GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LSU coach Brian Kelly was caught on camera screaming at one player and getting yelled at by another.
The sideline scenes were clear signs of frustration for a program that was on its way to losing a third consecutive game, at unranked Florida on Saturday. Now, the Tigers (6-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) will be the ones out of the polls following the 27-16 defeat.
And the LSU fan base might be out of patience with Kelly.
“This is a simple exercise of do you want to fight or not?” Kelly said after his team’s latest loss. “Do you want to fight and take responsibility as coaches and players that we’re not playing well and we’re struggling right now?
“There’s a rough spot here that we have to fight through, and we have to do it together.”
Kelly appeared to get into it with wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. in the first half. Kelly got in Hilton’s face after a play, and online lip readers suggested Kelly eventually called Hilton “uncoachable.”
Late in the third quarter, cameras captured wideout Kyren Lacy yelling at Kelly on the sideline after an empty possession.
In the clip, Lacy could be seen apparently letting Kelly have it. The coach’s eyes widened as he seemingly realized what was happening. The ABC camera quickly cut away from the interaction.
LSU lost to Florida for the first time since 2018. This one came despite the Tigers running 92 plays and having the ball for more than 41 minutes.
“We’re going to put guys on the field that are going to fight and do everything they can do to correct where we are right now — and that is struggling with consistent execution,” Kelly said. “I think we’ve seen it enough to know we have to be better at as coaches and players.”
Kelly’s streak of 10-win seasons will end at seven. Kelly won double-digit games in each of his last five seasons at Notre Dame and extended it with consecutive 10-win campaigns in Baton Rouge.
But losing three in a row, to Texas A&M, Alabama and now Florida, makes it impossible to get past nine victories this season.