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American Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- American Press
Scooter Hobbs column: Kelly opens SEC Media Days with opener on his mind
Brian Kelly wasn't just spouting coaching gibberish when he led off the talkfest known as Southeastern Conference Media Days on Monday morning. You know the drill. Ask any of these coaches about, say, a key November rivalry war and they'll dial up an off-stage hook to eject the offender. Their sole focus, coaches will tell you with a straight face and schoolmarm finger point, is on the rent-a-win game the schedule has served up on a platter as a season-opener. If the sky-cam added to this year's media days is on alert, it can scan the media hordes and catch many eyes rolling toward the ceiling. But Kelly gets a pass there. With Kelly, season openers have hit critical mass. Never mind that LSU long ago discarded the season-opening, tune-up scheduling ploy. The Tigers have been playing real teams out of the gates, for sure, but are 0-3 in openers on Kelly's watch, an LSU streak that reaches five with the last two years of Ed Orgeron. Kelly is well award of it. He is also fed up and he's done dancing around the subject. He's pushing all his cards for the season out there right off the bat, going all-in for this year's opener at Clemson. The LSU weight room has the familiar Clemson tiger paws on the bags his own Tigers hit every day. The TV screens therein shine with the singular message, '1-0.' 'I think it is important for us to have a tangible, specific goal,' Kelly said. 'We needed to do some things differently this year. That is, embrace this opener … that this is a big game … let's not warm up into the season.' 'We know what our past records have been,' LSU linebacker Whit Weeks said. 'Every day we go into work to change that narrative.' Kelly's failures came twice against Florida State and last year against Southern Call. The two years before that it was Mississippi State and UCLA. Kelly is drawing the line in the sand against a Clemson team that should be the toughest of his LSU openers — and it's in the wrong 'Death Valley,' Clemson's Memorial Stadium. 'That's what you want,' Weeks said. 'You want to go play a good team you don't want to lollygag into the season; you want to get into a fistfight the first week.' Fine. The LSU-Clemson winner will put itself squarely in the playoff discussion. But, in truth, the opening-game failures have not been the death kneel for any of Kelly's LSU teams. And as much as falling short on the scoreboard, the Tigers didn't play well in any of those ugly openers. They pretty much recovered. Last year, for instance, Kelly's Tigers recovered from the late loss to USC and were seemingly cruising along at 6-1 before a collapse at Texas A&M was a prelude to a three-game losing streak. His first year, with his least talented roster, he overcame an opening loss to Florida State to beat Alabama en route to the SEC championship game. Going 0-3 in openers hasn't kept the Tigers from going 3-0 in bowl games, which naturally raised the expectations before the following season-opening flops. Of course, none of the postseason successes were playoff games, which with the expanded field will be the new measuring stick for teams of LSU's ilk. Yet Kelly is willing to raise the bar now and put it all on the line against Clemson, seemingly willing to worry about Florida in Week 3, Ole Miss in Week 5 and South Carolina in Week 6 when the time comes. He seems to know his team, which he really likes — likes it enough to put a tough goal in front of them from the very start. Why? His confidence seemed to be genuine. Never mind that the SEC will be as tough as ever. Mainly, he said, it will be the best top-to-bottom LSU roster he has had, with no excuse not to be the best team. It is even threatening to play some real defense, which would be a start with another prolific offense seemingly assumed. 'I love our roster, our team,' Kelly said, 'The camaraderie of the group, the seriousness and focus. I think we're going to have a defense that's going to be representative.' That would be a start. 'Anytime you go on the road and play a team like Clemson, you better bring a defense with you,' he said. __ Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics for the Lake Charles American Press.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LSU football kickoff times set for SEC opener vs Florida, week 2 vs Louisiana Tech
BATON ROUGE — More kickoff times for college football games are rolling in as the current sports calendar has hit the dog days of the offseason. LSU football received kickoff times and television designations Thursday for its Weeks 2 and 3 games against Louisiana Tech and Florida at Tiger Stadium this fall. Advertisement The Tigers' home opener against instate for Louisiana Tech during week two on Sept. 6 will start at 6:30 p.m. and be streamed on ESPN+/SEC Network+. The following week, the Tigers will open up Southeastern Conference play against rival Florida at home and that game will also be a 6:30 p.m. kickoff time with ABC handling the broadcasting duties. LSU-CLEMSON KICKOFF TIME SET LSU football-Clemson kickoff time, TV channel has been set LSU SCHEDULES HOME-AND-HOME WITH SMU LSU football schedules home-and-home series with SMU LSU now has the kickoff times for its first three games of the 2025 season set and all three are night games. The start time for its season opener at Clemson om Aug. 30 was designated a couple of weeks. Advertisement The LSU-Clemson marquee Week 1 showdown at Memorial Stadium will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC. AJ HAULCY What LSU football is getting in Houston safety transfer A.J. Haulcy LSU SPRING PORTAL TRACKER LSU football roster tracker: Who's in, out during 2025 spring transfer portal window Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@ This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football kickoff times set for Florida, Louisiana Tech matchups
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
REPORT: Texas blocked Ohio State's attempt to move opener to prime time
