sloan right and it that's one's goingon to be some pretty big shoes to fill as well when you're talking about a guy that has to replace a guy like Mike Den Brock who was a Royals award finalist last year and now you're bringing in a guy who I mean you you're I think this is one of I think this is only his officially fourth year as an offensive coordinator because he spent three years at Louisiana Tech as an OC then comes to LSU as a quarterback's coach but I think he's ready he's been in this position before he's had to replace top tier Talent he's had to step into roles that he really would comfortable with the guy's 37 years old I mean he been around the game since he was at East Carolina in 2005 and taking over from a quarterback's coach to an OC brings new responsibilities but at the same time you're B basically just becoming a play it's just being calling the play no how to read a defense you know how to adjust at the line responsility but there honestly this is nothing new for him you know this is gonna be fun this should be a fun game for Joe Sloan to call what I'm looking forward to is how how Joe calls a game without your leading rusher back there also being your leading passer and I think that actually benefits USC not a lot but a little bit where they don't have to focus on a quarterback that you what the play does break down or it's a design play for the quarterback back to run I don't think that's Garrett nus me's game he's more stay in the pocket he's going to use his arm he's going to find his receivers that that might help USC so again I'm interested to see how they come out on offense without Jaden Daniels because that was a I think we're being honest that was a major chunk a major a big production part of llc's offense last year not only are you losing those guys on the outside in Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas with which was a chunk of production but now you're you're also removing your leading rusher so can USC stop the run between the tackles I know you got a big bruising running back back there you're GNA try and go with um and can UFC play with the tight ends the game's gonna be one on the trenches I have no doubt about that I think it's going to be a red zone game whichever defense can force the other team into field goals as opposed to allowing touchdowns that's going to be the difference in this game and you talked about that young running back and overall on both sides it's so crazy how both of these teams are so similar in style too you got brand new coordinators you got brand new quarterbacks you got a brand new offensive system you got two young defensive coordinators that are coming in unproven yet a lot of questions are on the defensive side of the ball and it it it's it's it's primed to be basically a Showcase of who's improved since last year and who's taken a step back which brings me to my next question for you mark we've known about Lincoln Riley and the talent that he's had ever since he started his head coaching reign in Oklahoma in 2017 and he's had a lot of Talent with him he's had guys he's had Heisman winners like Spence like uh Baker Mayfield like Kyler Murray like Spencer Rattler like Caleb Williams I mean you're talking about some of the best quarterbacks that are on their way to the NFL right now and now you have a Young unproven quarterback in Miller Moss that looked really good in the Holiday Bowl against Louisville but of course Louisville's defense was mixed we don't same goes for Garrett nus he did well against Wisconsin but how does he Faire in a real competition against an improving defense as well so and then when you look at Brian Kelly you see the expectations that have been for LSU since to and since basically the 2010s you're expected to compete for a national title year in and year out and I've continually expressed this when in my other videos in year three or four is usually the big year for most of LSU's coaches since Nick Sabin was here won a national title by year three of Nick Sabin Les Miles won a national title by year three then Ed oron comes in wins a national title by year three Brian Kelly said Judge Me by year three so let me ask you a question now that I've given you the rundown who should be under more pressure should it be Brian Kelly or should it be Lincoln Riley I think they're they're both under pressure but for different reasons for the reasons you laid out with Brian Kelly If You're Gonna Take on the the the job you knew the job was dangerous when you took it of coaching in the SEC especially at a premier program like LSU you have to produce you don't get that there is no more fiveyear window I mean that's been gone for a long time in year three at LSU you have to be at a championship level same thing at at USC the difference with between Brian Kelly right now and and and Lincoln Riley is Brian Kelly said look year three we're going to be competing for National Championship Lincoln Riley kind of set the bar that we're always striving to play for a championship but we've got a a bigger Hill decline he took over a roster that was not your typical USC roster and all of a sudden year one here comes USC out of the box 11 and three Heist and trophy they are literally a pulled hamstring away from going to their first playoff appearance and then they follow that up year two with Lincoln Riley going eight and5 because he kept the same porous defense with the same defensive coordinator and everyone had told him you got to make this change if you want to get over the hump you cannot be known as a guy hey I don't care who my quarterback is we're going to score points doesn't matter if you can't stop anybody USC lost at home scoring 40 