LSU’s first week under Lane Kiffin couldn’t have gone much better, and now the Tigers get a very different kind of test when Louisiana Tech comes to Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.
The opener was a runaway from the start. LSU rolled Clemson 51-10 in Baton Rouge, shaking off an early interception and grabbing control fast with a 31-3 halftime lead before cruising to a 41-point win. It was the kind of performance that announces a team is ready to make noise right away.
Sam Leavitt was right at the center of it all in his LSU debut. He piled up 343 yards of total offense, throwing for 230 yards and adding 113 more on the ground. He also accounted for four total touchdowns, giving the Tigers the kind of spark that made the opener look easy.
Louisiana Tech arrives with momentum of its own, though the challenge in front of the Bulldogs is a steep one. They opened the season Sept. 5 against Northwestern State and won 80-6, a game in which they found the end zone 10 times. It was one of the most dominant offensive outings in program history.
The Bulldogs also put together a solid 2025 season, finishing 7-5 overall and 5-3 in Conference USA. They earned a bowl spot and closed things out strong, beating Missouri State 42-30 before taking down Coastal Carolina 23-14 in the Independence Bowl.
For LSU, this game is about keeping the good start rolling under Kiffin and building on the confidence that came from the Clemson win. The trick will be matching the same edge and urgency against Louisiana Tech that the Tigers showed in Week 1.
The series history leans heavily LSU’s way. The Tigers hold a 20-2 lead all-time, including a 23-7 win over the Bulldogs in their most recent meeting on September 6, 2025.
This is the kind of game LSU is expected to handle, but that doesn’t mean it can afford to drift. The bigger goal is to leave healthy, avoid a surprise and keep building toward the tougher stretch ahead, especially with Ole Miss looming in a much more hostile setting.
The path is straightforward for LSU: play clean, stay sharp and take care of business. Saturday doesn’t require another headline-grabbing statement. It just requires the Tigers to do what they’re supposed to do.
LSU and Louisiana Tech meet Saturday, Sept. 12, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will stream on SEC Network+.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Opens Up On Tiger Stadium As LSU Drama Lingers
Lane Kiffins first year on LSUs sideline brought him his first chance to work a game from the home side at Tiger Stadium, and the setting lived up to the reputation on a night that ended with a win over Clemson. For a coach who has spent plenty of time around big venues, the atmosphere in Baton Rouge is still its own kind of backdrop, and this one offered the full LSU experience right away.
The football part is only one layer of the story, though, because LSU is still dealing with an SEC lawsuit tied to recruiting former NFL players, a case that has been delayed by a judge. Kiffin did not add the two players at the center of the dispute to his roster, and the conference also left a recent meeting without announcing any punishments or reprimands, leaving the situation hanging as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Kelly Just Added Fuel To LSU Fans Clemson Debate
Brian Kellys move into the CBS Sports booth has not kept him far from the conversation around LSU, especially when the Tigers come up in the same breath as Clemson. During a recent discussion of Clemsons uneven stretch, Kelly pointed to coaching and scheme as part of the reason the Tigers stumbled in their loss to LSU, arguing that talent alone does not solve everything when the structure around it is not working.
He also made clear that Clemsons roster looks different now than it did in its peak years, which only adds another layer to the long-running comparison between the programs. Kelly went on to address the recent tension between Dabo Swinney and a reporter, saying he was disappointed by how both sides handled the exchange, a comment that is likely to stir more debate among LSU fans who are still eager to measure what that win meant. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fight With The SEC Just Became A Bigger Fairness Debate
LSUs dispute with the SEC has turned into more than a rules fight, becoming a broader test of how the league wants to police fairness across college sports. The conference sued the school over its intention to roster NFL training camp invitees who still had extra college eligibility, a move that briefly put expulsion on the table before LSU ultimately backed away from using those players.
Even with that threat eased, the issue is hardly settled because the SEC has since signaled it could still pursue other discipline. The debate has also spilled beyond the courtroom and into the media, where Paul Finebaum and Stephen A. Smith have weighed in on whether the conferences response was justified or whether LSU was being singled out for pushing the boundaries in a way others might eventually try too. [Read more 🡒]