LSU had this one in its hands, let it slip away, then watched Kentucky finish the job in overtime.
The No. 10 Tigers took a late three-point lead and still found a way to lose 35-34 on Saturday night at Kroger Field, where Kentucky chose to go for the win in the extra period and converted a two-point quarterback draw to end it.
The result dropped LSU to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in SEC play, while Kentucky moved to 5-1 and 3-1. It also kept LSU stuck in an eight-game SEC road losing streak, with its last conference road win coming Oct. 19, 2024 at Arkansas.
“We had all kinds of chances to close the game out, win the game and didn't do it,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said. “And, you know, let people hang around on the road at night in SEC. That's going to happen.”
The game barely followed a normal script from the start. LSU owned the numbers for much of the first half, piling up 17 more plays than Kentucky, holding the ball for over 20 minutes and finishing the opening 30 minutes with a 65-yard edge in total offense. But Kentucky kept landing the bigger blows.
It started immediately. On the Wildcats’ first snap, CJ Baxter broke loose for 77 yards to the LSU 3, then scored on the next play. LSU answered with a flashy flea-flicker, as Sam Leavitt hit Zach Grace for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 10-7.
Kentucky came right back after LSU went three-and-out early in the second quarter. Brock Coffman took the punt back 55 yards for a touchdown, flipping the lead again.
LSU answered once more when Leavitt found Jackson Harris for a 10-yard score, putting the Tigers up 17-14. But Kentucky closed the half with a long march, and Kenny Minchey finished it with a 1-yard sneak as time expired.
The play was reviewed, and the touchdown stood, sending Kentucky to halftime up 21-17.
Kentucky never found the end zone again in regulation, but LSU couldn’t pull away either. Scott Starzyk’s 24-yard field goal cut the margin to 21-20 in the third quarter, and Adam Zouagui answered with a 28-yarder for Kentucky early in the fourth.
Then Harris, a wide receiver by trade, stepped in on a trick play and fired a 41-yard touchdown to Roman Mothershed with 9:48 left. Suddenly LSU led 27-24 and seemed poised to escape Lexington with what would have been its first win there since the Bluegrass Miracle in 2002.
Instead, the final minutes turned on the Tigers.
Kentucky had a chance to tie but Zouagui missed a 42-yard field goal wide left with 5:02 remaining. LSU then looked ready to run out the clock, but two plays later Leavitt was sacked by Jamarrion Harkless, who knocked the ball free. Tavion Gadson recovered at the LSU 13, and Kentucky was right back in business.
LSU’s defense gave the offense a bailout. Kentucky managed only 5 yards after the turnover, forcing Zouagui into a 26-yard try that he pushed right.
LSU still led 27-24 with 3:11 left, but it couldn’t finish the drive on the other side. After one first down, the Tigers punted and handed Kentucky one more shot from its own 19 with 1:37 to go.
Minchey delivered. He completed passes to DJ Miller, Ja'Kayden Ferguson and Kenny Darby to move Kentucky into range, and after missing his previous two kicks, Zouagui tied it from 33 yards with 12 seconds left.
Overtime brought more drama. LSU struck first when Leavitt opened with a 10-yard gain, then kept it again and dashed 15 yards for a touchdown. Starzyk’s extra point made it 34-27.
Kentucky answered immediately in its turn. After an incompletion and a 2-yard Baxter run, the Wildcats faced third-and-8 from the LSU 23. Minchey found Darby for 22 yards to the 1, Willie Rodriguez was stopped for no gain, and Baxter powered in from a yard out to make it 34-33.
Then Kentucky went for the win. After timeouts from both sides, Minchey kept it on a designed quarterback draw and scored the two-point conversion to end it, 35-34.
LSU finished with 410 total yards, just ahead of Kentucky’s 401. Leavitt went 25 of 34 for 275 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also scored LSU’s overtime touchdown but was tagged with the fourth-quarter fumble that flipped the game back to Kentucky.
Dilin Jones led LSU on the ground with 56 yards on 16 carries and also led the Tigers in receiving with seven catches for 84 yards. TJ Dottery paced LSU’s defense with 12 total tackles, including 11 solo stops.
Baxter carried Kentucky with 123 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 attempts. Minchey threw for 268 yards and added two rushing scores when the game-winning two-point conversion is included.
In the end, LSU had the lead late, survived missed Kentucky field goals, and still walked out empty-handed. The Tigers’ road misery in SEC play keeps going.
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