LSU’s Week 8 win over Auburn came with a few standout performances, but Jackson Harris did the most damage and earned game MVP honors.
Harris has become the kind of receiver who changes the whole shape of an offense. Since the A&M game, he has put up 31 catches for 517 yards and seven touchdowns, and against Auburn he was on another level. He finished with nine receptions for 178 yards and two scores, and he came painfully close to a third touchdown while also pushing even closer to the 200-yard mark.
The deep threat from Hawaii is starting to look every bit like the weapon LSU hoped it was getting. His breakaway speed is clearly carrying over to the SEC, and the numbers back it up: he is averaging 17.6 yards per catch this season. Elite.
LSU also got a huge day from DJ Pickett on the back end. With Mansoor Delane gone after being drafted in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, the Tigers needed someone to step in as the next lockdown corner, and Pickett has filled that role.
Against Auburn, he allowed just one catch on five targets, and that one completion produced only one yard. That comes out to a 20% completion rate when quarterbacks threw his way.
That kind of shutdown play matters because it lets LSU do more everywhere else on defense. One corner taking away his side of the field gives the rest of the unit room to disguise, rotate, and create confusion for opposing quarterbacks.
Sam Leavitt also continued his recent surge, even if he did not get the top billing in this one. He had a rough start to the season, but over the last five weeks he has found his rhythm.
Since the Texas A&M game, he has completed more than 70% of his passes in every contest, and that push has lifted him above 70% for the season. That would be the highest completion percentage of his career.
Leavitt has also cleaned things up with the football. For the second straight week, he finished without a turnover showing up on the stat sheet. With that kind of production, QB1 for the Tigers is making a strong case that he belongs among the SEC’s best quarterbacks.
In Other News...
LSU Heads Into Alabama Week With One Big Edge And One Concern
The bye week arrived at a useful moment for LSU, which now gets extra time to prepare before Alabama comes to Baton Rouge on Nov. 7. Oddsmakers have already nudged the Tigers into the favorites role, with LSU laying 3.5 points in a game carrying a total of 52.5, a sign that this matchup is already being viewed as a close one with plenty of points on the table.
The bigger question is how healthy LSU will be when the Tide arrive. The Tigers have spent much of the season managing injuries, and while some players are working their way back, others remain uncertain for the Alabama game. For a team with College Football Playoff ambitions, the margin for error is thin enough that the next two weeks may end up mattering as much as the rivalry itself. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Awaits Huge Recruiting Test As Tension Builds Around Will Wade
The next major recruiting swing for LSU basketball arrives Thursday, when five-star 2027 guard Reese Alston is expected to announce his commitment. LSU remains in the mix alongside Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wichita State, and landing a prospect of that caliber would be a significant lift for a program trying to stay in the conversation on the national recruiting trail.
Rafer Alstons public criticism of LSU coach Will Wade has only added to the intrigue around this recruitment, giving the Tigers a storyline that extends beyond the usual battle for an elite player. With the decision day approaching, LSU is waiting to see whether its pitch can overcome the noise and secure one of the classs most closely watched names. [Read more 🡒]
LSU-Alabama Just Lost One Edge Tiger Stadium Usually Counts On
For years, LSU-Alabama in Tiger Stadium has been a game that seemed built for the night, with the lights, the noise and the setting all adding to the weight of the rivalry. The Southeastern Conference changed that formula for Nov. 7, announcing a 2:30 p.m. kickoff and stripping away one of the familiar edges LSU has leaned on when Alabama comes to Baton Rouge.
Lane Kiffin did not miss the chance to needle the situation, joking that maybe there was a conspiracy behind the daytime start amid LSUs ongoing tensions with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey over the lawsuit involving former LSU players. However tongue-in-cheek the comment, the scheduling shift adds another wrinkle to a meeting that has so often been defined by atmosphere as much as football, and it leaves LSU without the kind of night-game setting that has often made this rivalry feel different on its home field. [Read more 🡒]