Brian Kelly after Auburn win: Winning is hard in the SEC

After LSU defeated Auburn 21-17 on Saturday night, head coach Brian Kelly shared his thoughts after how hard getting a win in the SEC was. Kelly’s Tigers beat Bryan Harsin’s Tigers on the road in their SEC West showdown, after trailing 17-0 in the second quarter. LSU proceeded to shut down Auburn’s offense for the remainder of the game and improve to 4-1 on the season with a 2-0 conference record.

Brian Kelly on the tough Auburn win

On the field after the win, Kelly was asked about about what he learned about his team against Auburn after battling back from a 17-point deficit to win.

“Well we’ve got grit,” answered Kelly. “To go on the road and not play your best, but to find a way to win against Auburn at Auburn — it’s a tough place to play. You know, the SEC’s hard. And each and every week when you win, you appreciate winning. Winning’s hard in the SEC.

“Our guys just kept playing. Made some plays, made the big play here at the end with the interception. And it wasn’t perfect, but sometimes you learn a lot about just grit and determination. And we’ve got a lot of coaching to do and we’ve got a lot of room for improvement.”

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Kelly’s admission lines up with how fans of the conference feel, and the competitive SEC West features no shortage of tough opponents for LSU in Kelly’s first season with the program. Prior to making the jump to the SEC, Kelly’s record at Notre Dame as a head coach was 92–40 — with five-straight 10-win seasons before accepting the LSU job.

Although the season opened with a rough one-point loss to Florida State, LSU is now 4-1 on the season with a 2-0 record in the SEC after beating Mississippi State and Auburn. Kelly may appreciate the difficulty of winning in the conference, but he has yet to lose against an SEC team in his short time as the coach of the Tigers.