LSU walked into Commonwealth Stadium with a 4-1 record and walked out having let another road conference win slip away.
Under stormy skies in Lexington on Saturday, the No. 10 Tigers fell 35-34 in overtime to Kentucky, extending their seven-game losing streak against SEC opponents on the road. It was a game full of swings, mistakes and enough missed chances to leave LSU staring at another painful finish.
Kentucky struck first in ruthless fashion. The Wildcats needed only 36 seconds to open the scoring, ripping through LSU’s defense on a drive capped by CJ Baxter, who burst for 77 yards before being stopped at the 3-yard line and then punched in the next snap for his seventh touchdown of 2026. LSU answered early with a Scott Starzyk 24-yard field goal after a lengthy opening march stalled in the red zone, but the Tigers spent much of the first half chasing the game.
Discipline was an issue from the start. LSU piled up five penalties in the first 30 minutes, while Kentucky’s front and pressure package kept Sam Leavitt and the Tigers from settling in. Leavitt still threw for 162 yards in the first half, but the offense had to work for nearly every bit of it.
The Tigers finally found the end zone on an 11-play drive, with Dilin Jones doing plenty of the heavy lifting. Jones was the engine for LSU all night, finishing with 140 all-purpose yards and handling a major share of Charlie Weiss Jr.’s playbook. The drive ended with Zach Grace catching his first touchdown as a Tiger, a 22-yard pass from Leavitt that briefly seemed to steady things.
Kentucky immediately cut into that momentum. Brock Coffman took a punt back 55 yards for a touchdown to swing the lead back to the Wildcats, and LSU’s defense kept getting tested in space. Leavitt later threaded a pass to Jackson Harris in the end zone to put LSU back in front, though Harris took a heavy shot and went to the medical tent afterward.
The Wildcats kept leaning on the run game, and ex-LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan found answers by mixing up the attack. Kentucky finished the first half with 131 rushing yards, then backed LSU into a fourth-and-goal situation inside the 1-yard line. The Wildcats pushed across for the score and carried a 21-17 lead into halftime.
LSU’s defense looked more like itself after the break. Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey Jr. had only 40 passing yards in the first half, and the Tigers clamped down on the run, holding the Wildcats to 21 rushing yards after halftime. But the LSU offense still couldn’t fully cash in after getting the ball back.
Leavitt threw his eighth interception of the season on the opening possession of the second half, stretching his streak to a pick in every game LSU has played this year. Kentucky didn’t score off it, but the Tigers still spent most of the third quarter stuck at 17-21 before finally inching closer with a field goal on fourth down after reaching first-and-goal on their seventh drive.
Then LSU’s playbook opened up. Weiss dipped into a double pass that ended with Roman Mothershed carrying the ball into the end zone, giving the Tigers their first lead of the second half.
The throw came from Harris, and he, along with Winston Watkins Jr., made a major impact in the passing game. Harris and Watkins combined for 12 catches and 116 yards, while Leavitt finished with 25 completions on 34 attempts for 275 yards.
Even then, the finish had more drama left.
Kentucky had chances to tie and then win in regulation, but Adam Zouagui missed a field goal to keep LSU ahead 27-24, then missed again on a 26-yard try after a fumble on a sack by Leavitt. The Wildcats weren’t done. With under two minutes left, they mounted a nine-play, 67-yard march and Zouagui finally connected from 33 yards to force overtime at 27-all.
LSU got the ball first in the extra period and answered with a Leavitt rushing touchdown, then Starzyk’s extra point put the Tigers back in front. But Kentucky had the last word. Baxter scored again on the Wildcats’ first overtime snap, and after both sides used timeouts, Kentucky finished the game with a quarterback draw and its second straight overtime win of 2026.
LSU’s long wait for an SEC road win rolls on past 400 days now, and the Tigers head home to face Mississippi State at 11 a.m. on Oct. 17.
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