Lane Kiffin arrived for the Tiger Walk before the Alabama game with plenty of star power around him. Shaquille O'Neal and Angel Reese were beside him, and Kevin Costner - Kevin freaking Costner! - was right there too, walking behind him and shaking his hand.
That kind of scene fit the moment around LSU. Kiffin has drawn more attention to a college football program than anyone this season.
He signed a seven-year, $91 million contract, a deal tied with two-time national champion Kirby Smart for the second-highest in college football. And according to 247Sports, LSU’s roster is the most expensive in the sport, nearing $50 million.
But when Alabama showed up, the whole thing fell apart.
No. 14 LSU was overwhelmed by No.
5 Alabama in a 31-13 loss that turned into a blowout. The Tigers had a 13-10 lead in the third quarter, then gave up 21 straight points as Kiffin dropped his sixth consecutive game against the Crimson Tide.
The loss left LSU at 6-3 overall and 0-3 against teams in the CFP Rankings. Its strongest showing may be a one-point road loss to No.
6 Kentucky. Kiffin has clearly lifted the floor at LSU, beating up on unranked opponents, but the Tigers have not shown up when the competition gets real.
Alabama controlled the biggest moments. LSU got only a field goal after reaching first-and-goal.
The Tide answered by forcing a missed field goal, then turned that into a touchdown from strong field position. LSU failed on fourth down three times, including twice in the fourth quarter, and also committed two turnovers.
The most damaging part for LSU was how thoroughly Alabama’s defense handled Kiffin’s offense. The Tigers piled up 457 yards, but the deeper numbers tell a different story. LSU finished in the 19th percentile for yards per play, 20th percentile for EPA per play and 1st percentile for Explosive Play Rate, according to Game on Paper.
In other words, LSU moved the ball without ever truly making Alabama adjust. That is a rough outcome for a coach who has built his name on offensive creativity.
Kiffin’s track record at Ole Miss still stands out. He pushed that program to new heights, and part of that came through his work with the Grove Collective to improve the NIL operation.
Even so, with his roster left behind, Pete Golding took Ole Miss to the national semifinals last year. Kiffin, meanwhile, has still never coached in a postseason game, and that streak appears likely to continue this season.
LSU still has two more chances at ranked wins, with No. 7 Texas and No.
13 Tennessee left on the schedule. But the version of the Tigers that has shown up against elite teams does not look capable of winning both.
If they split those games, LSU would finish 8-4 with a 1-4 record against CFP Top 25 opponents.
The offseason could bring another reset. Most of LSU’s best players are expected to be gone to the NFL, and Kiffin will have to rebuild again through the transfer portal.
For the first time since 2016, the top two recruits in Louisiana are headed out of state. To make that sting worse, No. 3 quarterback Elijah Haven, a Baton Rouge native, chose Kalen DeBoer and Alabama over Kiffin.
Kiffin came to Baton Rouge with massive hype, landing on Vanity Fair covers and making the interview rounds everywhere. When he got the job, Louisiana senator John Kenny joked, all of this nonsense is worth it -- but he better win.
Right now, he isn’t winning. And after another ugly loss to Alabama, the pressure around LSU is only going to grow.
In Other News...
LSU Just Added A Louisiana Linebacker Worth Watching Closely
LSU kept a Louisiana linebacker in the fold with the addition of JaMarquis Hudson, who flipped his commitment from Kansas to the Tigers. The move brings him back closer to home after he built his high school profile in Texas, and it also gives LSU another defender with real ties to the state and a clear connection to the programs staff.
Hudson said family ties to Louisiana and his relationships with LSU coaches played a major role in the change, and he has already developed a strong rapport with linebackers coach Chris Kiffin. He also knows there is work ahead, planning to add weight so he can better fit LSUs defensive scheme, which makes his development one of the more interesting things to watch as this commitment settles in. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Alabama Grades Exposed One Bright Spot And One Big Concern
Pro Football Focus postgame grades offered a quick snapshot of where LSU held up and where it slipped in the loss to Alabama, and the numbers pointed to one clear offensive bright spot. Wide receiver Jackson Harris came out with the Tigers top offensive grade at 80.7, a sign that he was one of the few LSU players who consistently made his presence felt in a tough matchup.
The bigger concern showed up inside, where center Braelin Moore posted the lowest offensive mark at 49.3. On the other side of the ball, cornerback DJ Pickett led LSU with a 76.3 grade, and the defensive chart did not feature any glaringly poor performances, which leaves the focus on an offense that still has some sorting out to do. [Read more 🡒]
Will Wade Sent LSU A Warning After That Blowout
A big win over Texas Southern did not leave Will Wade sounding particularly satisfied, and that says plenty about where LSU is right now. Even after the Tigers handled business, Wade pointed to offensive inefficiencies and turnovers as the kind of slippage that can get exposed once the schedule stiffens, especially with Louisiana Tech and Gonzaga coming up next.
Donovan Dent said the message from the coach was all about staying locked in and not letting a lopsided result blur the bigger picture. For LSU, the concern is less about the final score from one night and more about whether the Tigers can clean up the details fast enough to be ready when the competition gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]