When Fox Sports announced it had secured the rights to broadcast the Texas Longhorns 2025 season opener at Ohio State, there was one piece of information missing -- the time. Speculation swirled that, instead of the usual "Big Noon Saturday" time slot Fox uses for its top weekly game, the matchup would be moved to prime time. A new report suggests it was the Longhorns that blocked moving the game's start time. A few days after the original announcement, It was leaked that the game on Fox Sports would indeed be a Big Noon Saturday game. Ohio State fans have grown frustrated with Fox broadcasting the majority of their games at Noon. Many feel the early start diminishes the game-day atmosphere and excitement, especially for Ohio State fans accustomed to late afternoon or evening games that allow for a long tailgate. But the apparent reason Fox left the time off of the original graphic was because the Buckeyes' athletic department was lobbying for the Cotton Bowl rematch against Texas be moved to prime time on Sunday, either in the late afternoon or evening. Advertisement According to a new report by Chip Brown at Horns247, it was the Longhorns athletic department that rejected that proposal. Apparently, the feeling was Texas would have a better chance winning a Big Noon game on Saturday than a night game on Sunday. It's also possible Texas didn't want to disrupt travel or preparation for the next week's game against San Jose State. Obviously, those things could have been overcome if Texas actually wanted to facilitate the move. If the game could have been moved to prime time on Saturday night, Texas would have very little say in the matter. But the fact Ohio State wanted to move the game to another date (the next day) meant they had to get Texas' sign off. UT apparently did not sign off on the move. Saturday, August 30 has a slew of season openers, including LSU-Clemson in prime time on ABC. Sunday's only game is Notre Dame-Miami, also on ABC. Ohio State wanted the game to be played either in the late afternoon or at night on Sunday. Texas said no. Advertisement It's just one more storyline added to what will be an epic opener. This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas blocked Ohio State's attempt to move opener to prime time
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Florida State football's kickoff time in season opener vs Alabama reportedly set
Florida State's football season opener against Alabama will be a day game at Doak Campbell Stadium. According to Brett McMurphy, the game time for this SEC-ACC matchup will be at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30. Beforehand, the Tennessee-Syracuse game, which will be in Atlanta, will be at noon. The LSU-Clemson game will be a primetime game at 7:30 p.m. For Sunday's slate, the South Carolina-Virginia Tech game will be on ESPN at 3 p.m. in Atlanta. This will be the sixth meeting between FSU and Alabama, but it'll be played at Doak for the first time. The stadium is expected to be fully renovated before kickoff. The FSU-Bama game is considered a host site for ESPN's "College GameDay", in which Lee Corso, an FSU alum, will be making his final appearance on the tailgate show. Advertisement FSU is coming off a 2-10 season last year, while Alabama finished 9-4. Mike Norvell will be in his sixth season with the Seminoles. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. FSU football 2025 season schedule Aug. 30, Alabama, 3:30 p.m. Sept. 6, East Texas A&M, TBA Sept. 20, Kent State, TBA Sept. 26, at Virginia (Friday), TBA Oct. 4, Miami, TBA Oct. 11, Pittsburgh, TBA Oct. 18, at Stanford, TBA Nov. 1 Wake Forest, TBA Nov. 8 at Clemson, TBA Nov. 15 Virginia Tech, TBA Nov. 21 North Carolina State (Fri.), TBA Nov. 29, Florida, TBA More: FSU football boosts offense by adding a pair of Gavins from NCAA transfer portal This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State football vs. Alabama in Week 1: Channel, kickoff time
USA Today
22-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
REPORT: Texas blocked Ohio State's attempt to move opener to prime time
REPORT: Texas blocked Ohio State's attempt to move opener to prime time When Fox Sports announced it had secured the rights to broadcast the Texas Longhorns 2025 season opener at Ohio State, there was one piece of information missing -- the time. Speculation swirled that, instead of the usual "Big Noon Saturday" time slot Fox uses for its top weekly game, the matchup would be moved to prime time. A new report suggests it was the Longhorns that blocked moving the game's start time. A few days after the original announcement, It was leaked that the game on Fox Sports would indeed be a Big Noon Saturday game. Ohio State fans have grown frustrated with Fox broadcasting the majority of their games at Noon. Many feel the early start diminishes the game-day atmosphere and excitement, especially for Ohio State fans accustomed to late afternoon or evening games that allow for a long tailgate. But the apparent reason Fox left the time off of the original graphic was because the Buckeyes' athletic department was lobbying for the Cotton Bowl rematch against Texas be moved to prime time on Sunday, either in the late afternoon or evening. According to a new report by Chip Brown at Horns247, it was the Longhorns athletic department that rejected that proposal. Apparently, the feeling was Texas would have a better chance winning a Big Noon game on Saturday than a night game on Sunday. It's also possible Texas didn't want to disrupt travel or preparation for the next week's game against San Jose State. Obviously, those things could have been overcome if Texas actually wanted to facilitate the move. If the game could have been moved to prime time on Saturday night, Texas would have very little say in the matter. But the fact Ohio State wanted to move the game to another date (the next day) meant they had to get Texas' sign off. UT apparently did not sign off on the move. Saturday, August 30 has a slew of season openers, including LSU-Clemson in prime time on ABC. Sunday's only game is Notre Dame-Miami, also on ABC. Ohio State wanted the game to be played either in the late afternoon or at night on Sunday. Texas said no. It's just one more storyline added to what will be an epic opener.
