LSU’s loss to Texas A&M might work as the final nail in the coffin for Brian Kelly. With their 25-49 fall against them, Tiger Stadium filled with “Fire Kelly” chants. The Tigers might miss out on their playoff chances for the fourth straight year under the HC’s tutelage. Despite taking a slender 18-14 lead before halftime, they crumbled in the third quarter, allowing 3 touchdowns. But what exactly went wrong in the game? Well, with defense, even the special teams came out thin, and it ended LSU’s chances against the Aggies, and Kelly’s pointing straight at it.

Initially, the Tigers’ special teams looked strong coming into the game. Freshman Jhase Thomas blocked a Texas A&M punt for a safety, giving LSU a boost and cutting into the Aggies’ lead. But the success quickly turned to struggles and a series of errors as poor kickoff and punt coverage gave Mike Elko’s team a better starting position, helping them to score 35 unanswered points.

Then came their biggest mistake of the night when LSU’s special teams surrendered a back-breaking 79-yard punt return touchdown to KC Concepcion, which gave A&M a lead of 27-18. After the play, when the WR ran past him, Brian Kelly hurled his headset on the ground in frustration. After the game, the Tigers HC was blunt with his assessment. “Special teams was atrocious.” It was not just one play; misery continued for LSU.

The team was flagged twice on special teams in the second half with an unnecessary roughness call that extended Texas A&M’s drive. Communication was a major issue on their kick coverage and returns, which helped the Aggies run away in the second half. When LSU had the opportunity, they couldn’t gain any momentum, resulting in missed tackles. Even after the 79-yard return TD blunder, Brian Kelly’s special team keeps making errors.

First, the Tigers made a good punt by stopping the ball near the Aggies’ 25-yard line, but they were flagged for illegal formation, which forced them to re-kick. Now, on their second punt, A&M sure dropped the ball, but Brian Kelly’s team couldn’t recover it, which kept their drive alive. Then, minutes later, they allowed a huge 39-yard return, setting Mike Elko’s team up for another TD. Kelly knows they messed up badly.

Kelly didn’t mince words before pointing out his team’s inconsistency. “We couldn’t get (Concepcion) on the ground. Then we had some situational substitution issues that are unacceptable, and they fall on me. I’ve got to get that corrected.” Summing it all up and taking accountability, Kelly said, “You’re going to evaluate everything. You have to look at everything. Everything we do offensively, everything that was being done defensively. Special teams was atrocious. All of those things fall on me, so when it comes to the football, that’s what I have to fix, and we have to do that immediately.” 

But wasn’t he the one who let go of their strength and conditioning coach, who’s doing wonders with Texas A&M?

Brian Kelly’s past blunder showed against the Aggies

Well, LSU’s special teams condition might have been in better condition if he hadn’t let go of Tommy Moffitt in the first place. This man first came in under Nick Saban and stayed even when Les Miles took over. But when Kelly came in, he fired him, and after that, he joined the Aggies. The result? Everybody could see it. In the end, where Texas A&M’s special teams got 203 yards, LSU’s offense and defense couldn’t recover from the momentum shift, that’s all because of Moffitt.

Now, Moffitt is 2-0 against Brian Kelly, and he made sure he knows about his dominance. For two decades, Moffitt was part of LSU, and this year, he put Kelly’s face on a tackling dummy for Aggies practice to show how personal it is. Marcel Reed, the star QB, said, “We all started kicking and stomping it. Definitely we played a little of this game for Moffitt.” In fact, even Mike Elko credited the strength coach’s ability for the Aggies’ second-half dominance in victories over LSU this season and in 2024. It’s pretty clear that letting go of Moffitt was Kelly’s biggest mistake.

On top of it, the entire CFB world is pointing it out. As writer Aaron Torres hits X, taking a shot at Brian Kelly: “One of Brian Kelly’s first moves as LSU coach was firing Tommy Moffitt…This is the second year in a row A&M has absolutely BULLIED LSU. Just saying.” Now, if Brian Kelly stays with LSU after losing to the Aggies, he needs to figure out his special teams problems really fast.