Ole Miss week is here, and LSU is walking into it with real momentum - plus a few glaring things that could get exposed in Oxford.
That’s the tension around this top-10 SEC opener. The Tigers have already beaten Clemson and Louisiana Tech, but the sample is still small enough that nobody should rush to call this team finished.
Even so, there are enough signs to believe Lane Kiffin has a group that can land a major road win. There are also enough rough edges from the Louisiana Tech game for Pete Golding and Ole Miss to circle on the tape.
The most obvious edge for LSU right now is up front on defense. Princewill Umanmielen has looked like a problem from the jump, and his three-sack outing against Louisiana Tech pushed him to five on the season. That’s already more than LSU’s top sack man last year, Harold Perkins, who had four in 12 games.
Jordan Ross has been just as disruptive. In two games at LSU, he already has more tackles for loss - four - than he had in 11 games at Tennessee last season, and he’s matched his sack total from that year with 1.5.
As a group, the Tigers have 12 sacks, and 10 of them have come from defensive linemen. That’s more than 83 percent of LSU’s sack production coming from the front four.
That matters because LSU’s pressure hasn’t required the same kind of blitzing that Blake Baker leaned on a year ago. Last season, 16 of LSU’s 27 sacks came from the D-line, which was just over 59 percent.
This year, the Tigers are getting more done with their front four, and that’s a cleaner formula against Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who either gets the ball out quickly or uses his legs to extend plays. LSU’s 23 tackles for loss are also forcing opponents into obvious passing downs, and that should give Umanmielen, the Ole Miss transfer, a chance to come after his old team in Oxford.
Trey’Dez Green is another reason LSU looks dangerous. The preseason All-American and No. 7 jersey recipient was always being sold as a ceiling pick, but through two games, he’s starting to look like a real centerpiece instead of just a projection. The 6-foot-7, 237-pound junior has more than doubled his yards per game from last season, jumping from 39.4 to 81.
Against Louisiana Tech, he was a wrecking ball in the passing game. Green caught six passes for 104 yards, and the production came at key moments.
He had a 15-yard grab on third-and-13, then a 24-yard catch on first-and-20, then another 15-yard reception on third-and-17 to set up a manageable fourth-down try. Later, he added a 23-yard catch on second-and-18 and a touchdown on third-and-goal.
Kiffin even got creative with him, lining Green up in the backfield and giving him direct snaps on a pair of third-and-1 plays that each turned into first downs. Two games in, Green looks every bit like a playmaker.
The run game, though, is less settled. LSU absolutely mauled Clemson for 309 rushing yards, which stood out even more after last year’s offense finished last in the SEC at 104 rushing yards per game.
But the follow-up against Louisiana Tech was far more ordinary. LSU managed 147 rushing yards, and only 44 of them came in the first half on 23 carries.
Some of that came down to the Bulldogs selling out against the run, but LSU’s line also got pushed around at times by those blitzes. Ten Tiger runs went for no gain or a loss on Saturday, and that’s too many dead plays to live with against a defense that’s going to attack.
Golding is going to come after LSU. If the Tigers are stuck behind the chains as often as they were against Louisiana Tech, keeping up in Oxford gets a lot harder.
Then there’s Sam Leavitt, whose first two games have told two different stories. Against Clemson, his only real gamble was putting his body on the line with scrambles that probably could have been avoided. Against Louisiana Tech, the mistakes came through the air.
His roughest throw came on third-and-8 when he tried to force a ball to Winston Watkins in the end zone, only to have a safety sitting in the throwing lane tip it up for an interception. Leavitt also badly overthrew Green on his first pick, and the third interception came on a slant to Jackson Harris at the goal line, with the issue tied more to route depth and timing than the target itself.
Leavitt still finished with 344 passing yards and two touchdowns, but that turnover count is a warning sign. Three interceptions won’t be enough against Ole Miss. If LSU wants to leave Oxford at 3-0, Leavitt has to be sharper and the Tigers have to be more consistent around him.
In Other News...
LSU Just Got A Bigger Spotlight After Trey'Dez Green's Breakout
Trey'Dez Greens breakout against Louisiana Tech gave LSU another weapon to talk about, and it arrived at a moment when the Tigers are already drawing plenty of national attention. Green finished with six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, the kind of line that tends to travel fast when a team is trying to build an early-season identity around its passing game and its most dangerous matchups.
The timing matters, too, because LSU is sitting seventh in the 2026 US LBM Coaches Top 25 poll, behind Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame at the top of the rankings. Poll placement alone does not define a season, but performances like Greens can shape how voters and everyone else view the Tigers going forward, especially with the season still early and the spotlight only getting brighter. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into A Lane Kiffin Showdown With Extra Emotion
The buildup around LSUs Week 3 trip to Oxford has already taken on an extra layer because of who is standing across the sideline. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss acknowledged the matchup feels weird with Lane Kiffin now coaching LSU, but he also made clear the Rebels are trying to keep the focus where it belongs. The game will be nationally televised, which only adds to the noise around a meeting that already has plenty of history attached to it.
For LSU, the storyline is unavoidable even before kickoff arrives. Kiffins return to face the program he once led gives the matchup a personal edge, while Ole Miss is treating it like another chance to settle in and play football instead of getting caught up in the drama. That balance between emotion and business will shape the conversation all week, and it should make Saturday in Oxford feel like more than just another early-season SEC game. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Stayed Unbeaten But Ole Miss Questions Are Already Back
LSU kept its unbeaten start intact with a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech, and the defense did the heavy lifting for much of the afternoon. The Tigers controlled field position, smothered the Bulldogs offense and generally made life miserable for Louisiana Tech whenever it tried to build anything resembling a rhythm.
Still, the game did not exactly quiet the bigger concern hovering over LSU: offensive consistency. Even with the final margin looking comfortable, the Tigers had stretches where they failed to separate cleanly, and that leaves the discussion pointed straight at next weeks trip to Ole Miss, where loose execution and wasted chances tend to get exposed in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]