“We Could Have…”: Brian Kelly's Former LSU Star Makes Painful Admission About Wasted Potential
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Former LSU running back Noah Cain still carries the sting of what the 2023 Tigers could have been. Cain calls that season, home to one of the most explosive offenses in school history, a painful mix of elite potential and defensive collapse that cost them a shot at the national title. He admitted the Tigers had all the pieces to be an “elite team” but couldn’t because they couldn’t piece things together on defense.
“Of course, we didn’t win the championship, but we still got there. Looking back on it, they put that team together as best they could in one year,” Cain said of his year 1 during his appearance at WAFB’sGame Time with John Eads. “There were a lot of different personalities trying to mesh together quickly, and that’s kind of how college football is now. When I look back, we still put together the best team we could in a short amount of time.
“I felt like we were good. I felt like we could have been elite. It just wasn’t our time that year. Obviously, we had the offense, but if the other side of the ball isn’t holding up, then that’s just what it is,” Cain said of the Tigers’ 2023, when they went 10-3 and missed the playoffs.”
Despite losing 12 players to the NFL Draft and more than 13 players to the transfer portal, Brian Kelly did a solid job rebuilding the squad. Even though most of the Tigers’ incoming transfers didn’t arrive on campus until the summer and missed spring ball, Cain praised Kelly’s 2022 team for going 10-4 and winning the SEC West. He also gave tons of credit to Jack Marucci, LSU’s legendary Director of Sports Science, and called him one of the best human beings you’ll ever come across.
In 2o23, too, the Tigers absolutely lit up college football, leading the nation by averaging a ridiculous 45.5 points and 543.5 yards per game.
Cain accepted a smaller role that year, finishing with 181 yards and three scores, but he truly believed the offense did everything humanly possible to win a title. Even though the defense gave up over 40 points in their losses to Florida State, Ole Miss, and Alabama, and 416 yards per game (110th in the nation), Cain, interestingly, defended the defense.
Cain says the defense had NFL-level playmakers, but consistency was the issue. Injuries, late-arriving transfers and a scheme still finding its fit left the unit one step behind, even with stars like Harold Perkins on the field.
Finally, Cain agreed with Eads that it is a “what if” to think about what that offense could have accomplished with just a slightly better defense. Eads brought it up that if they had the 2022 defense, or 2024, or 2025, they would’ve made the playoffs and hopefully the natty.
Cain admitted that it is definitely a shame to look back and wish it would’ve gone differently.
“It’s a bummer. But you can’t do anything about it now, right?”
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