LSU walked into Auburn carrying two losses and walked out looking a whole lot more like the team it believes it can be. The Tigers put together a 38-17 road win that never really drifted out of their control once the offense settled in and the defense started squeezing the life out of Auburn.
It didn’t begin as a runaway. Early on, LSU had the kind of shaky stretch that has dogged it at times this season, and while leading 10-3 it caught a break when Sam Leavitt’s bad decision with plenty of time in the pocket led to an interception being overturned. LSU didn’t waste the second chance.
Three plays later, head coach Lane Kiffin rolled the dice on fourth down with a trick play to Trey’Dez Green. Green, back from the injury he suffered in Week 3, finished off the drive with a touchdown, and LSU never looked back.
“As much as the play of him [matters], it’s the feeling. You just feel different when he’s there,” Kiffin said of Green after the game. “Just to have him back in uniform just felt good in the locker room.”
From there, the offense started to stretch the field and lean on Auburn in different ways. Leavitt followed up one of the best games of his college career with another strong first half, posting 4 total touchdowns and 261 yards. Kiffin pointed to the importance of protecting the ball in a game where LSU had favorable matchups.
Jackson Harris kept showing why he’s such a problem downfield. He answered with a 70-yard grab in the second quarter, the longest offensive play LSU has had all season, pushing the Tigers back out to a two-score lead.
“Now the confidence really turns on if you can really just run away from people like that,” Kiffin said.
Harris wasn’t just running past people, either. He also came down with a couple of contested catches and finished with 178 yards on 9 receptions, while recording his third game with 2 touchdowns. He left in the fourth quarter with an injury that didn’t look serious.
Behind all of that, LSU’s ground game quietly kept the whole operation steady. Dilin Jones once again came close to the 100-yard mark, finishing with 92 yards on 21 carries. He did a big chunk of the damage on the touchdown drive that helped LSU build a three-score halftime edge, accounting for 51 of the Tigers’ 74 yards on the march.
LSU’s offense had answers everywhere Auburn looked. Charlie Weis Jr. kept mixing the attack around the field, with medium throws over the middle, quick passes to the perimeter and Jones’ stubborn balance all working together to wear the home Tigers down.
“[I] just felt like it was a really good matchup game for us. Just through the week, watching tape, and [seeing] how we match up with them,” Kiffin said.
The defense backed up the offense by making Auburn’s night miserable. Sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett turned in one of the best two-game stretches of his career, flying around with a more aggressive edge than he has shown before. LSU made Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown play on its terms, and Brown never found a rhythm as a passer or runner.
Brown, who had led his team in both rushing yards and passing yards, was held to 21 yards on 19 carries. LSU’s plan was simple and brutally effective.
“The game plan was to make [Brown] throw and stop the run. And I think when you do that, you can look really good,” Kiffin said.
The front did its part, keeping Brown bottled up and forcing pressure from all angles. LSU finished with 7 sacks against Brown and backup Tristan Ti’a, including 4 from the edge.
Jordan Ross had 2, while Lamar Brown and Princewill Umanmielen each added one. TJ Dottery, Davhon Keys and Ty Benefield chipped in with another sack apiece.
Benefield’s impact fit right into what Blake Baker has built on defense. LSU’s safeties are not just cleanup players back deep; they’re part of the run game, too, and that showed throughout the night.
By the time the whistle blew, with plenty of Auburn fans already gone, the numbers told the story too. LSU outgained Auburn 552-271.
Now the Tigers get a week off before coming home for the final third of the schedule. Alabama comes to Baton Rouge on Nov. 7.
In Other News...
LSUs Auburn Grades Exposed Whos Fueling This Surge And Who Isnt
LSUs 38-17 win over Auburn came with another strong mark from Pro Football Focus, as the Tigers posted an overall team grade of 83.6 for the second straight week above 80. That kind of consistent grading matters because it suggests the performance was not just a one-off bounce, but a sign that LSU is starting to stack complete games on both sides of the ball.
The individual numbers help explain why. Jackson Harris led the way with a 90.2 grade, while DJ Pickett also stood out at 84.6, giving LSU impact plays at key spots. On the other end, Tre Brown and William Satterwhite II landed near the bottom of the chart, a reminder that even in a convincing win, there are still areas the Tigers will want to clean up as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Is Climbing But One Thing Still Stands Between The Tigers And The Playoff
A wild weekend across college football has opened the door for movement in the AP poll, and LSU could be one of the teams to benefit from the chaos. Two previously unbeaten teams fell to unranked opponents, and two other one-loss teams did the same, giving pollsters plenty to weigh as they reshuffle the top of the rankings. Miami is expected to stay at No. 1 after another dominant win, but the ripple effects could be felt well beyond the top spot.
For LSU, the bigger picture is clear: the Tigers are climbing, and the landscape around them is helping. With so many teams in the mix taking losses, the path to the playoff looks a little more favorable on paper, even if the Tigers still have work to do to keep moving in the right direction. Oklahoma State, Iowa and Texas Tech are among the teams facing potential movement as well, making this one of those weeks when the rankings could tell as much about survival as they do about success. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs New Backcourt Just Changed The Feel Around This Team
For the first time with its full roster on the floor, LSU gave a clearer glimpse of what this team might look like this season in an exhibition against Florida State. The Tigers came up short 89-87, but the game still offered plenty of reasons for optimism, especially with the new backcourt starting to take shape and the offense showing more rhythm than it has at other points in the preseason.
Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark were the headliners, with Dent finishing with 24 points and nine assists and Clark adding 21 points and eight rebounds. Those numbers mattered less than the way the two seemed to steady LSU throughout the night, a promising sign for a team that appears to have more balance and shot-making than it did a year ago. The real test starts November 3 against LSU New Orleans Privateers, but the feel around this group has already changed. [Read more 🡒]