LSU heads into Auburn with a chance to make its road trip count, and the timing feels significant after Saturday’s 31-0 rout of Mississippi State. That win was LSU’s cleanest performance yet: quarterback Sam Leavitt tossed four touchdown passes without a turnover, and the defense handled business from start to finish.
But the next stop is a much sterner test. The Tigers are traveling to Auburn, Alabama for their third road game of the season, and Auburn is riding the high of a landmark win after knocking off No. 1 Georgia on the road in Athens.
For LSU, now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, the issue on the road has been discipline. Kiffin made it clear that the margin in a place like Jordan-Hare Stadium can disappear fast if the Tigers give it away with mistakes.
“We’re going to have to play really well and be ready to play in a really loud environment that they play really well at,” Kiffin said. “As you break down your losses and close losses, they’re usually not as much as how many plays they make. It’s more the mistakes you make and more penalties, more false starts, and more turnovers than when you play at home.”
That concern is backed up by LSU’s last two road games, where the team has coughed up the ball three times and been flagged for 14 offensive penalties. Defensively, LSU has allowed an average of 33.5 points per game in those two outings.
Auburn, meanwhile, is coming off its sharpest showing of the year as well. Quarterback Byrum Brown put up 174 passing yards and 192 rushing yards against a Georgia defense that ranks fourth in the SEC in total defense.
Kiffin pointed to Brown’s physicality as a problem LSU has to sort out quickly.
“[He’s] really hard player to tackle,” Kiffin said. “Similar to playing LaNorris [Sellers] that way, like their different styles, but really strong.
We’re gonna have our hands full. Playing a really physical team on defense and a really hard quarterback.”
LSU has taken two of the last three meetings with Auburn, and this trip will be its first to Jordan-Hare Stadium since 2022.
No. 18 LSU and Auburn (4-2, 2-2 SEC) will meet Saturday, October 24 at 11 a.m. CT.
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