BATON ROUGE – Is it a case of resting on last week’s season-opening laurels after emerging as a national championship contender?
“It’s a reality check,” LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt admitted.
Or could it be looking ahead to the real-life hell that awaits them next weekend at Ole Miss in the Burn Lane Kiffin At The Stake Welcome Home Party?
“We know what we’re walking into,” Tigers’ linebacker Whit Weeks said with a thin smile.
Somewhere between the dichotomy of theories is the truth why 35-½ point favorite, top-10 ranked LSU (2-0) stumbled punch-drunk through its first half before subduing Louisiana Tech 45-14 here Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
And here’s the whole troof and nothing but the troof.
The Tigers’ defense is magnificent, a perfect storm of speed, athleticism and violence with elite defenders from sideline to sideline. Giving up a per game average so far of 12 points, 8 first downs and 142.5 yards per game (18.5 rushing, 124 passing), along with 22 tackles for loss and 11 QB sacks, is crackin’ opposing noggins like they were walnuts.
“Our defense was lights out again,” said LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, whose Blake Baker-coordinated unit of seek-and-destroy cyborgs held Louisiana Tech to zero total offense yards (20 passing, minus 20 rushing) and zero first downs in 20 first-half plays. “I can’t imagine what the stats are through two games when the first team defense is out there.”
Who needs to imagine? In 45 first-half plays vs. opposing offenses in LSU’s opening pair of matchups vs. Clemson and Tech, the Tigers’ defense has allowed one first down, 54 total offense yards (78 passing, minus 24 rushing yards) and 0 of 14 third down conversions.
“The standard is playing 11 hats to the ball, fast, physical, and dominant,” said LSU edge rusher Princewell Umanmielen, who had three sacks and four tackles for loss vs. the Bulldogs.
While the Tigers’ defense so far has been money-in-the-bank, the same can’t be said just yet for LSU’s offense.
Sure, that’s a somewhat insane statement, considering the Tigers are averaging 586 total offense yards (358 pass, 228 points), 48 points and 89.5 snaps.
The thing is, in Kiffin’s raid-fire system, LSU should gain 500 yards each game sleepwalking.
“We’re winning by 31 points, and we’re really upset, so you know, we got a good standard going,” Kiffin said.
That benchmark is not what Leavitt has delivered – a 56.5 passing completion percentage, four interceptions and one TD – in first halves combined against Clemson and Tech.
While his scrambling ability – 67.6 rushing yards per game and five rushing TDs – is certainly welcome, his passing inaccuracy and decision-making isn’t befitting of a $5 million QB with 22 college starts (20 for Arizona State, 2 for LSU).
The Tigers scored one TD in its 10-7 halftime lead against Tech. Leavitt had a disastrous second quarter when he threw three interceptions.
One overthrow of 6 foot, 7-inch tight end Trey’Dez Green (which seems damned near impossible) and two terrible decisions to throw in double and triple coverage resulted in a trio of mistakes, including a stunning 90-yard TD interception return by Tech’s Jordan McRae with 1:53 left in the first half.
“Their (Tech’s) defensive staff deserves a lot of credit, they did a really good job,” Kiffin said. “They waited to make calls and timed up a lot of blitzes. In the second half, we adjusted more by snapping the ball faster and not trying to be in the perfect play.
“Our offensive line didn’t play well. Sam’s gotta do a better job of taking care of the ball. He’s very competitive. You can see that in some plays he’s trying too much.”
Leavitt can’t afford such mistakes when the Tigers open SEC play next Saturday at Ole Miss in the long-awaited hate match of the 2026 season. The incendiary fan base has been unforgiving of Kiffin after he left the program to fill LSU vacancy at the end of the regular season last November before the Rebels’ playoff run.
The Tigers moved to No. 7 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls on Sunday. The AP has Ole Miss at No. 8 and the Coaches placed the Rebels at No. 9.
Next Saturday’s game marks the first time in 64 years LSU and Ole Miss play each other as top 10 ranked teams.
On Nov. 3, 1962, then-No. 6 Ole Miss beat No.4 15-7 in Tiger Stadium. It marked the end of a five-year run in which the Tigers and Rebels faced each other five times with both teams ranked in the top 10. LSU was 3-2 in those legendary matchups.
Three Ole Miss transfers – Umanmielen, linebacker TJ Dottery and wide receiver Winton Watkins – now start for the Tigers.
“Next game on schedule,” said a stone-faced Umanmielen of his return to face his old teammates. “Attack it like we do every other week. Practice hard. Practice how you play.”
Kiffin said he told his team Saturday’s partly shaky win over the Bulldogs was an “attention-getter.
“You’re getting ready to go on the road in the SEC versus a really good team that has played really well for years at that place,” said Kiffin, who coached the Rebels for six seasons. “It’s harder to get their (his LSU squad) attention after last week, so this struggle was good. I‘m glad it happened.”
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