"We were mistaken": Brian Kelly gulps his team's unprecedented loss with an honest admission as FSU humbles the entire LSU nation

When Brian Kelly played against Florida State Seminoles in his first-ever game as LSU football head coach in 2022, he narrowly lost 24-23. He got the perfect opportunity for revenge in the Tigers' opening game of the 2023 season against Florida State on Sunday.

Coach Kelly was very confident going into the game. In his radio show on Thursday, he went as far as asserting, “We're gonna beat the heck out of Florida State.”

Whatever made him so confident, it didn't survive the game as a second-half Florida State onslaught overwhelmed his men. No. 5 LSU was thrashed 45-24 by the No. 8 Seminoles.

During the postgame presser, Kelly had no choice but to congratulate Florida State for “a great second half.” What's more, he conceded the fact that his team was inferior to the Seminoles:

“They were the better football team tonight.”

Brian Kelly's men started the game on a good note and were up 17-14 by halftime. However, Florida State turned the tide against them in the second half, scoring 32 points unanswered. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis dominated the Tigers with 342 passing yards and five touchdowns.

Kelly admitted that he and his team were overconfident going into the game. For that reason, they underestimated their opponent. He said:

“For some reason, we thought we were something else. We thought we were the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs. We were mistaken.”

LSU could have led with a wider gap with numerous chances in the first half. But the players were wasteful. The Tigers had four opportunities to score on their first drive of the game.

However, they were stopped on fourth down after quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked. Another opportunity came in the second quarter, but Daniels was blocked once again.

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Lessons for Brian Kelly and LSU from CFB Week 1

Heading into Week 2, the lesson is clear for Brian Kelly and his players: College football has no walkovers, especially this season. While getting his team's confidence at the needed level is important, giving respect to opponents goes a long way in winning games.

LSU will be looking to bounce back in its next game against Grambling State on Sept. 10. Brian Kelly and the Tigers were close to winning the SEC championship title last, losing to Georgia in the conference championship game.

This season, he'll focus on crossing that hurdle and winning his first SEC championship, probably going all the way to the national championship.