While most College Football fans remember Joe Burrow as the Heisman Trophy winner who put together one of the most dominant College Football seasons of All-Time, LSU fans remember Joe Burrow before he truly became Joe Burrow. LSU fans remember Burrow falling short of the 300 yard mark in most games during the 2018 season as he was a good quarterback but, not a great quarterback.
The moment LSU fans feel like Burrow's switch flipped was in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl when Joe Burrow got blindsided and taunted after throwing a pick-six against UCF before leading LSU to a win in that game and going on the most dominant stretch in College Football History the next season.
This season Brian Kelly may have gone through a similar stretch with a rough stretch on the field and a massive loss on the recruiting trail. At the end of October, LSU blew a game they were in complete control of against Texas A&M knocking LSU out of first place in the SEC. The following game against an Alabama team that had its flaws, the Tigers got demolished by Alabama 42-13 ending the Tigers hopes of an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff. The next week with a slight hope of making the SEC Championship still alive, LSU got stunned on the road in Florida which ended up hurting even more as the Tigers would've made it to Atlanta because they got the help they needed.
On November 21st, Brian Kelly and his staff suffered their biggest setback yet, as Bryce Underwood the Nation's top recruit who gave LSU fans all the hope for the future flipped his commitment to Michigan.
Ever since that moment, LSU and Brian Kelly have made a complete 180 for the better as the Tigers have recovered nicely. The team won it's final three games of the season showing they hadn't quit and that it was the right core to build around.
Before the spring transfer portal in 2024, Brian Kelly said he "wasn't in the market of buying players" in regards to the high asking prices from players in the transfer portal. After the season Brian Kelly flipped his mindset drastically donating $1 Million of his own money helping the school raise $3.2 million reloading the roster via the transfer portal.
The Winter transfer portal window saw the LSU Football team bring in one of the Nation's best transfer classes, signaling a full reload and putting the Tigers in the College Football Playoff conversation. Spring practice gave the Tigers other big wins as True Freshmen DJ Pickett, Harlem Berry, and Carius Curne looked like instant impact players.
However, just like before the 2024 season, the LSU Tigers entered the spring transfer portal window with two clear needs at defensive tackle and safety. Rather than saying he wasn't in the market of buying players, Brian Kelly and his staff may have been the highest bidders at both positions. The Tigers got Bernard Gooden and AJ Haulcy the top defensive tackle and safety in the transfer portal on campus for visits and quickly ended both recruitments.
Heading into the 2025 season, LSU now has its best roster of the Brian Kelly era making the Tigers a top contender for the College Football Playoff. If one of the three losses goes a different way, maybe Brian Kelly feels the Tigers were close and doesn't sense the urgency as the Tigers would've made the SEC Championship. If Bryce Underwood signs with LSU then maybe the Tigers don't have the spending power to build a roster this talented. Brian Kelly has all the pieces in place now and that three game losing streak may end up being the best thing for the Tigers.