No. 20 LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) remains in headlines this week after the Tigers dropped a Week 8 SEC matchup to the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville.
The Bayou Bengals have now lost two out of the program’s last three matchups while falling from the No. 4 team in the country to No. 20 in the latest AP Top-25 Poll.
Now, social media is swirling with the LSU fanbase, former players, and more concerned about the current state of the program in Baton Rouge.
Prior to Week 8 at Vanderbilt, former LSU defensive back – and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark – revealed a prediction for the matchup while adding a teaser at the end.
“Obviously, it’s Vanderbilt-LSU,” Clark said on ESPN’s First Take. “And, I am a homer, for sure. For me, it’s – who is the real LSU? Where’s the Garrett Nussmeier that was supposed to go top-five? Where is this explosive offense that you supposedly were able to get by having a track team, or a 4×1 team in the wide receiver room?
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“You have a defense that’s playing top tier. Now, can you go and play Diego Pavia, who is all energy, all execution, all fight, and can you go and win that game handily? Because, if you can’t, then that’s an issue, and you are not a College Football Playoff team.”
But Clark also tossed out a statement towards the end of his statement where he seemingly pitched LSU head coach Brian Kelly to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
“If they do (make the College Football Playoff)? Penn State? There’s a great coach at LSU named Brian Kelly, that everybody loves, that you should look at,” Clark said.
It’s no secret Penn State and head coach James Franklin parted ways last week with the program now beginning its head coaching search.
For Clark, he believes Kelly should be a current head coach that the Nittany Lions should pursue moving forward.
Sports Illustrated recently labeled Kelly as a potential candidate once the job freed up in College Park.
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“There’s a case to be made that Kelly and Franklin were the two most successful head coaches not to have won a national title and that going from one to the other will only produce the same results in State College, Pa,” Sports Illustrated wrote.
“But Kelly is a serial winner and seems like a much better cultural fit at Penn State than LSU. A change of scenery on the coach’s end and a big name on the school’s end could be a win all around.”
No. 20 LSU will return to action in Week 9 for an SEC matchup against No. 3 Texas A&M with the showdown set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. from Tiger Stadium.
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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.
