Following LSU’s performance against Texas A&M, the Game MVP conversation had plenty of legitimate options, but the night eventually belonged to Deuce Geralds.
On offense, Sam Leavitt and Jackson Harris both made strong cases. Leavitt turned in what may have been the best passing outing of his career, going 74% for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
What made it even more impressive was the way he handled the game while dealing with a left hamstring injury. Since he was limited, he had to operate mostly from the pocket, and he still found ways to deliver throws all over the field.
He couldn’t use his legs, but he did enough inside the pocket to keep the offense moving and show what he might be able to unlock for the rest of the season.
Harris finally cashed in on the chances that had been building earlier this year. He finished with six catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and the defining moment came on a 57-yard touchdown grab on fourth-and-1 early in the third quarter that cracked the game open. Once that play landed, the offense found its rhythm and started looking like the version Lane Kiffin was brought to LSU to produce.
On the other side of the ball, Tamarcus Cooley and Princewill Umanmielen both put together standout games. Cooley ended with two tackles, a sack, and an interception, and he nearly pushed himself into the overall MVP spot.
His interception came with a little extra flavor too, as he led the defense over to troll the Aggie Yell Leaders after the pick. That performance mattered even more with Dashawn Spears out for the season.
Ty Benefield has shifted into the Star role, which lets Cooley stay at safety next to Jhase Thomas, and that alignment helped get the defense back into its groove.
Umanmielen kept doing what he’s been doing all season. He added another sack, bringing his total to seven and leaving him in the national lead. As the competition level keeps rising, he keeps looking like a player whose draft stock should keep climbing.
Still, the biggest impact came from Geralds. The true freshman already has three sacks through four games, and he was a force against Texas A&M in the middle of the defense.
He finished with a sack, though one of his plays was changed to a tackle for loss after it was ruled a designed QB run. He also added two tackles for loss and repeatedly wrecked the Aggie offensive line.
His work helped LSU maintain its rush lanes against Marcel Reed, and it earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
Geralds is playing like someone who should be in the Freshman All-America conversation already, and maybe beyond that. He looks like a star in the making, and he’s only getting started.
In Other News...
LSU Just Turned One Huge Concern Into Real SEC Hope
After the disappointment against Ole Miss, LSU needed a response that looked and felt different, and Saturdays 35-6 rout of Texas A&M delivered exactly that. The Tigers moved the ball at will, piling up more than 500 yards on offense, with quarterback Sam Leavitt throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns while the defense set the tone by overwhelming the Aggies up front.
The broader picture matters even more for a team trying to keep its SEC path alive under Lane Kiffin. LSU held Texas A&M to fewer than 200 total yards and repeatedly disrupted the rhythm of the game with sacks and turnovers, a level of control that had been missing in the loss to Ole Miss. Whether it proves to be the reset this season needed will depend on what comes next, but this was the kind of complete performance that can change the conversation quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Got An Early Playoff Path Fans Will Study
After four weeks of the college football season, ESPN analysts Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach reshuffled their College Football Playoff and bowl projections, and the SEC remains as crowded as ever in their latest forecast. Their updated outlook has 13 league teams headed to postseason play, with only South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas left out, underscoring just how little margin there is for anyone trying to climb into the top tier of the conference race.
For LSU, those projections are the kind of thing fans around Baton Rouge will study closely because they help sketch out not just the Tigers own path, but the playoff lane that could open or tighten around them as the season goes on. The full breakdown also maps out projected bowl destinations and playoff matchups for every SEC team, giving a fresh snapshot of where LSU stands in a league where one good stretch can change everything and one bad Saturday can send the conversation in a different direction. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Is Suddenly Right In The Middle Of A Five-Star WR Fight
The race for Easton Royal is getting tighter by the week, and Florida has forced its way into the conversation for one of the nations top 2027 wide receiver recruits. Royal is already committed to Texas, but he has also taken official visits to Florida, LSU and Ole Miss, a sign that his recruitment is far from settled despite that pledge.
Royal said he can see himself playing at Florida and is close to making a decision, which only raises the stakes for the SEC schools still pushing hard. For LSU, that means the Tigers remain in the middle of a crowded battle for a receiver who has kept his options open and shown a willingness to keep looking even after his commitment to the Longhorns. [Read more 🡒]