LSU’s 63-14 win over McNeese did what a lopsided victory is supposed to do: it padded the scoreboard and, more importantly, it put the Tigers’ depth under a microscope. Some parts held up. Others left Lane Kiffin with more to chew on than the final margin suggested.
The clearest positive came at running back, where Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones again handled the bulk of the work. He wasn’t inefficient by any stretch, finishing with 16 carries for 79 yards and the game’s first touchdown. Jones never broke a run longer than 8 yards, but he still averaged 4.9 yards per carry, which is a solid night against an FCS opponent.
Even so, the bigger splash belonged to sophomore Harlem Berry. Kiffin said, “The goal was to get up and evaluate these guys, because they’re going to need to play with the injuries we have down the stretch,” and Berry made that evaluation easy.
He ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, with a 46-yard burst that showed how dangerous he can be once he gets into space. He also finished the job on an 11-yard scoring run, lowering his shoulder and powering through contact to get into the end zone.
Berry’s role has been one of the season’s odd little mysteries, but Saturday may have forced the issue. After that kind of showing, the tailback spot could easily move toward a committee approach.
Berry said, “We all got our different styles of play. I like to say I’m an elusive, fast, juke-type back,” Berry said.
“Dilin’s a physical downhill runner, things of that nature, so just being able to play off each other is good.”
The tight end group also gave LSU something to build on while Trey’Dez Green remains out indefinitely with the knee injury he suffered in the Week 3 loss at Ole Miss. Losing Green, with his 6-foot-7 frame and rare blend of receiving threat and blocking presence, is no small thing. But the Tigers’ committee showed it can at least absorb part of that physical load.
Roman Mothershed, listed as LSU’s third-string tight end, caught his first pass in an LSU uniform and turned it into a touchdown in the first quarter. Wearing Green’s former No. 14 and standing 6-foot-5, Mothershed offered a pretty convincing stand-in for the kind of presence LSU is missing. Zach Grace and Malachi Thomas also did their part in the run game, bringing the kind of blocking that helped Jones and the rest of the backfield keep rolling.
The other big takeaway was more about standards than numbers. Kiffin has already shown he cares about what happens after the starters leave the field.
He wasn’t happy after the Clemson game, when LSU’s second-string defense allowed a late touchdown and turned a 53-10 finish into something less tidy. He also called out a defensive lapse after the Texas A&M win, pointing to a third-and-12 screen that got loose.
That message mattered again on Saturday, because the reserves did not all answer it cleanly. LSU’s second unit came in late in the second quarter and the offense looked sharp.
Berry kept ripping off yards, Stacy Gage added productive runs in garbage time, and Landen Clark handled quarterback duties well in relief of Sam Leavitt, going 7-for-16 for 126 yards while also rushing three times for 11 yards and a touchdown. Husan Longstreet also took snaps at quarterback.
Kiffin said, “I thought our guys, outside of a few guys late - a few things - played really well,” but the defensive side of the depth chart was a different story. The reserves matched the first-half scoring output of LSU’s starters, yet they also gave up a 43-yard touchdown to Jamaal Levi in the third quarter and then surrendered a 64-yard Levi run on the very next Cowboy possession for another score.
The reserve offensive line had its own rough patch at the end, when it backed up near its own goal line and drew consecutive false starts that clearly bothered Kiffin on the sideline. He said, “I challenged them to come out and play really well,” Kiffin said. “Set a tempo of how you play and a standard, regardless of if you’re first, second or third team.”
In Other News...
LSU May Have Found A New Weapon In Saturday's Rout
Saturdays rout offered LSU something it has been searching for on offense: another young target who can do real damage as soon as the ball is snapped. True freshman Corey Barber Jr. made the most of his chances in the first half, hauling in four passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers quickly separated from McNeese State and turned the game into a runaway before halftime.
The timing matters, too, because LSU got that burst while quarterback Sam Leavitt was still managing a hamstring injury and still finished the day efficiently through the air. By halftime, the Tigers had already piled up a 35-0 lead, outgained McNeese State 347 yards to 31 and owned a 20-2 edge in first downs, a sign that the offense was operating with more rhythm and more answers than the opponent could handle. [Read more 🡒]
LSU's QB Plan Just Got More Complicated Than Fans Hoped
LSUs quarterback picture already had a little fog around it, and the McNeese State game only made it thicker. Sam Leavitt was back under center as the regular starter even while working through a hamstring injury from the previous week, a reminder that the Tigers are managing more than just the normal September wear and tear. Behind him, Landen Clark and Husan Longstreet were also slated for meaningful snaps, keeping the offense in a state of shared responsibility rather than a clean, settled hierarchy.
It was not just the quarterback room feeling the strain. Safety Ty Benefield and William Satterwhite II also started in place of injured or replaced players, which says plenty about how many moving parts LSU has had to sort through at once. For a team trying to establish rhythm early, the challenge is no longer simply who starts, but how quickly the Tigers can get continuity while those rotations keep shifting around them. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Sent LSU A Clear Message In A Blowout Win
LSUs 63-14 win over McNeese State looked one-sided long before it was over, but the bigger takeaway may have been the way Lane Kiffin handled it. The Tigers piled up a program-record number of first downs and offensive plays while finishing with the second-most total yards in school history, a reminder that the performance stayed sharp from start to finish even after the margin opened up.
Kiffin still found ways to keep the edge intact, calling timeout before the second half despite the comfortable lead and making substitutions that were as much about message as matchup. It was a clear push to reinforce his standards and the culture he wants in place, even in a game that could have easily drifted into empty snaps and soft focus. [Read more 🡒]