Paul Finebaum defends Brian Kelly, calls out question that led to heated postgame rant

After LSU defeated Florida 20-10 on Saturday, a reporter kicked off Tigers head coach Brian Kelly‘s postgame press conference with a question about the team’s offense. Kelly didn’t take kindly to the inquiry, exploding into a rant and calling the reporter “spoiled.”

LSU’s offense has had a slow start this season after entering the season with massive expectations. During an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on Kelly’s fiery moment in the press conference.

“Emotionally, he just went through an incredibly difficult game,” Finebaum said. “When you get the first question right out of the shoot about something negative, it’s going to trigger you… That was an inappropriate first question because there was a negative connotation after a really big win in a rivalry game that, if you don’t know the terrain, you are clueless on how big it is.

“… Really, I was entertained by his answer, but I also agreed with his answer. He didn’t go Steve Sarkisian and try to make it personal. He basically just said, ‘Listen, we just won a big game, and you’re asking me that?’ I thought it was a very good moment for Brian Kelly.”

In the win, LSU tallied 322 total yards of offense. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier struggled, completing just 15-of-his-27 pass attempts for 220 yards and a touchdown, while throwing an interception.

LSU is averaging 345.7 yards per game this season, ranking No. 95 in the country. This is a major step back for the Tigers, who ranked in the top 25 in total offense for the past two seasons.

Of course, tallies in the win column don’t care about a team’s offensive performance. Brian Kelly tried to emphasize this point while firing back at the reporter on Saturday.

“Stop, really? Is that the first question?” Kelly asked. “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. We played the game to win the game.

“It’s one game,” Kelly continued. “Last game, we were good on third down. 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?”