Paul Finebaum says LSU missing the Playoff ‘would be a mess’ for Brian Kelly
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Paul Finebaum said last month he did not believe Brian Kelly was on the hot seat entering the 2025 season, nor should he be. But, during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Friday, Finebaum admitted that another season without playoff football in Baton Rouge would be a problem for the Tiger head coach.
Kelly is coming off a 9-4 campaign with LSU last fall. The Tigers won 10 games in each of Kelly’s first 2 seasons with the program and produced a Heisman Trophy winner. But a 3-game losing streak late last year knocked LSU out of the College Football Playoff picture and turned up the pressure on Kelly to perform in Year 4.
The Tigers were uber-aggressive in the transfer portal this offseason, retrofitting a roster that looks capable of contending for an SEC championship.
On Friday, Finebaum claimed Kelly must crack the Playoff field this season.
“It would be a mess,” Finebaum said when asked about the idea LSU could miss out on the field yet again. “Brian Kelly has to get to the Playoff. I was on with Marcus Spears the other morning and Marcus was an All-American there and he said if (Kelly) doesn’t get to the Playoff, it’s going to come apart. Now, he’s a former player, I’m just a paid talking head, but I tend to agree with the former player.
“Brian Kelly knows what the pressure is. I don’t think he has to win this first game, as many people have said. It’s important, but even a loss just adds to the pressure, especially a couple of weeks later when Florida comes to town. If he doesn’t get to the Playoff… remember, he left Notre Dame to go down there to win a national championship. Notre Dame came this close last year under Marcus Freeman.”
At bet365, LSU is +110 to make the CFP.
They have to travel to Clemson in Week 1 and they’ll host Florida in a night game in Week 3. The Tigers also have road games against Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma. Bill Connelly’s SP+ ranks LSU’s schedule as the ninth-hardest in the country.
If Kelly navigates the gauntlet with enough wins to crack the 12-team field, things will quiet down in Baton Rouge. But if the Tigers should miss out on the CFP for a sixth consecutive season, tensions will rise.
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
