LSU football is coming off of a 36-33 road-win against South Carolina and is gearing up to take on UCLA on Saturday in Baton Rouge.
After grabbing his first away-game win of the season, head coach Brian Kelly was quick to express his positive thoughts on the outcome of the game and how it will impact the rest of the Tigers’ season.
LSU will be looking to gain its first Big 10 win in Tiger Stadium after losing to USC in its season opener in Las Vegas.
Kelly addressed the media on Monday to give an injury report, preview the UCLA matchup and recap the South Carolina win.
Injury report
The Tigers are going into the Big 10 matchup with a healthy squad, as Kelly only mentioned two players in his injury report.
Senior cornerback Zy Alexander will be back on the field after suffering what many initially believed was a knee injury in the game against South Carolina.
“He lost his wind more than anything to do with his knee,” Kelly said.
The only other player that Kelly mentioned was sophomore edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack.
“Womack was hurt, but we’ll get him back,” Kelly said.
Kelly didn’t mention redshirt junior wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr., who’s missed LSU’s first three games, in his report.
South Carolina recap
Kelly was positive about LSU’s performance against South Carolina despite it being a close game. He emphasized the importance of LSU cleaning up its mistakes and the role the coaches must play in that process.
“It really comes down to three things,” Kelly said. “Personnel, the coaching of the schemes themselves… and the preparation of such.”
Kelly said that having two first-year coordinators is playing a role in the Tigers’ struggle to gain their footing. Nonetheless, he said the coaching staff is doing its best to clean up the mistakes made in previous games and reveal the team’s true potential.
Kelly was sure to give credit to South Carolina’s stellar defense, but said LSU had the opportunity to score more times than it did in the red zone.
“As we’ve seen, everybody’s gonna play their best against LSU,” Kelly said.
Even with South Carolina’s strong defensive line, LSU still managed to score 36 points, which Kelly said was a noble feat for playing an SEC team on the road.
“We’re not there yet; there’s no doubt,” Kelly said. “But we’re making the progress necessary with the group of guys that we have.”
UCLA preview
UCLA is a team full of experience.
“I don’t know if there’s a freshman or sophomore on their defense,” Kelly said. “This is a veteran defense.”
On the offensive side, redshirt senior Ethan Garbers leads the Bruins after transferring from Washington in 2021.
Garbers is a dual-threat quarterback, giving UCLA’s offense more diversity and options. His main target is junior running back T.J. Harden, who has led the Bruins in both rushing and receiving targets in both games played.
Coming off of its win against South Carolina, Kelly said his team is prepared for what the Bruins have to offer. He said that LSU is content with its team at the moment, especially with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier driving the offense.
“He’s okay with tight coverage because he has a great confidence in his ability to put it on somebody,” Kelly said. “It’s only gonna get better.”
The last time that the Tigers played UCLA was in 2021, which ended in a 38-27 Bruin victory.
Kelly is hoping to change the narrative on Saturday, with kickoff at 2:45 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
