GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Apparently, the 60 journalists who vote on the weekly Associated Press college football poll are not as concerned at the moment with LSU’s offense, “what is going on with third down,” and “why LSU can’t run the ball” as one Baton Rouge television sports anchor was Saturday night.
Another classic press conference from Brian Kelly … “I’m not trying to embarrass you. But it was a stupid question.”https://t.co/JUaWaG8cLL
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 14, 2025
The Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) remained a strong No. 3 in the nation in Sunday’s latest A.P. poll after beating unranked Florida, 20-10, on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium with defense.
LSU’s new and improved defense continued to dominate, despite the ejection of star linebacker Whit Weeks for targeting in the first two minutes of the game. That was the major headline of the game along with five interceptions by that defense, including a pick six by Dashawn Spears for the 20-10 lead in the third quarter, and the Tigers’ fastest start since the 2019 national championship season.
So does this mean a certain AP poll voter will push Florida up another couple spots? … No. 3 LSU 20, Florida 10 in an Old School SEC game that Charles Alexander would’ve dominated:https://t.co/c365N70il8
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 14, 2025
In addition, LSU’s defense did hold an opponent to 10 points or less for the first three games of a season for the first time since 2007 when LSU won the national championship. There’s another headline and potential first question.
But since three pointed questions about LSU’s offensive problems from WBRZ sports anchor Michael Cauble led off the question-and-answer portion of his press conference, LSU coach Brian Kelly went on a Nick Saban-like rant.
“STOP,” Kelly said. “Really, is that the first question? We won the game, 20-10. Try another question. What do you want me to tell you? I just laid it out for you. We played the game to win the game.”
Then Cauble asked, “How about third down then? What is going on with third down?”
And Kelly shouted, “It’s one game. Last game, we were great on third down. You’re micro. You’re looking at this from the wrong perspective. LSU won the football game. Won the game. I don’t know what you want from me. What do you want? You want us to win 70-0 against Florida to keep you happy?”
And Cauble, a veteran of decades on the LSU beat, retorted, “No, I think they (fans) want to know why you can’t run the ball, quite honestly.”
And Kelly shouted back, “We can run the ball (96 yards on 25 carries with a 51-yard jaunt by Caden Durham to ice the game late). Did you see the last play of the game? That’s all you NEED! Those are ridiculous questions. And I’m getting tired of it. That football team just worked their tail off to get an SEC win, and you want to know what’s wrong. You know what? You’re spoiled. Give them some respect. How about that? Give them some respect instead of micro-analyzing every little thing. This is ridiculous. For a group of seasoned reporters, that kind of question is so out of line.”
All righty, then.
“I don’t think you can glance over the fact that this LSU offense is pedestrian at best – 4 for 14 on third down,” Cauble said on his report for WBRZ TV in Baton Rouge later Saturday night. “You may have heard it. Brian Kelly thought I had stupid questions asking about LSU’s offense. But that’s the reality of it. But this LSU offense – we should expect more. I think it’s unfair of him to just pass it off as a stupid question. This is a championship team, or they expect to be.”
Cauble has a strong point as senior returning starter Garrett Nussmeier is supposed to be a Heisman quarterback with a bevy of new, stud transfer receivers such as Barion Brown and Nic Anderson and returning stars like Chris Hilton, Aaron Anderson and Zavion Thomas.
Cauble then brought up Kelly’s “receipts” comment after last season when he said LSU would play for the national championship this season.
“He told us to keep the receipts. Well, we’re keeping the receipts,” Cauble shot back strongly. “They need to bring it on both ends of the ball. And that’s my assessment. He can certainly have his. And I understand being thankful and happy to get a victory, but this is the SEC. And tougher times are going to come. They’re going to have to find an offense. That would be my reply to him if I was given one. This is a team that is finding its footing. I don’t think you can glance past that. But I’m not sure that this is a top ten team. I’m not sure this is a top five team with that offense. It certainly is a top five defense.”
Here is Cauble’s complete report and reaction later Saturday night on WBRZ from Twitter:
Here's an instant reaction to the LSU victory, Brian Kelly calling me spoiled and a hidden gem of a play from Chris Hilton. Tigers get the win and go 1-0 for the third time. #LSU pic.twitter.com/NZvz84BIMy
— Michael Cauble (@Cauble) September 14, 2025
Kelly did say later that Cauble’s question on offense was fair, but should have been asked later, considering everything else that has been happening with the team, and not be the first three questions. Kelly calmly answered offense-critical questions later in the press conference.
“We’re not perfect, but we’re going to make progress,” he said. “And we’re going to play to a great defense that we have right now. And we’re going to keep working to get better on offense, so Cauble can ask some questions next week.”
The offense has started slow as Heisman favorite Nussmeier has been off, but LSU has also been playing to its newfound defense – meaning, conservative play calling to control the clock when the other team is not scoring.
“The interception can’t happen,” Kelly said of Nussmeier’s pick in the fourth quarter deep in Florida territory. “He knows. We just have to take care of the football. And the way we’re playing offensively, we have to be smart, and take what the defense gives us. We were in field goal position there. And we’ve got to get three in that situation. So, piecing it together.”
Kelly then took another polite jab at Cauble.
“Remember, now, we had four NFL draftees off that offensive line (from last year). Four. I don’t know if anybody really knew that,” he said sarcastically amid some laughter. “These guys are working hard to get better. They’re going to have to get better. There’s no doubt. We’re going to keep working with them.”
LSU received two first place votes and 1,470 voter points overall. Ohio State (3-0) remained No. 1, followed by No. 2 Penn State (3-0). Miami (3-0) moved up a spot to No. 4 with an easy win over South Florida, and Georgia went from No. 6 to No. 5 after a thrilling, 44-41 overtime win at No. 15 Tennessee.
The rest of the top 10 had No. 6 Oregon (3-0), No. 7 Florida State (2-0), No. 8 Texas (2-1), No. 9 Illinois (3-0) and No. 10 Texas A&M (3-0).
The Aggies jumped up six spots with a dramatic, 41-40 win at No. 8 Notre Dame, which dropped 16 spots to No. 24. The Irish, though, are the first team to stay ranked in the poll despite an 0-2 mark since Michigan in 1988.
The second 10 featured No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Iowa State, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 14 Alabama, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Utah, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 18 Georgia Tech, No. 19 Indiana and No. 20 Vanderbilt.
Georgia Tech made the poll for the first time this season after upsetting No. 12 Clemson, 24-21, on a walk-off field goal. Clemson (1-2), which entered the season at No. 4, dropped out of the poll. Vanderbilt made its poll debut this season with a 31-7 road blowout of No. 11 South Carolina (2-1), which also dropped out of the poll.
Michigan, Auburn, Missouri, Notre Dame and USC round out the top 25.
After LSU hosts Southeastern Louisiana (2-1) on Saturday (6:45 p.m., SEC Network), the Tigers play at No. 13 Ole Miss (3-0, 2-0 SEC) on Saturday, Sept. 27.
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