Kelly: LSU’s collapse in opener ‘a total failure’
-
Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. — LSU coach Brian Kelly said his team’s 45-24 loss to Florida State on Sunday night was “a total failure,” after a second-half collapse allowed the Seminoles to run away with the game.
The No. 5 Tigers had a 17-14 halftime lead but allowed No. 8 FSU to score 31 unanswered points in the second half. They had no answers for Noles quarterback Jordan Travis (342 yards passing, five total touchdowns) or wide receiver Keon Coleman (122 yards, three scores).
The loss marked LSU’s largest defeat as a ranked team in a season opener in the AP poll era (since 1936).
“This is a total failure from a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint that we have to obviously address and we have to own,” Kelly said. “I know adversity is always going to strike at some time in this game, and this is our first real piece of adversity that we have to address. I’m confident our guys and our coaches will rally in the manner that they need to.”
LSU had plenty of opportunities in the first half to build a much bigger lead but squandered them. On the opening drive of the game, the Tigers had four tries from the 1-yard line but failed to score on fourth down after quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked. LSU had another chance in the second quarter on fourth-and-goal from the 1, but Daniels was stopped again.
Kelly said both were “standard fourth-down calls and decisions.” Despite the inability to score from the 1, LSU racked up yards in the first half and led 17-14 at halftime. But after the break, Florida State imposed its will and began to overpower LSU up front.
“The buck stops with me, and I’ve got to get our football team to understand and recognize that you’ve got to play this game for four quarters with a mentality,” Kelly said. “We just did not, for some reason. We thought we were somebody else. We thought we were the two-time national champion Georgia Bulldogs or something. I don’t know what we thought, but we were mistaken.”
On Thursday, Kelly made headlines when he said on his opening radio show of the season, “We’re gonna go beat the heck out of Florida State.” Whether those comments resonated in the Florida State locker room is unknown; both Coleman and Travis said they were unaware of them when asked in their postgame news conference.
What is clear is that Kelly needs to find a way to get his team to play a complete game.
“How do we handle this? Is this who we want to be, or do we look at this and say this isn’t the kind of football team we want to be,” Kelly said. “When you have those kinds of losses, they are disappointing, and in some instances, they are devastating losses, but it’s how you respond to them. They have a chance to respond to this very disappointing performance in the second half.
“So the choices they will have to make will be ones that start tomorrow.”
WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola‘s first start after returning from the injured list didn’t last long.
The right-hander allowed six runs in 2⅓ innings Sunday against the Washington Nationals, a start that ended when seven consecutive batters reached safely.
Nola struck out four in his first major league outing since May 14.
The former All-Star was one of the majors’ most durable pitchers entering the season, making at least 32 starts and throwing at least 180⅔ innings in each of the last six full seasons. But a sprained right ankle and fractured rib cost him three months this season.
His return became even more significant Saturday when Philadelphia placed ace Zack Wheeler on the injured list with a blood clot in his right arm. Nola already was scheduled to start after making three minor league rehabilitation appearances, though the Phillies scrapped their plans to use a six-man rotation.
Nola gave up Luis Garcia Jr.’s leadoff single in the first inning, then appeared to settle in. He retired the next seven batters as Philadelphia built a 6-0 lead.
The Nationals stitched together three consecutive singles in the third, the last by CJ Abrams to score a run. That led to a mound visit from pitching coach Caleb Cotham, but Nola then walked Paul DeJong before giving up Daylen Lile‘s two-run single and Dylan Crews‘ two-run double. Jose Tena followed with a tying double to end Nola’s day.
Nola allowed seven hits while throwing 53 pitches. His ERA rose to 6.92.
In addition to Nola taking Wheeler’s roster spot, the Phillies activated third baseman Alec Bohm from the injured list and optioned infielder Otto Kemp to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To make room on the 40-man roster for Nola, Philadelphia released outfielder Cal Stevenson.
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jake Fraley was designated for assignment on Sunday, with catcher Tyler Stephenson‘s thumb injury and a short bench contributing to the decision.
The Reds also recalled right-hander Connor Phillips and outfielder Will Benson from Triple-A Louisville and optioned left-hander Joe La Sorsa to Triple-A.
“We came to the idea of kind of giving Jake a chance to play where maybe he thinks he deserves to play, which I understand, is maybe better than him sitting the bench here,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Stephenson is banged up. We were a little concerned about playing short, maybe a two-man bench.”
Fraley, 30, is in his fifth major-league season, his fourth with Cincinnati. He is batting .232 with six home runs and 23 RBI in 67 games.
He hyperextended his knee after making an error in left field to allow a run to score in the 10th inning of a 6-5, 11-inning loss to the first-place Brewers on Saturday. Francona said neither the miscue nor the injury factored into the DFA move.
Stephenson reaggravated an injury to his left thumb during the Pittsburgh series and is day to day. Jose Trevino, who was behind the plate Saturday night, got the start for Sunday’s day game.
Francona said the decision on Fraley, a popular player among fans and in the clubhouse, wasn’t easy.
“Not that I needed an excuse to lose sleep last night, but you do, because you’re thinking about it,” Francona said. “You’re making decisions that alter their life. The day when I stop thinking about it, I will re-retire.”
Cincinnati, the only team this season that hasn’t been swept in a series, has dropped the first two games of the three-game set against the Brewers, who have won 14 straight games.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike