More than a Game - An Article by Jim Gazzolo

Last season Brian Kelly gambled and it paid off.

In his first season as the LSU head coach Kelly rolled the dice against the Tigers’ biggest foe.

Down by a point against mighty Alabama, Kelly chose to go for two instead of taking a tie and sending the game to overtime after a late touchdown. It worked.

The Tigers made the two-point conversion and Kelly had his biggest victory of his first year in Baton Rouge. While LSU finished with four losses, it’s that win that Tiger fans talk about most.

Now LSU is back for more against Alabama in what is a make-or-break game of this season. A win and the Tigers can think about a return trip to Atlanta and the SEC title game.

A loss and not only is that gone so is the belief the Tigers might actually have caught up to the Tide if are not ready to pass them. 

Two early losses, one inside the conference, make this a much more important game for LSU. Saturday night is the last chance to wipe clean the ugly loss to Florida State that opened this season.

“Everybody knows this is one of those games that will put you in a position to challenge for an SEC championship game,” Kelly said. 

For this coach though it is much more than that. 

Right or wrong Kelly’s reputation for winning big games is often called into question. At Notre Dame he had his share of upsets but could never get the Irish to win a national championship.

Claiming that was the reason for his move to LSU Kelly would need an awful lot of things to go his way for the Tigers to get a shot this year no matter what happens Saturday night.

But winning two in a row right out of the gate against Alabama, the gold standard in college football for the last decade-plus sure would be a boost to his reputation.

Kelly may say that doesn’t matter but it does to his fans who still don’t seem sure what to make yet of this visitor from the North. Knocking off Nick Saban once again might just make Kelly a favorite son the the Bayou.

At least for one week for sure.

Kelly was brought to LSU in order to win games like these and get the Tigers back to the top level of college football. They enter this week ranked 13th in the land while Alabama sits at No. 8.

A victory and suddenly those spots might be flipped come Monday morning. 

Winning big games is not what Kelly has made his reputation by doing, but to stay at LSU and live happily ever after he will have to capture his share of such contests.

And none get bigger than Alabama for the Tigers.

It can make or break a season and a coach’s reputation.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese athletics. He is the host of Poke Nation on CBS-Lake Charles.