Brian Kelly’s emotions came to the surface Saturday night.

And why not?

The LSU coach made the call of the night by putting his offense on the field for a game-winning, 2-point conversion as the No. 10 Tigers defeated No. 6 Alabama 32-31 in overtime.

ESPN’s Holly Rowe, who interviewed Kelly right after the game, pointed out the LSU coach was tearing up.

“To come here and restore the pride and tradition of this program just means so much,” Kelly said on the field when he was asked why the win meant so much. “I’ve been welcomed down here. It just feels so good to return the faith and trust they’ve given to me.”

“Now, we have to make sure it doesn’t affect our preparation for Arkansas. We’re going to enjoy this for 24 hours, then get back to work.”

After a long first series in overtime in Alabama resulted in a touchdown, LSU needed one play to score. Quarterback Jayden Daniels ran 25 yards for the score before Kelly decided to go for the win, not the tie.

“It just felt like the right time,” Kelly said of going for two. “Our guys — they played so hard. I’m a bit emotional. I just loved the way our guys competed. I didn’t want to keep going in overtime. It just felt like it was the right time to try and win the game.”

His quarterback was all for going for the win.

“The coaches called the play,” Daniels said. “I know I had to make a play. My teammates did a great job blocking. I give all the credit to God for putting in this position.”

Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.