Brian Kelly: We've been able to exert our will on teams in the second half

On3 imageby:Kaiden Smith10/02/22

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Brian Kelly and his LSU squad were able to overcome a 0-17 deficit against Auburn this weekend, pulling off their come-from-behind victory with a 21-17 win on the road in Jordan-Hare Stadium. LSU scored 21 unanswered points following Auburn’s 17 of their own, in a strong second half showing, especially from their defense, which Kelly believes has been their calling card so far this season.

“It’s been that way, we’ve been able to exert our will in the second half on most teams this year,” Kelly said.

Kelly isn’t wrong, through five weeks the Tigers have outscored opponents 86-37 in the second half on their way to a four-game win streak. Their second half play has definitely been impressive, which Kelly attributes to the work put in by his players this offseason.

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“Again I’ll go back to what I’ve felt is that the conditioning of our football team has been better than our opponents this year,” Kelly said. “That will continue to be challenged as we move through the month, but I thought that as the game went on, it was pretty clear that we were able to exert our will and physically control the line of scrimmage.”

The Tigers will definitely be challenged, and sooner than later, as they take on one of the hottest teams in the country next week in No. 8 ranked Tennessee. LSU’s defense has looked good this season, ranking in the top four in the conference in points allowed and yards allowed, holding teams to just 14.8 points per game and 293 yards per game. But, they’ll be facing the nation’s fastest offense in Tennessee, that ranks No. 1 in total yards and passing yards per game in the country.

LSU’s second half strength has been big for them so far this season and a huge contributing factor in their strong 4-1 start. But they’ll likely need to play a complete game start to finish next week when they take on the Volunteers and their high-powered offense led by star quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Hopefully for the Tigers, their stamina built in the offseason can continue to propel them, their defense can continue to play at an elite level, and their offense can back bounce from a relatively poor performance against Auburn, where they generated just 270 yards of total offense.