LSU's Kelly: Focus is on Clemson, not end of year

ATLANTA -- Brian Kelly understands the expectations at LSU always revolve around national championships, but after opening each of his first three seasons in Baton Rouge with a loss, he has shifted the offseason emphasis from the end of the year to the start.

Kelly said this will be by far his most talented and deep LSU team, but none of that will matter if the Tigers aren't ready for Clemson in the opener.

"With the team that [we have] this year," Kelly said, "it's unacceptable for us not to play our very best in Game 1."

That hasn't been the case in years past, Kelly said. LSU lost to USC in last year's opener and dropped games to Florida State in 2022 -- Kelly's first season -- and again in 2023. The program hasn't won its opener since 2019, when LSU won its last national championship.

That track record has shifted Kelly's offseason plan to focus on Clemson rather than any title hopes.

"I've never done that before because I worry about the emotional energy you spend on something like that, but it's important to the program that we get off to that start," Kelly said. "It's a tangible goal for us. I've never set a goal before for a singular team. This is a singular goal. This is a goal we've placed on our program. The players know that. It's a difficult goal but it's in front of them and they've got a clock running. They're getting ready to go meet that goal."

"It's become our motto and our mindset every single day. Being 1-0 in everything you do, whether it's taking your supplements or being on time to tutoring or whatever it is. It's been a huge change for us. It's a reminder of, if you don't want to do the little things right, I bet they will." LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier said the changes haven't been so much a step-by-step plan to beat Clemson. It's been more of "an attack" on the small things the Tigers need to do to be ready for their trip to the other Death Valley on Aug. 30.

"It's become our motto and our mindset every single day," Nussmeier said. "Being 1-0 in everything you do, whether it's taking your supplements or being on time to tutoring or whatever it is. It's been a huge change for us. It's a reminder of, if you don't want to do the little things right, I bet they will.

"We have team goals about where we want to be at the end of the season, but Coach Kelly is huge on being process-oriented, and that change is about, yeah, that's where we want to be at the end, but let's talk about what it takes to get there. What does the path look like? It starts winning the first game."

Both LSU and Clemson figure to open the season as top-10 teams with national championship aspirations, which makes the goal of being ready for Week 1 more challenging, Kelly said. The scope of the job, however, has allowed Kelly to reinforce the significance of each small step in his process.

It's a blueprint that linebacker Whit Weeks said he has embraced. The opening-game losing streak is a source of frustration but also one he would only want to end by upending another playoff contender.

"I'm very glad we're playing Clemson in Week 1," Weeks said. "You come to LSU to play the best games in the country. Not a lot of schools are doing that anymore, but we schedule hard games Week 1 every single season. I came to play because I wanted to play in the biggest stadiums with the best crowds. If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best. So when we go play Clemson, in order to be the best, we have to beat the best."