Josh Pate defends Brian Kelly against CFB fans' overrated tag

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly has a very vocal share of detractors. Some fans consider the former Notre Dame head coach overrated, and the Fighting Irish’s run to the CFP Championship Game didn’t help matters.

However, college football insider Josh Pate has jumped to the coach’s defense on X today. While Pate stopped short of calling the Tigers head coach one of the best in the country, he did push back against arguments that have him as the “most overrated coach in college football” because of his lack of college football playoff acumen.

“This doesn't disqualify Brian Kelly from being a top 5-10 coach as there aren't at least 10 other coaches with those qualifications on their resume,” Josh Pate said.

On the original post, a Notre Dame fan account pointed to the coach going 0-8 in big bowl games, a losing record in games against ranked opponents, and the team’s timid record against top competition.

Regardless of anyone’s take on Brian Kelly and the job he’s done at Notre Dame and LSU, Josh Pate has a point in that there aren’t many coaches in college football with a better track record.

During his time in South Bend, Kelly took the Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular season and a national championship game appearance. He also took the program back to prominence even if he was unable to take the Irish to their first title since 1988. He registered a 113-40 record at Notre Dame.

Critics rightfully point to his little production at LSU, where he hasn’t played for a conference title in three seasons in Baton Rouge, but he can still change the narrative. Kelly has compiled a 29-11 record at LSU, but the Tigers’ 17 SEC wins since 2022 rank third behind Georgia and Alabama during that period.

Three years after leaving Notre Dame for LSU, Brian Kelly is still a hot topic among college football fans. and that’s not likely to change for a while.

Brian Kelly gives update on a couple of injured linebackers

The LSU Tigers got some promising updates from head coach Brian Kelly regarding linebackers Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins. While both men are expected to miss spring practice, they would be back in time for fall camp, Kelly told “The Advocate”.

Perkins is coming off an ACL injury suffered in a 37-14 victory over UCLA back in September. He was expected to be one of the top linebackers in the SEC last season.

Weeks on the other hand suffered an ankle injury in the 44-31 victory over Baylor at the Texas Bowl. The linebacker had surgery but should be ready before the fall.

Both linebackers are expected to form one of the best linebacking units in college football in 2025 if they can stay healthy and return to form.