Kelly said the unsportsmanlike conduct fouls were uncharacteristic of the two veteran players who committed them, wide receiver Kyren Lacy and safety Major Burns.
“Kyren is working on his emotional control,” Kelly said Tuesday. “If you were here, this young man, I love him because he works on it every day. There was no malice in that. It’s just that he’s such a nervous young man that that’s all he works on. He’s in the locker room saying, ‘I’ve got to keep my emotional control. I’ve got to keep it.’ He works so hard on it. That’s why I was so angry. I was angry at the circumstances because he’s working on it.”
Lacy received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting a USC defensive back after he scored a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The personal foul caused LSU to fall 15 yards short on the ensuing kickoff, which star receiver Zachariah Branch could have returned for a touchdown had kicker Aeron Burrell not tackled him at the LSU 43-yard line.
Burns was then assessed a personal foul for removing his helmet after the Tigers defense stopped USC on fourth down early in the fourth quarter. That penalty put LSU on its next drive from the 36-yard line to the 21-yard line, which ended after running back John Emery was stopped behind the line on a third-and-1.
“The same goes for Major Burns,” Kelly said. “I mean, he was so apologetic and so sorry for taking his helmet off. These are guys who don’t just say, ‘I don’t care. No, I don’t care.’ These guys work so hard at it. That’s why I wish them so much.”
Kelly also noted that LSU’s defense nearly suffered a couple of turnovers. The Tigers forced two fumbles but were unable to recover either. They also intercepted two passes from USC quarterback Miller Moss at the line of scrimmage and nearly recovered the deflected passes.
“It just makes me angry that we don’t get that chance,” Kelly said. “These kids put so much into it.”
On Sunday, Kelly pounded his fist on the table, raised his voice and said he was “pretty angry” at his LSU team for the first time since he took over as coach three years ago. He called the penalties “selfish” and “undisciplined.” He also said LSU could have beaten USC but got “complacent” toward the end of the game.
He said Tuesday that his LSU team sometimes loses focus and turns its attention away from its most immediate goals.
“Under no circumstances can you allow anyone to take that away from you,” Kelly said. “You just can’t allow complacency to set in.”
