The LSU-Ole Miss buildup already had plenty of fuel, and Wednesday night added another jolt: LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt was listed as doubtful on the SEC’s initial availability report.
That alone turns the spotlight in a new direction. The game has been circled for months, and Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford as LSU’s head coach only intensified the noise around it.
He helped rebuild Ole Miss, then took the LSU job, bringing staff members and Ole Miss players with him. That made this matchup feel personal before anyone even looked at an injury report.
Now the biggest question is whether Leavitt’s status is real or part of Kiffin’s usual chess match. There was no indication that Leavitt left the Louisiana Tech game hurt, though it’s possible he was dealing with something from the Clemson game, where he threw three interceptions.
If this is a genuine injury, it changes the whole shape of the night for LSU. Landen Clark would be stepping way up in competition after starting his career at Elon, while Husan Longstreet would be making his first career start after serving as USC’s backup last season.
And if it’s not an injury? Then Kiffin may be forcing Ole Miss to prepare for two different quarterbacks and splitting the Rebels’ attention right before kickoff.
The atmosphere around the week has already been charged, with talk of police and security presence in Oxford and Ole Miss filing a lawsuit Tuesday against former Rebel Princewill Umanmielen over unpaid buyout fees. Leavitt’s doubtful tag just adds another layer to a game that already had no shortage of storylines.
It also raises the stakes for LSU in a big way. A setback at quarterback would be a major hit to the Tigers’ chances in the game and, by extension, their College Football Playoff hopes.
The matchup itself is loaded. Kiffin is back in Oxford facing the program he helped elevate, while Pete Golding is now leading that Ole Miss team. On the other side, Ole Miss has one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Trinidad Chambliss, while LSU may be forced to navigate the most hostile setting possible with a backup.
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