Brian Kelly didn’t appreciate the way Dabo Swinney spoke of his LSU Tigers football team after a 17-10 win over Swinney’s Clemson Tigers this past Saturday night at “Death Valley” east in South Carolina.
Swinney claimed he’d grade his team a 58, but only gave Kelly’s team a 65, the lowest possible passing mark for most grading systems, to stress that neither team played well. Kelly retorted that Swinney must not have watched the second half, mocking Clemson’s performance.
"We dominated them in the second half, so, he's either a really good grader giving himself a 58, or he's a really hard grader on us. Or he didn't see the second half. Which that might be the case, he might not have wanted to see the second half,” Kelly said.
“Look, this is all like, past. We're much more focused on Louisiana Tech to be quite honest with you. Clemson is a darn good football team. That's a top-notch team. And they're going to be a team in the hunt for a playoff (spot). And we hope we are to, but it was only one game. I don't know if he's a hard grader or an easy grader, but I like the way we played in the second half.”
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman explained why Kelly, not Swinney, is closer to the truth about the Tigers’ effort – stressing that on both sides of the ball, LSU got standout performances.
“Disagree with Dabo here. LSU was outstanding. Replaced four starting OLs against a very talented DL on the road. Nussmeier was terrific. Blake Baker's defense played lights out especially CB Mansoon Delane. That was an A-plus performance by LSU,” Feldman wrote.
Swinney is making excuses. Kelly is making a stand for his program.
For a guy who’s been questioned over the years for his ability to lead, Kelly showed a shining example of it on Tuesday. His seat cooled off considerably after beating Clemson, and will continue on that path the more he plays his cards right off the field, too.