LSU’s season has already hit a hard turn, and the timing couldn’t be worse. The Tigers are 2-1 after taking their first loss of the year against conference rival Ole Miss, and that early stumble has tightened the margin for error fast.
Now Lane Kiffin and his team are back in Baton Rouge, where Texas A&M is waiting. The Aggies are the same group that embarrassed LSU at home last year, and this meeting carries even more weight with both sides staring at big consequences.
LSU came into 2026 carrying the kind of buzz only a massive offseason can create. The program had a new head coach, one of the most coveted hires on the market, and a roster packed with more than 50 new players.
For one week, it all looked like it was clicking. The Tigers opened with a public beatdown of Clemson, and the early signs pointed toward a season that could live up to the hype.
Then came Week 3. The loss to Ole Miss changed the feel around the program in a hurry, and it put real pressure on what comes next.
Texas A&M arrives in a game LSU needs to answer with force. But even a win won’t make the road easy.
Kentucky, No. 24 Mississippi State, No.
8 Alabama, No. 1 Texas, and No.
14 Tennessee are still sitting on the schedule, which means the Tigers can’t afford to drift through the rest of September.
This matchup is also a chance for LSU to show more grit and clean up the parts of its game that still need work, especially on offense. With playoff hopes, and the burden of a second loss, hanging over the season, the Tigers are already in a spot where every week feels heavier than the last.
There’s still a long way to go - 75 percent of the season remains - and LSU does have life. But that life has to turn into a win now, at home, against a top-25 opponent. Quarterback Sam Leavitt is a key part of that push, and if the Tigers don’t get things turned around in Week 4, the outlook only gets darker from there.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Turns LSU Loss Into Bigger SEC Scheduling Frustration
Lane Kiffin did not need long after LSUs Week 3 loss at Ole Miss in Oxford to steer the conversation toward the larger SEC issue he believes helped shape the night. The game was played in Oxford for the second straight year, and Kiffin, now on the LSU sideline after his old stop in Oxford, said the setup left the Tigers dealing with the kind of home-field edge and crowd noise that can tilt a big conference matchup before the ball is even snapped.
For LSU, the frustration goes beyond one difficult road trip. Kiffins comments put a familiar scheduling gripe back in the spotlight, especially in a league where venue balance can matter as much as rankings in September. The loss itself will linger, but so will the broader question of why a game with this much SEC weight ended up in the same place again, and what that means going forward for a Tigers program trying to keep pace in the conference race. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Gets A Telling Warning From Mike Elko Before SEC Showdown
With LSU heading into another SEC test, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko offered a little advance scouting on what the Tigers are walking into. He described LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt as a competitive, physical player, the kind of signal-caller who can make a defense work for every stop and keep a game uncomfortable if he gets into a rhythm.
Elko also addressed the other side of the matchup, noting that his experience against Lane Kiffins offense is limited but that he has plenty of respect for Kiffins track record and coaching ability. For LSU, it serves as a reminder that this is not just another conference game on the schedule, but one with a respected opponent on the other sideline and a quarterback drawing real attention before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
LSU's Offense Just Raised A Bigger Sam Leavitt Concern
LSUs offense did show a real step forward on the ground against Ole Miss, piling up 172 rushing yards and getting a strong day from Dilin Jones, who finished with 106 of them. Sam Leavitt also gave the offense some useful dual-threat production, throwing for 158 yards and a touchdown while adding 63 rushing yards and another score, but the passing game still left enough room for second-guessing after a performance that featured a missed chance or two through the air.
Lane Kiffin pointed to those passing-game issues as part of the broader picture, noting that Leavitt had missed practice and stressing the need for better protection and sharper execution. The running game can buy some time and keep drives alive, but if the offense is going to take the next step, the concern is whether Leavitt and the passing attack can clean up quickly enough to match it. [Read more 🡒]