LSU’s response to last week’s stumble was as clean as it gets.
Lane Kiffin’s team rolled past Mississippi State 31-0 in Death Valley on Saturday, and the shutout win got the Bayou Bengals back on track after the program’s second loss of the season the week before. The victory also pushed LSU back inside the Top 20 in the latest AP Poll, with the Tigers climbing multiple spots as they prepare for a Week 8 trip to Auburn.
Kiffin made it clear he wasn’t interested in turning the conversation toward the bigger picture. After the Week 6 loss, his focus stayed on the details of what went wrong and how quickly the team could fix it.
"I don't ever talk about playoffs. I don't ever talk about that because that's just the outcome. I really talk about the process and really talk about how we screwed that freaking game up [in Week 6] so many times," Kiffin said on Saturday.
"Just handed it away and show them again and again and again how we should have won the game instead of talking about, 'Well, that means you've got to do this and you've got to do that.'
"But I'm human, too, because I ended last night's speech to the team - the last thing I said, which I never use - 'We have to win. We have to win tomorrow. There is no other option but winning this game,' because I can't imagine what this would have looked like," Kiffin added.
On the field, LSU did everything a coach wants to see in a bounce-back game. The offense stayed balanced, the defense controlled the night, and the result was never really in doubt.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt said the performance felt unusually smooth for him.
"I thought it was one of my cleaner days in my career, maybe the cleanest. Really, it's nothing on my perspective. I felt like I played a pretty easy game just getting the ball out to my guys and having them go make plays," LSU QB Sam Leavitt said.
He also pointed to the way the staff handled the game plan and the teaching that comes with it from week to week.
"We did an incredible job with play-calling and situational ball, and I'm continuing to develop and learn about how Coach Weiss, Dane and Kiffin and all those guys see how each play should be run, the reason behind it and situational ball, what's four-down territory, when you gotta take shots versus control the tempo, push the pace and all those things. So, like I said, it's just a constant progression, and they do a great job getting me ready every single week."
Now LSU turns to Auburn, with No. 18 LSU heading to The Plains for another SEC matchup.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ABC.
In Other News...
LSU Heads To Auburn With Two More Starter Questions
LSUs injury picture got a little murkier coming out of the Mississippi State game, and now the Tigers are heading into Auburn with two more starter questions hanging over the week. Princewill Umanmielen and Jackson Harris both went down in the contest, and both figures are likely to land on the injury report as LSU starts sorting out who will be available for a road trip that already figures to test the depth chart.
Umanmielens issue is an upper body injury believed to be head-related, which could put him into concussion protocol, while Harris left with a foot injury and was seen in a boot afterward. Brian Kelly didnt offer any medical updates, though he did indicate Harris is expected to be fine, and LSU is prepared to lean on backups if either player cant go against Auburn. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Lost A Key Piece In Will Wades First Season
LSU has settled one eligibility fight before the season even tips, and the result leaves Will Wades first roster with a notable hole. Guard RJ Luis Jr. will not be cleared by the SEC to play for the Tigers after the league determined he violated conference rules tied to signing a professional contract, ending the programs battle over his status and shifting the focus to getting ready for the year ahead.
There is at least one brighter note in Baton Rouge, though, because forward Saliou Niang has been ruled eligible for the season. Niang was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but his decision to attend college came before recent NCAA rule changes, allowing LSU to keep him in the mix as it tries to move past the Luis situation and sort out its rotation. [Read more 🡒]
LSU-Auburn Just Got More Complicated At Linebacker
LSUs trip to Auburn took a hit when linebacker Whit Weeks suffered a fractured right leg and is expected to miss the upcoming game. Weeks has been a key part of the Tigers defensive plans, so his absence adds another layer of uncertainty to a matchup that already carried plenty of weight.
Auburn is dealing with its own linebacker shakeup after Xaiver Atkins was dismissed from the team ahead of the game, following an earlier suspension for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Atkins has said he plans to enter the transfer portal, while Auburn coach Alex Golesh has not revealed what led to the discipline, leaving both sides with major questions in the middle of a conference matchup that was already shaping up to be tricky enough. [Read more 🡒]