LSU is still early in the Lane Kiffin era, but Joel Klatt is already buying the Tigers as a real SEC Championship threat.
With the Tigers set to hit the midway point of season 1 under Kiffin this weekend against Kentucky, the picture around LSU remains a little blurry. The schedule has not yet turned into the kind of grind that usually tells you exactly what a team is made of, and the one true measuring stick so far came in a 32-24 loss to Ole Miss in Week 3, when Kiffin went back to Oxford.
Even with that blemish, Klatt came away from Wednesday’s episode of The Joel Klatt Show sounding bullish on both Kiffin and LSU. He pointed straight to the defense as the reason for his confidence.
“They’re kind of where they need to be at this point, and they have, what I think is the most important thing to have in the SEC, and that is a pass rush,” Klatt said. “They can get after the passer. They’ve got things on the defensive side that will cause major problems for the direct schedule and competitors… Don’t look now, but LSU could absolutely make a run at the SEC Championship.”
That kind of praise lands differently for an LSU team that has long been associated with offense first, especially in a Kiffin-led program. But through this stretch, it’s been the defense that has set the tone for the Tigers.
Whether Klatt is ultimately right about how good this group really is will be answered soon enough. LSU has seven weeks ahead to keep stacking wins and show it belongs in the SEC Championship conversation.
In Other News...
LSU Gets A Reassuring Injury Report Before Kentucky Game
LSU heads into its SEC matchup with Kentucky carrying the same kind of availability report it was expected to have, with five Tigers ruled out and no late surprises attached to the list. For a team trying to keep its focus on the conference grind, the news matters less for who is missing than for the fact that the absences were anticipated well in advance, leaving the Tigers with a clearer read on how they will line up.
Kentuckys report is a little more layered, with five players out and a mix of questionable and probable tags that could still alter the depth chart by kickoff. The most encouraging sign for the Wildcats is that Jason Patterson and Aaron Gates are not on the injury report at all and are expected to be available, which gives Kentucky some stability as it tries to navigate a shorter margin for error in an SEC game that already carries plenty of weight. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into Kentucky With Major Injury Questions On Both Sides
LSUs injury picture keeps evolving as the Tigers get ready for Kentucky, and the list of unavailable players already includes several significant season-ending losses. Wide receiver Phillip Wright III, safety Dashawn Spears and linebacker Charles Ross are all done for the year, forcing LSU to keep reshuffling pieces on both sides of the ball while trying to maintain its footing in the SEC race.
Tight end Trey'Dez Green adds another layer of uncertainty, with his recovery timeline still unclear even as there is some hope he could return sooner than expected. In the meantime, LSU has been leaning on replacements like safety Tamarcus Cooley and linebacker Davhon Keys, and how well those fill-in roles hold up could shape what the Tigers look like against Kentucky and beyond. [Read more 🡒]
Sam Leavitt Is Why LSU Still Has To Prove It
LSUs place in the SEC conversation still feels like a work in progress, even with the kind of talent that usually keeps the Tigers in the top tier. Caroline Fenton put them in the conferences second tier, pointing to the offenses ceiling but also to the unease that comes with Sam Leavitts turnovers. He has thrown seven interceptions this season, and a hamstring issue has only added to the questions around how steady LSU can be when the schedule tightens.
There is still plenty in LSUs favor, starting with a defense under Blake Baker that Fenton praised as a real strength. The Tigers also showed what they can look like when everything clicks in the second half against Ole Miss, and that remains the blueprint if they want to push from good to truly dangerous. Leavitt is expected to be fully healthy for Kentucky, which makes the next stretch feel less like a talent check and more like a proof-of-concept test. [Read more 🡒]