Former LSU coach Brian Kelly was in his feelings a bit when watching his former team obliterate Clemson in their season opener.
In an appearance on SiriusXM College Radio, Kelly admitted he had a “hard time” watching LSU blast Clemson 51-10 on Saturday night. LSU fired Kelly late last season, and the team has received a great deal of hype under replacement Lane Kiffin.
“I’ll be honest, I had a hard time watching it. I don’t think it was just LSU,” Kelly said. “It was just the first weekend, truly, of college football, and it was hard.
“My wife wanted to kill me. She was like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ And what was wrong was I wasn’t on the sideline. I had to deal with it and get through it.”
What did Brian Kelly think of LSU's dominant Week 1 victory over Clemson?
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) September 10, 2026
"I'll be honest, I had a hard time watching it." pic.twitter.com/teMxR7yBch
Kelly’s point is understandable, but it would also make sense if he felt a few additional pangs of regret watching LSU. He has hinted that he thought his firing was unjustified, and he has not exactly been complimentary of his successor.
Kelly had to admit LSU looked good. There was certainly no comparison with last season, when Kelly led his team to a 17-10 road win at Clemson to start the 2025 season. That win ultimately looked a lot better at the time than it turned out to be.