plus points giving up 52 to Washington USC barely won on the road at Cal 50 to 49 I mean you can't win those games eventually they catch up to you they kick in the butt and that's what happened to La that's what happened to USC last year so Lincoln Riley has to prove that he's put on his big boy pants he's ready to become a complete coach and allow the defense to be a big part of how the program moves forward so if as long as he you know watches the offense and he lets dantan take care of the defense you know there there's hope USC fans are saying all right we see there's a there's a good formula out there right now he's backing up his words he went out and got one of the best defensive coordinators out there no Dan Lyn comes from the Baltimore uh the Baltimore Ravens tree his father head coach Anthony Lynn he went and he convinced a National Championship uh coach at North Dakota State Matt ens he said coach do me a favor I want you to take your two national championships bring him to LA with me uh and come with me and I want you to be my assistant defensive coordinator in charge of the linebackers and then he said we're going to do one more thing we're going to go get Eric Henderson from the LA Ram who you know has been developing guys like Aaron Donald um Kobe Turner the guy from Wake Force who I believe was the Rookie of the Year Defensive Rookie defensive player of the year I believe um he outbid Georgia for Doug Belk as their new secondary coach so there's a there's a commitment there's been a commitment to defense and that's the first step for Lincoln Riley he admitted he had the problem he ditched the problem he's a good friend of his and I understand why he held on to him but now it's the ne it's the next chapter in Lincoln Riley's life and as long as USC looks like they're improving on defense as long as Lincoln Riley has a quarterback heat trust everything's gonna be fine on the offensive side of the ball Mark Cen of locked on USC joining us here on SEC unfiltered want to give a shout out to our good friends one of our newest sponsors of SEC unfiltered it's the game time app download the game time app for your Android or Apple device and use code s ECU to get $20 off of your first purchase I'm looking at some of the tickets right now on the game time app guess what game time is your number one source for last minute tickets for the cheapest price looking at some of them the cheapest ones so far get yourself a $100 to get a ticket out to Vegas so honestly in total including the flight depending on when you go or if you decide to drive could be about $200 or $300 but why not take some of that off get yourself $20 off your first purchase shout out to game time for sponsoring us here at SEC unfilter let me ask you Mark and this might be a pretty interesting question does Lincoln Riley seek get hot if you have another season like you had last year without a doubt without a doubt and as I just mentioned he has to show that he's willing to subjugate the offense sometime in other words he has to put that ego aside and say you know I know I can score points but what's in my team's best interest you know let's use the the pieces I have with me instead of trying to make make the pieces work for me and that I I think that's a a really good sign of a of a good head coach I don't think I do think Brian Kelly I I don't think you SE Burns but very well expect expect ation are going to be extremely extremely high if or I say I say high they will be very low especially going into next year when you lose a lot more Talent when you lose Will Campbell and emry Jones and kyen Lacy and Garrett nus me for next year so now you're gonna have to build on a for 25 now you got all those recruits that's coming in and you look at that recruiting class it's really deep now you're going to have to lean on those young guys but all likelihood I do think Brian Kelly could eventually get on the hot seat if next not this year but next year also leads to miss expectations as well want to get your thoughts on that as well well the thing that really jumps out it to me is LSU has always been known for their defensive backs always pumping him out putting him into the NFL and same thing at the wide receiver position what strikes me is interesting is last year year LSU's secondary wasn't very good neither was USC's but LSUS is actually worse and that's that's hard to do because USC was really bad on defense but I didn't see maybe you can you know educate me here has there been an infusion of talent in the secondary since last year because I I think that if that's LSU's weakness and USC's strength on offense are they young big talented wide receivers and that doesn't even include the Zachariah Branch how does this chess match play out again you brought in the new defensive coordinator but does he have the the pieces necessary to go against USC strength which might be LSU's weakness yeah and and I'm I'm all behind you there's Talent no question about it but Talent does stars with will eventually get you beat you know this and we both know this you know you can have probably the most talented guys in the world we've had guys that come through we had jier Brown who came in from Ohio state has he he did fairly well during spring he still got a lot to learn Z Alexander who was an All-American at my school Southeastern comes in LSU does okay near the end of the year gets hurt he's still rehabbing from his injury so I think the biggest thing is that LSU has to stay healthy too in the secondary because there's a lot of talent in that secondary and some of them could be even better than what we saw during the first part of Brian Kelly's tenure but it's all about how they