LSU’s trip to Kentucky comes with a familiar theme on both sidelines: first-year head coaches who have already figured out how to get their teams moving in the same direction.
Lane Kiffin and Will Stein have each guided their programs to 4-1 starts, and the early results have come with a clear edge in confidence. Kiffin praised what Stein has done in Lexington, pointing to the energy and buy-in Kentucky has built so quickly.
“I think [Stein has] done a great job of bringing energy into the program,” Kiffin said Monday at his weekly press conference. “They coach really well, and their players definitely believe in their systems, and he’s got them to play with a lot of confidence.”
Stein returned the compliment when asked about Kiffin.
“He’s one of the elite offensive minds in football,” Stein said of Kiffin in a Tuesday press conference. “He’s had great players, but he does a great job of scheming those guys to get open, to have great run lanes. I think he’s obviously one of the best guys in our profession.”
The matchup has a clean comparison point: both teams have already handled Texas A&M. Kentucky beat the Aggies 31-21 in Week 3, then LSU followed with a 35-6 win in Tiger Stadium a week later.
Kentucky’s only loss came in a lopsided game against Alabama, and the Wildcats are coming off a comeback win after falling behind South Carolina 17-0. LSU, meanwhile, heads on the road after getting one SEC road test already, a result Kiffin and his players say helped them settle in.
“I think it was a huge moment for us to learn and grow,” fifth-year center Braelin Moore told the media Tuesday. “We take it as a learning lesson and grow from that.
[In the] SEC, you could lose on any given week. Every team’s got dudes.”
That experience has already forced LSU to adjust up front. Moore and the offensive line have shown noticeable improvement since the loss to Ole Miss, and William Satterwhite II has started splitting time at left guard with Bo Bordelon, a move Kiffin said makes the group stronger.
The protection has helped quarterback Sam Leavitt settle in, even if the box scores have been skewed by lopsided game flow. He has thrown for 489 yards over 46 passes across LSU’s last two games, though he did not finish either one.
Leavitt says the early road test matters.
“Having that one game under our belt in a really hostile environment was great for us, and especially to have a loss,” Leavitt said Tuesday. “It’s difficult to go through something like that, but the way that you bounce back and are able to progress from there, I think is always going to benefit you in a season.”
Now he gets another difficult setting, and Kiffin expects Kentucky to make things tricky with discipline and zone coverage. Leavitt has thrown at least one interception in every game this season, so reading the defense and protecting the football will be front and center.
Across from him is senior Kenny Minchey, who has been efficient in Kentucky’s two SEC wins. He has passed for 524 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.
“He plays really smooth. [He] has a good flow to how he plays,” Kiffin said. “[He] seems like a really good leader too… I can see why they have a lot of confidence in him.”
There’s also a familiar face on Kentucky’s staff. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan spent four years on Brian Kelly’s LSU staff before being fired alongside Kelly after LSU’s 2025 loss to Texas A&M.
Still, both coaches brushed off the idea that Sloan’s familiarity with LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker will be a major factor.
“I mean, they for sure have familiarity, right?” Stein said.
“But we’re a lot different than LSU’s offense was last year. [Sloan has] adapted to his personnel this year.”
Minchey’s top targets are Kenny Darby and Willie Rodriguez, who have combined for nearly half of Kentucky’s catches. LSU fans may also recognize Nic Anderson, who spent last year with the Tigers before transferring to Kentucky. He has 9 receptions for 120 yards.
Darby, though, is the receiver who may leave the strongest impression by Saturday night. He has 322 receiving yards and three touchdowns, good for more than a quarter of Kentucky’s total receiving production.
With both programs trending upward, Saturday’s 6 p.m. CT kickoff in Lexington looks like a meaningful test for two coaches still shaping what their teams are becoming.
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Kentucky Faces A Huge LSU Test With No Room For Another Slow Start
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The challenge gets even steeper because LSU arrives with its own issues, even while remaining one of the leagues most complete teams on both sides of the ball. Lane Kiffins group has been managing injuries, but the Tigers still have the kind of defensive front and offensive talent that can punish a team before it finds its footing, which leaves Kentucky staring at a test that demands a cleaner start and a full four quarters. [Read more 🡒]