LSU got the kind of night it had been waiting on, and it came in the form of a 35-6 rout of Texas A&M on Saturday night. The Tigers paired a breakout on offense with another suffocating defensive showing, and the result was a blowout that pushed them to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The biggest change came from Sam Leavitt, who looked limited early but still powered LSU’s attack with his arm. He was dealing with a leg issue throughout the game and was clearly slowed, yet that seemed to force him into a more controlled approach from the pocket.
The Tigers had been searching for that kind of clean operation for weeks, and they finally found it against the Aggies. Leavitt completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Jackson Harris was the headliner in the passing game. He caught six balls for 163 yards and two scores, and he nearly added a third touchdown before a penalty wiped it away.
After early drop problems, Harris looked much more settled and much more like himself. Winnie Watkins Jr. also delivered, finishing with five receptions for 107 yards.
On the other side, Blake Baker’s defense made Marcel Reed’s night miserable. Reed, who had been a talking point because of what he’d done against Baker’s defenses in the past, was held to 10 completions on 26 attempts for 106 yards. He managed one decent run early, but the ground game disappeared from there; Reed ended with 10 carries for minus-13 yards.
LSU kept the pressure on all night. Princewill Umanmielen added his seventh sack of the season, Deuce Geralds continued to flash major upside, and Tamarcus Cooley stepped in effectively for Dashawn Spears, who was lost for the year last week.
The defense also took a hit when Whit Weeks left early on crutches in the third quarter. Kiffin didn’t sound especially upbeat afterward when asked about it, and that will be a major storyline in the days ahead.
The injury situation is starting to stack up for LSU. Spears and Phillip Wright are out for the year, Trey'Dez Green remains out indefinitely, and Charles Ross also exited with an injury on special teams in this game. Winnie Watkins Jr. went into concussion protocol but appears to be fine.
With McNeese St. coming up next weekend, LSU will likely have a chance to manage some of those bumps and bruises while enjoying a much more comfortable week than the one it had before this win.
In Other News...
LSUs Poll Position After That Win Says Plenty About The Tigers
LSUs latest surge still came with a familiar caveat in the polls, even after a convincing 35-6 win over Texas A&M. The Tigers held at No. 11 in the Coaches Poll and slipped one spot to No. 11 in the AP Top 25, a ranking that says as much about the national crowdedness around them as it does about their own performance. Floridas climb to No. 8 after beating Ole Miss was one of the bigger shifts near the top, but LSUs place remained a reminder that one big win does not always bring a corresponding leap.
For LSU, the more interesting part may be how little room there is left for error if the Tigers want the respect that usually comes with a late-season push. The AP list and the coaches version both showed movement elsewhere, with teams dropping out and others collecting votes, but LSU stayed planted just outside the top tier. In a week when some programs rose sharply and others faded from view, the Tigers were left in the middle, good enough to stay in the conversation but still waiting for the kind of change in perception that only comes with another statement win. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Push Suddenly Depends On How Far These Backups Can Go
After bouncing back with a win over Texas A&M in Week 4, LSU enters the heart of SEC play with a very different kind of test ahead of it. The Tigers are trying to keep momentum going after the loss to Ole Miss, but the bigger issue now is survival depth, with injuries thinning out key spots across the roster and forcing the next wave of players into the spotlight.
That has pushed backups like Landen Clark, Jackson Harris, Davhon Keys and Tamarcus Cooley into more important roles than LSU likely planned this early in the season. With linebacker Whit Weeks, quarterback Sam Leavitt, wide receiver Phillip Wright III, tight end TreyDez Green, linebacker Charles Ross II and safety Dashawn Spears all on the injury list, the Tigers push through the SEC may come down to how steady those reserve pieces can be while the staff waits for help to return. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Texas A&M Grades Revealed One Breakout And One Lingering Concern
Pro Football Focus latest grading from LSUs game against Texas A&M offered a tidy snapshot of where the Tigers found traction and where they still have work to do. Jackson Harris came out as the highest-graded offensive player with a 92.0 mark, while Tamarcus Cooley paced the defense at 87.7, giving LSU a couple of bright spots to point to after a matchup that demanded consistency on both sides of the ball.
The same report also flagged the Tigers rougher edges, with Jayce Brown drawing the lowest offensive grade and Dylan Carpenter landing at the bottom on defense. For LSU, that kind of split matters because it reinforces the difference between isolated standouts and full-game reliability, leaving the staff with clear evidence of who is elevating the group and where the lingering concern still sits. [Read more 🡒]