It's not a coincidence that the same teams tend to be good in college football every season.
Winning is a skill. Winning is a habit. And it's one that LSU has finally learned, evidenced by their ability to walk out of Fayetteville with an ugly win over Arkansas in a game that featured lackluster offense in frigid conditions.
"What we can take out from that game is that they have done the things necessary to make winning a habit," Kelly said. "And just like losing becomes a habit, they found a way to win that football game."
Something that is also a habit? Losing. It was something that became all-too-comfortable over the Tigers' 2020 and 2021 seasons. The team went 11-11, losing was common, if not accepted.
"Our guys have done a lot of things the right way to create winning habits off the field that contributed to finding a way to win the football game," Kelly said.
That paradigm shift, more than anything else, is the story of a season that began with an all-too-familiar feeling in a loss to Florida State, and will end in a high-level bowl game at the absolute worst after a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game.
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That said, the Tigers aren't taking anything for granted by looking ahead to their opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs. LSU first has to beat UAB and Texas A&M to close out the year to make sure when that game arrives the Tigers still has College Football Playoff ambitions. And while they'll enter that game as heavy underdogs, it's clear this team expects to win, because they've learned how to do it.
"I think we'll have plenty of time to get information on Georgia and we're pretty much aware of Georgia and who they are and what they're about. So our focus will be on UAB and A&M because they matter, those games," Kelly said. "For us, in terms of where we are and the development of our program, these singular games are so important to us. Look, I get the SEC championship game is is what it is. ... But as we're climbing this ladder for us in terms of the development of our program, these games are so pivotal for us in terms of our development. It's crazy to be able to think of anything else but these individual games.
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MORE FROM BRIAN KELLY
INJURY UPDATES
WR Brian Thomas is in the concussion protocol. Kelly is helpful to get him back for non-contact work as early as Tuesday.
RB John Emery is "fine" after suffering an injury against Arkansas. It's just a bruise.
ON UVA SHOOTING
LSU's head coach began his press conference by addressing the shooting at the University of Virginia that left three UVA players dead and two other students injured.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the football players at Virginia who were senseless victims of a shooting on their campus early this morning. It's tragic. Our hearts go out to them, the football program, the university, just senseless violence," Kelly said. "College campuses should be a place where it's violence-free. And what happened yesterday is certainly heartbreaking. And we certainly pray for all those involved and, you know, certainly hits close to home as well, having players that actually had relationships with players on the team. So, again, thoughts and prayers with with everybody involved, and we, we will certainly keep an eye on this, this matter."
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IS THE FLU IMPACTING THE TEAM?
Brian Kelly said after the win over Arkansas that Harold Perkins was battling the flu, and he confirmed on Monday that he hasn't been alone in dealing with the bug.
"It's been fairly pervasive throughout the program. I think we've managed it the best we can. But yeah, it's around it. I don't know that it had anything to do with our performance on Saturday. We just, we're dealing with on a day-to-day basis."
SENIOR DAY
LSU will honor 17 seniors prior to the game against UAB on Saturday, the Tiger Stadium finale for the 2022 season.
"What stands out are the stories like Micah Baskerville, who when I got here, everybody was like, 'well, you know, he doesn't go to class. He doesn't do this. He doesn't do that.' And he's been amazing. He's gotten his degree. He's been a great leader. He's been inspirational and everything he's done. I love that story. To watch him grow and do the right things in the classroom, to overcome all the things that were in his past. That, to me, is this senior class. And watching them become SEC West champions is so gratifying because they made that choice. I mean, they could have been average, they could have been poor. They could have just been good. They've chosen to be champions by the way they've gone to work every day, both in the classroom and on the football field. And that, to me is is this senior day is the choices that these guys made had been outstanding."