Brian Kelly previews the challenge of beginning SEC play on the road

The LSU Tigers will open up SEC play this Saturday with a road test in Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. That game, as Brian Kelly knows very well, won’t be easy to win.

Ahead of the game, Kelly previewed the challenges of starting SEC play on the road.

“Now, we turn our attention to SEC play and certainly this is what gets everybody’s attention,” Brian Kelly said. “And not only do we play Mississippi State but we play on the road, and playing on the road in the SEC is obviously a great challenge. Playing an SEC opponent obviously doubles that.”

Mississippi State is 2-0 this season, having survived a tight overtime game with Arizona over the weekend. This year has been a challenging transition for the Bulldogs as they moved on from the late Mike Leach to a new era under Zach Arnett.

“Then you’ve got to deal with all of the things that go with travel, playing at 11 a.m., cowbells, all of those things, but you do it first and foremost starting with great preparation this week. Then, your performance. If you play really well, you don’t have to deal with those distractions. Like any other opponent, if you’re not playing very well, you’re going to hear any team’s band, slogans, whatever they have.” Kelly said.

“So, this is really about the challenge of playing on the road, handling the 11 a.m. start, playing a really well coached football team. Zach Arnett has done a great job in his really short time being a head coach. They’re really well coached.”

Paul Finebaum says Brian Kelly is under tremendous pressure in Week 3

College football analyst Paul Finebaum agrees that a road game at Mississippi State is going to be very difficult for him and that is going to create a pressure filled environment.

“It’s remarkable, and as you look ahead to this upcoming weekend, there’s a game on there, and you know which game it is, that there will be enormous pressure on the head coach. That sounds crazy because it’s only his second season, but the idea of Brian Kelly taking his team in for an 11 a.m. start in Starkville. That is scary,” Finebaum said.

“I know Mississippi State survived last night, and that may not make you feel better about them in terms of beating LSU, but the environment will be insane. I’ve been to a couple of those 11 o’clock games and 11 o’clock may affect some fans, not in Starkville. That’s late in the day. So, my eyes are on that one very closely.”