Brian Kelly couldn’t take LSU to the playoffs despite signing a contract worth more than $100 million to deliver a championship. Now, a year after getting fired, he’s arguing that the Tigers belong among the country’s top 10 teams. But the CFP committee isn’t buying it, ranking LSU No. 14 on Tuesday night and leaving Kelly’s former program outside the projected 12-team field.
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Kelly left Notre Dame after 2021 for a 10-year LSU deal with championship expectations attached. He never reached the playoffs, and LSU fired him in October 2025, a day after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M dropped the Tigers to 5-3. He finished 34-14 with three straight bowl wins, falling short of the standard established by national championship-winning predecessors Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron.
“I don’t think they’re a pretender; I think they’re a contender,” Kelly said, according to Louis Johnson’s X post.
His personal CFP rankings revealed just how differently he views the playoff picture. Kelly placed two-loss Ole Miss at No. 6, LSU at No. 10, and Texas at No. 11. He also ranked Kentucky fifth while leaving defending national champion Indiana out of his top 12 entirely. The committee, meanwhile, placed Indiana fourth, Ole Miss 10th, and LSU 14th.
Kelly’s top-10 endorsement looks generous considering LSU’s actual results. The Tigers lost 32-24 to Ole Miss on September 19 before falling 35-34 to Kentucky in overtime on October 10. Both opponents sit above LSU in the CFP rankings, with Kentucky at No. 6 and Ole Miss at No. 10. Meanwhile, the Tigers’ six victories have come against teams outside the committee’s current top 25. That’s a difficult résumé to sell as top-10 material.
Kelly’s support for his former program goes back months. In May, he backed Lane Kiffin to win the national championship that had eluded him during his own tenure, pointing to LSU’s NIL investment and strong recruiting classes.
“I think that they have invested in NIL for him. They have given him the opportunity. There’s a lot of good things moving in that direction,” Kelly said. He also praised Kiffin’s coaching ability and declined to offer advice, insisting his successor already knew what he was doing.
LSU entered the season ranked No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 13 in the coaches poll after finishing 7-6 in 2025. Kiffin opened with a 51-10 demolition of Clemson following a two-hour rain delay, pushing the Tigers into the top 10. But at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, LSU still hasn’t done enough to convince the playoff committee.
The Tigers have delivered convincing performances, including a 35-6 victory over Texas A&M and a 31-0 shutout of Mississippi State. However, neither opponent appears in the current CFP top 25. The committee evaluates teams on their overall body of work, including strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and performances against common opponents. LSU’s losses to Kentucky and Ole Miss only complicate its case.
Alabama, despite two losses, sits fifth after earning victories over Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi State. LSU now has an opportunity to strengthen its résumé against No. 5 Alabama, No. 7 Texas, and No. 13 Tennessee in consecutive weeks before closing against Arkansas.
“I didn’t live up to the standards that are set there at LSU,” Kelly admitted on October 30. “They brought me in to win a national championship, and there was a lot of work that needed to be done to get there, more so than many thought, but at the end of the day I didn’t get to that level of expectation that they had.”
That admission makes his continued endorsement of LSU particularly interesting. Kelly couldn’t deliver the championship the program demanded, but he believes Kiffin has the resources and coaching ability to get there. Meanwhile, quarterback Sam Leavitt appears less interested in the rankings debate, dismissing the initial standings with a simple, “I really don’t care,” while emphasizing the importance of winning games.
Kelly couldn’t deliver a playoff appearance during his LSU tenure, yet he’s now convinced the Tigers deserve a top-10 spot without him. The committee clearly disagrees. With Alabama visiting Baton Rouge on Saturday, LSU has a chance to prove its former coach right. Until then, Kelly’s confidence remains ahead of the Tigers’ résumé.