LSU didn’t hire Lane Kiffin to nibble around the edges of a broken offense. It brought him in to rip out what wasn’t working and put something faster, sharper and far more dangerous in its place.
Five games into his tenure, the early returns are loud.
Kiffin said Monday, “I feel really good about our team,” Kiffin said on Monday. “We’ve had a lot of times where we’ve played as well as anybody in the country.”
That confidence has backing. LSU has played one of the SEC’s three lightest schedules so far, according to ESPN’s strength of schedule metrics, but the Tigers are also producing like one of the best offenses in the sport.
The clearest signs are showing up on the ground. LSU ranks 15th nationally in rushing offense and is averaging 238 rushing yards and 3.8 rushing scores per game.
If it gains 164 rushing yards Saturday against Kentucky (6 p.m., ESPN), it will pass last season’s total on the ground. That would be a striking turnaround for a team that finished with one of the 12 least productive rushing attacks in the country.
The touchdown numbers tell the same story. LSU scored only 10 rushing touchdowns in 2025. In five games this season, it already has 19, which leads all FBS teams.
The Tigers have also turned chunk gains into a regular part of the package. Only 11 FBS teams have more runs of at least 10 yards than LSU, and Kiffin’s group put up seven of them against McNeese alone. If LSU gets five more such runs against Kentucky, it will match the number Kelly’s offense produced in 13 games last season.
This isn’t just one back carrying the load, either. LSU is one of only seven FBS teams with four players at 150 rushing yards or more: Dilin Jones (426), Sam Leavitt (220), Harlem Berry (196) and Stacy Gage (166).
Jones, the Wisconsin transfer, has been the biggest mover so far. He ranks fifth among SEC ballcarriers in yards and third in attempts with 94. He’s just 80 yards shy of topping what LSU’s 2025 rushing leader, Caden Durham, put up across 12 games last season.
Berry and Gage have added efficiency to the mix. Both are averaging more than 7 yards per carry, giving LSU another layer of pop behind Jones.
The tempo has been just as striking. Kiffin has made no secret that he wants his offense moving with pace, and the numbers back that up.
LSU ran more plays than more than 90 FBS teams last season. This year, no team that has played five games has run more.
The Tigers just set a school record with 101 plays against McNeese, pushing their season total to 415, or 83 per game.
That speed is helping drive everything else, including LSU’s work on third down. The Tigers are converting 52% of their third-down chances, which ranks 12th nationally. That’s a sharp rebound from 2025, when LSU slipped to 96th in third-down conversion rate at 37% after being sixth nationally at 49% the year before.
The offense is piling up first downs, too. LSU has already broken the program record for first downs in a game twice, and its 141 total first downs are behind only Southern Cal and Miami among FBS teams. The Tigers are averaging 28.2 first downs per game, a massive jump from last season’s 18.8, which ranked 102nd in the nation.
Even with the lighter schedule, LSU’s new offense has done exactly what it was hired to do: look different, look faster and produce like a unit built for the top tier.
In Other News...
Former LSU Standouts Are Already Turning Heads In The NFL
The early returns on a pair of former LSU standouts have been hard to miss, even with both players just getting settled in the NFL. Mansoor Delane has already flashed in Kansas City, picking off a pass and staying active around the ball with pass breakups and tackles, while also working through an early injury. It is the kind of start that keeps a coaching staff watching closely, especially for a young defender trying to carve out a role.
Harold Perkins has made his presence felt in Atlanta, too, and his latest outing against the New Orleans Saints stood out as the kind of performance that can change the conversation around a player. He piled up 10 tackles, added half a sack and broke up a pass, a busy stat line that showed the range and urgency LSU fans remember. For both players, the bigger question now is not whether they belong, but how quickly their first impressions can turn into something lasting. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Landed A Guard Commitment That Raises This Classs Ceiling
LSUs 2027 recruiting class got a major boost with the commitment of King Gibson, the No. 16 overall prospect in the cycle. The 6-foot-4 combo guard from SPIRE Academy made his choice after official visits to LSU, Providence, Arkansas and Louisville, giving the Tigers a high-level addition with the kind of size and two-way profile that tends to travel well.
Gibson has been evaluated as a physically mature guard with solid size, shooting ability and defensive skills, traits that help explain why this commitment is viewed as such a strong one for LSU. For a program trying to keep stacking talent early in the cycle, landing a player with this ceiling does more than fill a spot - it changes the look of the class. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Faces A Huge LSU Test With No Room For Another Slow Start
Kentuckys comeback against South Carolina kept the Wildcats from leaving empty-handed, but it also reinforced the margin for error in the SEC. Down 17-0 before rallying to win 35-34 in overtime, Kentucky still slipped out of the AP Top 25, and first-year coach Will Stein made clear this week that surviving another slow start wont be nearly enough against No. 10 LSU.
The challenge gets even steeper because LSU arrives with its own issues, even while remaining one of the leagues most complete teams on both sides of the ball. Lane Kiffins group has been managing injuries, but the Tigers still have the kind of defensive front and offensive talent that can punish a team before it finds its footing, which leaves Kentucky staring at a test that demands a cleaner start and a full four quarters. [Read more 🡒]