LSU head coach Brian Kelly couldn’t contain his frustration after the No. 13 LSU Tigers lost their season opener 27-20 to No. 23 USC on Sunday night. Despite LSU holding a four-point lead with less than six minutes left, the team couldn’t secure the win, prompting Kelly to express his anger during the postgame press conference.

“Tonight, some guys worked their asses off and now we’re sitting here talking about the same things again!” Kelly told ESPN, banging his fist on the table in frustration. He stressed that the team didn’t do well enough, adding, “I’m so angry about it that I have to do something about it. I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach.”

Kelly specifically criticized his team’s lack of “killer instinct,” noting that it was the first time he was “angry” at his team during his tenure at LSU. He expressed disappointment that they were unable to knock off USC when they had the chance. “Unfortunately, it’s clear that we don’t know how to act when we get ahead in a game,” Kelly said. “We get complacent, we make more mistakes when we’re ahead instead of focusing better and having an iron-clad killer instinct.”

The Tigers’ offensive efforts were undermined by 10 penalties totaling 99 yards, some of which came at critical moments. On USC’s game-winning drive, a targeted possession penalty against LSU put the Trojans in the red zone, leading to their game-winning touchdown with just eight seconds left on the clock.

Although LSU outscored USC with 421 yards of offense and controlled time of possession, LSU’s running game struggled, managing just 117 rushing yards. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, but LSU’s offense stalled in the final quarter, leading to two punts, a field goal and a game-winning interception.

Kelly concluded by saying, “For us to be the kind of football team I want us to be, we have to avoid the stupid mistakes.”