really just improve from last year to this year because the biggest Mantra that I've heard they can't be worse than what we saw last year secondary there's a lot a lot of questions but you bring in another DBS coach that was there for a while he was there during the DBU era Corey Raymond who's a legendary recruiter knows the state of Louisiana he's brought in guys he's bought in to the DBU Mantra that's a guy that you want as your as your secondaries coach and a guy that you love to bring back to Baton Rouge who knows how to bring back that Swagger that LSU lost since the end of maybe even since after the 2019 season you saw a decline in really talent that has come through other than Derek Stingley who if you think about it really played one good season and then kind of disappeared afterwards and now he's tearing it up in the NFL right look I I I I'm eating from the same bowl of mtra that you've been eating from uh again for me it's it's going to be chest match it to see which team can can say all right you know what we're better than we were last year that's what it's going to come down to new scheme um new players both sides of the ball for both teams who's going to be able to impose their will that's what it's going to come down to couple more questions before we let you go Mark I know you got a busy day ahead of you especially for this weekend coming up um first of all what other than the chess match that's going to be up front what is one thing that you're really looking forward to see from Miller moss and how he has progressed throughout the off season since you've gotten a chance to look at him yeah I just want to see um how much more into um I guess being on his own I know that he's going to run the play that Coach Riley calls but when things break down you know how has Miller taking that game to that next level in the in in his first start last year against Louisville in the bowl game he had some guys you know breathing right down his throat before he was getting rid of the ball but he was throwing lasers throwing dimes was that a one game thing or is he G to be able to take that next step and do it against a team like LSU who has you know as we've been talking about they recruit very well so they're going to have probably bigger stronger faster players not that much better than Louisville who last year was considered a top 30 defense can LSU get into Miller Moss's face can they put pressure on him can they disrupt his timing with his wide receivers if they do that LC is gonna have a really good day if they can't Miller Moss is going to he's gonna eat I I can't I'm not trying to despair jealous you that's not my intent but I know the receiving core that he has to work with he's been practic practicing with those guys all last year during practice when they were freshman and he was the backup so there's they already had that chemistry they already had that familiarity and it showed up in the bowl game now they've had the all all of the off season another spring camp and now all the fall camp this is a this is a very talented wide receiver group you have 6 foot6 Duce Robinson and it's not just big he runs like a deer you have 6'4 jacobe Lane who has bounce I mean basketball bounce he's got a 48 in vertical he's got a 7in wingspan he's an athletic freak you probably know about Zachariah Branch he's a human joystick I know Brian Kelly is concerned about him specifically on special teams because he's a threat to return it on kickoff or punt return and then you have a fourth wide receiver in those in that in those four sophomores his name is McKai lemon and if you know who Aman Ross St Brown is place for the Detroit Lions one of the top wide receivers in the league Makai lemon is Alan raw 2.0 and he's actually bigger than Aman raw wow okay and USC has more dep behind that so those are their four sophomores that's their core again if LSU gets pressure on Miller moth you you negate all that USC has to stop LSU's Run game and USC has to be able to establish the run as well to keep LSU's defense Honest Harold Perkins that's the guy that concerns me the most keep an eye on him the thing about Harold Perkins is that I mean you put him anywhere on the field and he can be lightning in a bottle and you saw it he has game breaking ability he has the opportunity to do so much and when you put him at will linebacker aside from Greg Penn that's probably one of your deepest position groups that you have on the defensive side of the ball because secondary wise you have talent but you're not deep you don't have that experience Factor defensive line wise you have talent again don't have the experience second linebacker wise I'm more confident in them than I have than I do almost anywhere else on the defensive side of the football so when you can plug in Harold on third down play third down blitzes you see him creeping up I can guarantee you at the snap of the football he's shooting a gap quick I don't think that offense that Center is going to be able to get back into his stance enough and I don't think that running back is going to be able to block a guy like Harold Perkins so with that that brings me to my last question I have LSU on upset alert this one I do think that it's going to be a big big offensive game the over under is about 62 or 63 and a half I do think it may go under but at the same time we don't know what the defenses are going to show we don't know how they're going to perform until we get into the second half of the ball game so I do think that it could be an under game I don't think it's going to be 5249 but I do think it's going to be more less in around the 30 range so I know I do think LSU should be on upset alert for this