LSU and Mississippi State are headed into Saturday’s SEC matchup at Tiger Stadium with both rosters stretched thin, and the injury report is already shaping the game before kickoff.
LSU has been dealing with a long list of absences, including five players officially out ahead of the Oct. 10 game against Kentucky: tight end Trey’Dez Green, linebackers Whit Weeks and Charles Ross, and wide receivers Dashawn Spears and Phillip Wright III. Green injured his knee in LSU’s 32-24 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 19 and is expected back later in the season.
Spears tore an ACL in that same game and is not expected to return. Weeks suffered a fractured fibula against Texas A&M and is not expected to play against Mississippi State.
Ross also tore his ACL in the A&M game, while Wright III is out for the season with a leg injury.
Mississippi State is carrying its own injury concerns into Baton Rouge. The Bulldogs have several players listed as questionable or out, including running back Fluff Bothwell, quarterback Kamario Taylor, linebacker Jalen Smith, offensive guard Jamari Freeman, defensive lineman Trevion Williams and wide receivers Antonio Williams and Isiah “Bull” Mitchell.
Bothwell was hurt in Mississippi State’s game against Alabama, suffering a lower-leg and foot injury that left him in a walking boot. His status is day-to-day.
Taylor’s availability remains unclear after he injured his foot in the Bulldogs’ 56-23 loss to Alabama, but his presence would matter plenty if he can go. He has thrown for 1,450 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions this season.
Kiffin said Monday that Taylor is “a problem in both areas when he’s healthy.”
Mississippi State will also be without Antonio Williams, Trevion Williams and Mitchell, while Smith and Freeman remain questionable.
With so many pieces missing on both sides, depth is becoming the story. LSU has already leaned more on players such as safety Tamarcus Cooley and linebacker Davhon Keys, and Cooley is starting in place of Spears.
The records make the stakes clear. LSU is 4-2 and Mississippi State is 4-1, with both teams coming off losses. LSU has been unbeaten at home this season, while Mississippi State took its first defeat at Davis-Wade Stadium.
Kiffin said Monday that his game plan shifts based on who is available, and this matchup will force both staffs to keep adjusting. The Tigers also know what comes next: Auburn, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas close out the regular season, and Alabama, Texas and Tennessee are all ranked ahead of LSU in the AP poll entering Week 7.
The history between these programs adds another layer. Kiffin hired Jeff Lebby as his offensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 2019, and they worked together until Lebby left for Oklahoma in 2021. LSU won the last meeting in 2023 and has taken the last three games in the series.
Lebby said Monday his team is eager for the matchup. “They’ve got great football players,” Lebby said. “All three levels, both sides of the football.”
For LSU students, it’s Homecoming. For both teams, it’s a game that could say plenty about how much depth they really have.
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