LSU left Saturday night with a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech, but the story inside Tiger Stadium was a lot messier than the final score suggested.
The No. 8 Tigers spent the first half looking nothing like the efficient offense that showed up against Clemson.
After rolling up more than 300 yards rushing and passing in that opener, LSU’s attack against Tech stumbled badly, coughing up four turnovers and taking a 278-0 advantage in total offense into halftime with only a 10-7 lead. It was the kind of uneven performance that made the night feel far less comfortable than it should have.
The defense, though, carried the load in a big way. Louisiana Tech did not record a non-penalty first down until 12:47 remained in the first half, and its only points came on a pick-six and against Tiger backups.
LSU’s speed and disruption were too much for a Tech team that had scored 80 points against Northwestern State a week earlier. That unit spent the offseason in the shadow of the Lane Kiffin/Charlie Weis offense, but the way it played Saturday suggested the spotlight may need to shift.
That leads to the bigger question LSU now carries into next Saturday’s trip to Ole Miss. The Tigers came out of the Clemson game looking like a team that could make a case as the nation’s best.
After the offensive hiccups against Tech, some of the questions that were supposed to be settled in the opener are back. If this was LSU’s “blackout game” as Lane Kiffin calls them, then maybe it won’t matter in the long run.
But the Tigers will need to be sharper before heading to Oxford.
In Other News...
LSU Just Got A Bigger Spotlight After Trey'Dez Green's Breakout
Trey'Dez Greens breakout against Louisiana Tech gave LSU another weapon to talk about, and it arrived at a moment when the Tigers are already drawing plenty of national attention. Green finished with six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, the kind of line that tends to travel fast when a team is trying to build an early-season identity around its passing game and its most dangerous matchups.
The timing matters, too, because LSU is sitting seventh in the 2026 US LBM Coaches Top 25 poll, behind Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame at the top of the rankings. Poll placement alone does not define a season, but performances like Greens can shape how voters and everyone else view the Tigers going forward, especially with the season still early and the spotlight only getting brighter. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into A Lane Kiffin Showdown With Extra Emotion
The buildup around LSUs Week 3 trip to Oxford has already taken on an extra layer because of who is standing across the sideline. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss acknowledged the matchup feels weird with Lane Kiffin now coaching LSU, but he also made clear the Rebels are trying to keep the focus where it belongs. The game will be nationally televised, which only adds to the noise around a meeting that already has plenty of history attached to it.
For LSU, the storyline is unavoidable even before kickoff arrives. Kiffins return to face the program he once led gives the matchup a personal edge, while Ole Miss is treating it like another chance to settle in and play football instead of getting caught up in the drama. That balance between emotion and business will shape the conversation all week, and it should make Saturday in Oxford feel like more than just another early-season SEC game. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into Ole Miss Week With One Big Sam Leavitt Concern
LSU left Saturday with a comfortable 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech and a 2-0 start, but the performance from Sam Leavitt gave the Tigers plenty to sort through before the trip to Ole Miss. The quarterbacks night was a strange mix of mistakes and impact, as the offense still found enough answers to stay in control while the bigger-picture concern lingered in the background.
For LSU, the encouraging part is that Leavitt showed he can tilt a game with his legs, becoming the first Tigers quarterback to do that in years. The issue is cleaner play, and Lane Kiffin made it clear the standard before Oxford has to be sharper execution and better ball security. Against an Ole Miss team that will punish loose possessions, LSU cant afford the same kind of uneven stretch and expect the same kind of result. [Read more 🡒]