Brian Kelly’s LSU will begin the 2025 season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. With a game against No. 4 Clemson on Saturday, Kelly faces an early opportunity and also a big test to climb higher.Off the field, Kelly found himself the subject of some good-natured ribbing from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.Appearing on Monday’s episode of the "Paul Finebaum Show", Kelly discussed his father’s unexpected rise to fame as a breakout personality in Netflix’s "SEC Football: Any Given Saturday". He jokingly admitted he had to warn his dad about his fandom."Well first, my dad, who was part of it, he talked about Ole Miss," Kelly said. "I told him he's not invited to any more games because he loves Lane Kiffin more than he loves me. And who could? Right?"Kiffin couldn’t resist jumping in and tweeted the clip of the interview with the caption:"Sorry BK maybe it was your dancing when you lost him 🤣 @LSUfootball @OleMissFB."Kiffin was poking fun at Kelly’s widely mocked dance with then-recruit Danny Lewis Jr., a three-star tight end from the 2022 class. However, Lewis later committed to Alabama instead of LSU and is now heading into his fourth season with the Crimson Tide. Earlier this offseason, he briefly entered the NCAA transfer portal before withdrawing.Setting the viral moment aside, Kelly made it clear that his dad embraced his newfound spotlight in the Netflix series.“Now he wants a stipend. He thinks he’s a star,” Kelly said (via On3). “It’s been fun. We said we’re just going to be who we are. And if people like us, that’s fine. We really don’t care about it, we’re just going to open up our program.”Brian Kelly is confident in LSU’s depth in 2025LSU suffered a setback when former five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood flipped his commitment to Michigan, where he has been announced as a starter for the Wolverines in 2025. However, the Tigers remain confident with Garrett Nussmeier to lead their quarterback room this season.Analysts like Paul Finebaum believe Brian Kelly has rebuilt the LSU program into a contender and even called the 2025 roster Kelly’s “best team” yet. Kelly himself remains optimistic as the Tigers prepare for their game with Clemson.“Each year, you’re developing depth and developing a DNA within your team when you know much more about them in terms of what to expect," Kelly said (via LSU Reveille). "But I think at the end of the day, it’s about depth and probably the most depth in the roster.“We still have to go out and play and perform at the highest level, but I think what’s different is it’s a mature group that has played a lot of football and we’re not going into a game where we can’t handle the moment.”LSU finished the 2024 season with a 9-4 record.