weekend and I do think that USC could potentially pull off the upset LSU hasn't won an opening Game Day game since 2019 that's when they last won the national title so I wanted to get your pick Mark for this game and see what the defining Factor will be in this game as well yeah look we we've talking about it two new defenses there's going to be mistakes in the game there's always mistakes in game one in the season so you know hopefully there's not a lot of bad beats where guys are you know G where the teams are giving up big plays um I mentioned earlier in the show I think this is going to be a red zone game the defense that can kind of bow up so to speak in that red zone and force field goals instead of allowing touchdowns is going to have the advantage um I this is this is the type of line that I don't like to bet you know it went from LSU minus 6 and a half it's now Down to What minus 4 and a half we'll see where it is at kickoff that's a that's a line that says get away do not bet me so yeah I would be with you I'd be looking at the over under based on you know you have two offenses that that have the ability to be explosive uh I can see this going over but at the same time you know everybody's dealing with that new helmet uh communication device is that going to slow the process down a little bit are the will there be fewer offensive Series in this game you kind of saw that a little bit last week with Florida state Georgia Tech I'm interested to see how that works with USC this year um Lincoln Riley with Miller Moss I would think it would be advantageous because they speak the same language um Lincoln Riley being a quarterback Guru Mill Moss being an assistant for you know for four years now um but again I I don't know I have to see how that plays out yeah I I think both teams are you're saying upset alert USC isn't the favorite so I can't say they on upset alert Um this can go one of two ways USC can either get steamrolled LSU just owns the owns the offensive line does what they want or UFC can do enough on defense and their offense does enough and they come out on top I'll say 37 to 33 how's that I like it I could say that honestly just it could go could it's going to be close going into the fourth quar you know like you mentioned already we don't know what defense is what the defense is going to do it's game one we're going to struggle so I mean either or it could go either way 3733 for either or and let me let me say ask you this as well could this potentially be a game for both teams if they win could they potentially clinch theirself for a potential cfp birth as well it's a hell of a start I mean I know when USC leaves Las Vegas they're going to go home and play Utah state so they get a they get a bit of a break then they're gonna have a bye and then they travel to Ann Arbor Michigan to take on the reigning national champions we're gonna know who USC is by the end of week three um if they can come out of these first three games one and one um or two- one re and 0 absolutely USC is going to be riding a wave of confidence like they no one's seen probably since the peak Carol era I know they got a little bit of a taste in 2022 when Lincoln riy took over but you can always feel like when's the damn gonna break it's GNA burst because this defense is just they're creating turnovers but if they're not creating turnovers they're not stopping anybody and that all Came Crashing Down last year so yeah it obviously you you talk about LSU haven't win any an opening game for forever uh USC this is a meaningful game if they can come out of the gate beat LSU they can say you know what we did what we needed to do in the off season we made those changes and it's GNA open eyes so yeah it's it's huge but you got the 12 team playoff system now I don't think you're out of it in week one I know Florida State fans are pretty depressed right now for good reason um still I don't think when you play in the big conference or in the SEC one loss out of conference to a to a team that had the initials USC or LSU kicks you out so to speak I mean you've got plenty of games left on your schedule to get back to where you need to be I'm of the opinion if you have a tenantry record coming out of those two conferences you're going to be in the 12 team playoff field and that's the strength of college football in the power five system is the SEC and the Big 10 it's been discussed during the off season everybody's complaining about Florida State and Clemson how they should move from the ACC to either one of those conferences but if you're Florida State if you can't even win a conference game and if you can't even prove to yourself that you belong to move outside the conference shut your lips play ball that's all I got to say for them Cen joining us of lock on USC talking LSU and USC as we get set for kickoff this upcoming Sunday on ABC Mark has been a pleasure talking to you man where can we find you on all social medias absolutely so on on x mark Hulen Mark hulin a when I'm not doing the lock on USC podcast five times a week I am also doing some writing at wc.com and we also do a weekly a weekly podcast over there called inside the Trojan huddle I'm everywhere and you guys are an affili of on three as well is that correct correct we love working with our gu yes love working with our guys at on three and with the locked on community a great group of guys great group of media personalities very one of the most up and Rising media Personalities in all of college football in the locked on and the on three group Mark it's been a pleasure having you on man let's have a great game day and a great start to week one have a good one you too man thanks again [Music]