Lane Kiffin says the LSU move has already paid off, and he isn’t second-guessing it.
Speaking Thursday on the Brandon Walker College Football Show, the first-year Tigers coach was asked whether what he expected in Baton Rouge matched what he’s actually found halfway through the season. Kiffin didn’t flinch.
“Yeah, that and even more,” Kiffin said. “I don’t just say these things as you know.
Unlike that Kentucky game, where every day it haunts me, I’ve never thought twice about this decision. Just from getting here and seeing, when you play at home here, the stadium, the environment, the state, the people, how much support there is for football.
Then, the kids in the state, how they play, how they love football.”
For Kiffin, the sell has been the whole package: the crowd, the culture, and the way football is treated in Louisiana.
He went further, pointing to the team he’s inherited and the way LSU has handled a complicated transition.
“We’re 8 games in. We’ve played already as well as anybody in the country at times and we’re a really dangerous team.
We’re able to do that in an offseason like we’ll never have before. We got here, then our coaches are still coaching there, going back and forth, didn’t know our current players on the team previous.
As crazy as it sounds, we will always have better rosters than we do here.”
Kiffin has been one of the biggest talking points in college football since his controversial exit from Ole Miss before the Rebels’ Playoff run, but the noise has quieted some as LSU has settled into a 6-2 start.
That record sets up a huge Week 10 test against Alabama, with both teams carrying two losses into a matchup that carries major weight for each side. From there, the SEC slate offers no soft landing spots.
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LSUs Transfer Gamble Is Now Defining The Playoff Push
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But the portal has not been a clean success story across the board, and the uneven returns are part of what makes this stretch so interesting for LSU. Wide receiver Jayce Brown and tight ends Malachi Thomas and Zach Grace have yet to match expectations, while the offensive line remains a work in progress with transfer starters still trying to lock down their spots. For a team trying to separate itself late in the year, the question is no longer whether the gambles paid off in spots, but whether enough of them will hold when the pressure climbs. [Read more 🡒]
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Mansoor Delane had his hands full in coverage against Jaxon Smith-Njigba, while A.J. Haulcys growing impact for the Colts has made him more noticeable on that side of the ball. Zavion Thomas saw penalties cut into his playing time, Bauer Sharp spent a blowout game in a blocking role, and Barion Brown kept working into the Saints offense. Harold Perkins flashed as a tackler for the Falcons, and Jack Pyburn was inactive for the Chiefs, a reminder that the jump from college success to a stable NFL role is rarely a straight line. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Bye Week Still Carries Real Playoff Pressure
After eight games and a 6-2 start, LSU gets a bye week with no chance to hide from the bigger picture. The Tigers still control plenty of their own destiny, and the path is clear enough: win out the regular season, get into the SEC championship game and keep the College Football Playoff conversation alive.
Even if LSU ends up at 9-3, the rsum debate will not be simple, because the path back into the playoff picture also depends on a series of other results around the country. Conference races, head-to-head outcomes and how the committee weighs the final stretch will all matter, which means this bye week is less of a breather than it looks. The Tigers can rest, but they cannot really relax. [Read more 🡒]