LSU’s game at South Carolina in Week 3 didn’t figure to be a marquee game of this season.

Nor did it figure to be the biggest must-win of head coach Brian Kelly’s first 3 seasons to date.

But here we are.

It must be a marquee game because ESPN’s College GameDay show is parking itself at Williams-Brice Stadium.

That’s due in large part to this game being a potential program-defining moment for Gamecocks 4th-year head coach Shane Beamer. But this game is also a potential program-defining (and season-defining) moment for Kelly and his No. 16 Tigers.

The start of LSU seasons under Kelly have become a lot like the movie “Groundhog Day,” featuring a lot of déjà vu.

The first team opened with a disappointing performance in a loss to Florida State, then easily took care of business in its home opener against an in-state FCS opponent (a 65-17 victory against Southern) before opening SEC play at home against Mississippi State and winning 31-16.

The 2023 team opened with a disappointing performance in a loss to Florida State, then easily took care of business in its home opener against an in-state FCS opponent (a 72-10 victory against Grambling) before opening SEC play with a 41-14 win at Mississippi State. But was a mere 3-2 when it headed to Missouri amid an atmosphere reminiscent of this one.

That team was teetering as it prepared to enter an electric atmosphere against a team that was not a traditional SEC power but did appear to be an ascending team. Who knows what might have happened to that team had it lost at Missouri, but it took care of business in a 49-39 victory and went on to finish with 10 wins behind Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.

Who knows where this team might be headed? It opened with a disappointing performance in a loss to USC, the took care of business (not quite as easily as the previous 2 Week 2s) in its home opener against an in-state FCS opponent (a 44-21 victory against Nicholls, the most challenging of the 3 recent FCS opponents).

But the Tigers led just 23-21 in the 3rd quarter before finishing strongly.

And now it’s the SEC opener at South Carolina (2-0), which is not a traditional SEC power but might be an ascending team after an eye-opening 31-6 victory at Kentucky in its conference opener last Saturday.

This game doesn’t figure to turn into a shootout like the game against Missouri was, but it does represent a crossroads for this team and Kelly’s program.

If the Tigers defeat the Gamecocks for a 7th consecutive time, the sigh of relief throughout Louisiana will be audible.

But if they come up short to fall to 1-2 and 0-1 in the SEC, they will watch their Playoff hopes all but vanish in September for a 2nd consecutive season – even with the expanded 12-team field.

And the doubts will surround Kelly and his program — and not just this particular team.

Kelly rebuilt his defensive coaching staff after last season, but so far it’s unclear whether those changes are going to produce significantly better ball. The results so far have been mixed, but a good or dominant performance Saturday would significantly improve the mood moving forward.

The offense has issues, too. The Tigers did not run the ball as effectively as Nicholls did, though they did run it marginally better than USC did in Week 1.

Kentucky didn’t run the ball well against South Carolina and if LSU doesn’t do much better, then real doubt will arise as to whether the Tigers’ highly touted offensive line is as good as advertised.

The most encouraging element through 2 games has been the play of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who leads the country with 8 touchdown passes, including a nation-best 4 scoring catches by Kyren Lacy.

A solid, complete and victorious performance Saturday will calm the waters significantly, but a loss – or even a relatively unimpressive victory – will lead to even greater concerns.

That’s why this game is the closest thing to a must-win as Kelly has had at LSU.