Kelly: LSU’s collapse in opener ‘a total failure’
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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.”
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Kristen Shilton
The NHL fined the Ottawa Senators $25,000 and forward Nick Cousins $2,083.33 for an incident of “unsportsmanlike conduct” in warmups ahead of Game 3 of the team’s first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Cousins’ fine is the maximum allowed to a player under the NHL/NHLPA collective bargaining agreement.
With warmups underway, Cousins was spotted flipping a puck across the center ice line at Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz as he went through his pregame routine.
The two players have history as teammates with Philadelphia Flyers from 2016-17 and with the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers last season. Senators coach Travis Green emphasized that familiarity when asked about the NHL’s investigation Friday, while otherwise keeping his answer lighthearted.
“It’s an active investigation. I don’t know if I should be commenting,” said Green, drawing laughter from the gathered media. “I have people that have advised me maybe not to comment on it.
“I’m kidding. I saw the video. Stolarz and Cousins have played together. [Cousins] is probably trying to laugh at him or make a joke or get him off his game. It is what it is.”
Green went on to confirm he had spoken to Cousins about the puck flip.
“[He just said] I know him,” Green said of Cousins’ reasoning. “Game within the game. Happens probably a lot more than you think.”
Toronto took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 3-2 overtime victory. Ottawa will try to stave off elimination in Game 4 on Saturday.
MONTREAL — Montreal‘s Patrik Laine is out for Friday’s Game 3 of the Canadiens’ first-round playoff series against Washington because of an upper-body injury.
Laine missed the team’s morning skate, and the Canadiens said he will be evaluated daily.
Laine, 27, was benched for the third period of Wednesday’s 3-1 loss in Game 2 after a difficult first two periods. Kasperi Kapanen replaced Laine, while defenseman Arber Xhekaj was inserted into the lineup for Jayden Struble.
The Capitals lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Laine, known for his dangerous shot, hasn’t scored in his past seven games.
The Canadiens acquired Laine and a second-round draft pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer for defenseman Jordan Harris.
Laine had 20 goals, including 15 on the power play, and 13 assists in 52 games this season after missing the first two months with a knee injury.
“We have some guys battling things, so we’ll see what we start with tonight,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said earlier Friday. “Obviously in a series, during games, you make adjustments. That’s part of a best-of-seven.”
Montreal is hosting its first playoff game in front of a sold-out crowd since 2017. The Canadiens played in an empty, or reduced-capacity, Bell Centre during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
The Edmonton Oilers are making a goaltender change, putting Calvin Pickard in the crease for Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.
Looking to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination, the Oilers are turning to Pickard after Stuart Skinner yielded 11 goals on 58 shots as the Kings captured a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Pickard relieved Skinner midway through the third period of Game 2 on Wednesday, allowing one goal on three shots.
The journeyman goaltender was asked Friday afternoon how he plans to approach Game 3.
“The same way I’ve approached every game as an Oiler: go out and do my job and give our team a chance to win,” Pickard said. “Obviously the last two games didn’t go as planned in all facets, but we know we have a better effort in this locker room and we know we’re going to do that tonight.”
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said after Game 2 that he would get together with his coaching staff and decide on a starting goaltender. But Knoblauch added that he believed Skinner was not at fault for the team’s defensive troubles in this series.
“I don’t think there’s been any bad goals. There’s been a lot of goals, but the chances that we’re giving up are Grade A’s,” Knoblauch said. “I’m not sure that are many, ‘Geez, where’s the save there?’ It’s been very difficult for a goaltender playing. More structure and the less we’re giving up those opportunities, it’s a lot easier for Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard playing.”
Pickard, 33, posted a 22-10-1 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 36 games (31 starts) during the regular season. Skinner, 26, was 26-18-4 with a 2.81 GAA and a .896 save percentage over 51 games (50 starts) during the regular season.
Information from ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Field Level Media was used in this report.
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