LSU doesn’t have much room for drifting anymore. After two losses already on the ledger, the Tigers need to settle in fast and string together the kind of stretch that keeps the season on track.
The road loss at Ole Miss in Lane Kiffin’s return could be explained away. The setback at Kentucky is the one that stings.
Now LSU heads into a sleepy 11 a.m. kickoff in Baton Rouge with Mississippi State coming to town, and the Bulldogs arrive with some bite. They’re No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the Coaches Poll, carrying a 4-1 record into their bye week.
Mississippi State opened with road wins at Minnesota and at home against Missouri, then got flattened by Alabama, 56-23. Kamario Taylor was limited by a foot injury and did not finish that game.
LSU, meanwhile, slid to 4-2 after the Kentucky loss. The Tigers dropped 12 spots to No. 22 in the AP Poll and landed at No. 21 in the Coaches Poll. At this point, the margin for error is thin, and LSU needs a run to keep its postseason hopes alive.
A lot of this game starts with Taylor, and for the purpose of this matchup, the assumption is that he plays. He showed up on the injury report as questionable with what’s rumored to be turf toe.
That kind of injury can sap a quarterback’s mobility and rhythm in a hurry, and the source of that warning sign is hard to ignore. Current LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt dealt with the same issue in 2025, struggled through it, and was eventually shut down after seven games.
There’s no indication yet that Taylor’s season is in jeopardy, but his health is going to be one of the first things to watch in Death Valley.
The most direct individual battle on the perimeter is PJ Woodland and DJ Pickett against Anthony Evans III. Woodland has usually been the one tasked with shadowing the opponent’s top receiver, and Evans fits that billing for Mississippi State. If it’s not Woodland, then Pickett likely gets the assignment, and either way LSU is dealing with a serious challenge.
Evans has been outstanding. He leads the Bulldogs with 40 catches for 574 yards and five touchdowns, which works out to eight receptions, 115 yards and a score per game.
He’s topped 100 yards in four of five outings this season and brings the kind of speed that can wreck a coverage plan. He’s also a senior with four years of SEC experience split between Mississippi State and Georgia.
Woodland and Pickett have each taken a small step back from last season, though neither has fallen off a cliff. Woodland’s PFF grade has dipped from 74.5 to 66.8 in his first year as the CB1. Pickett, now a sophomore and a full-time boundary corner, owns a solid 70.5 grade, down from 76.2 as a freshman when he played mostly in the slot.
LSU doesn’t have many corners it can truly trust in man coverage, which is why it’s likely this matchup will feature one of those two on Evans. Even if Evans moves into the slot, one of them probably follows him inside. That’s a key duel in a game where Mississippi State’s passing game could swing the outcome.
The other side of the ball needs to look better, too. LSU’s offensive line and Mississippi State’s defensive front may decide whether the Tigers can build any balance.
The run game has to wake up after Dilin Jones was held to 3.5 yards per carry against Kentucky. The line’s average run-blocking grade last week was 56.6, and Zach Grace posted a 49.7, which is a problem for a tight end whose job starts with blocking.
Mississippi State’s run defense has been respectable on paper, ranking eighth in the SEC at 119.6 rushing yards allowed per game, but that number comes with an asterisk. Teams haven’t needed to lean on the run much because the Bulldogs’ pass defense has been so poor. They’ll also be without top linebacker Jalen Smith, who is already listed as out.
LSU needs the ground game because Sam Leavitt has had some uneasy moments even after back-to-back games where he was mostly just a passer. There were still stretches where he got frantic in key spots, and the Tigers need Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. to feel like they can lean on the run and take pressure off him. Weis wants to use the run to set up the pass, but LSU hasn’t been able to fully capitalize on his play designs because the blocking hasn’t held up.
Then there’s Blake Baker’s defense, which has to prove it can learn from the two losses. The conservative approach in both defeats burned LSU, as Trinidad Chambliss and Kenny Minchey picked apart soft coverage. Taylor has the tools to do the same if the Tigers give him room.
The Wildcats game was also a reminder that LSU couldn’t get enough pressure when it mattered. Even though Minchey’s numbers dropped when Kentucky sent extra rushers, Baker backed off too much, and by the end the front four had little left in the tank while Minchey had all day. That can’t happen again.
If Taylor is out there, LSU would seem likely to heat him up and force him into uncomfortable snaps. More aggression in coverage would give the pass rush a chance to matter, but it also raises the risk of a busted assignment. That leaves the secondary with a job it can’t miss.
In Other News...
LSU Defense Just Took Another Hit It Couldnt Afford
LSUs defense was already short on answers, and it took another hit early against Mississippi State when edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen left in the first quarter after making his second tackle. He was checked on the field by LSU trainers and then spent the rest of the first half watching from the sideline, a rough development for a unit that has been trying to piece itself together.
The timing matters because LSU has already had to absorb injuries to two other starting defenders this season, leaving the Tigers with even less margin for error on that side of the ball. Any extended absence would only deepen the challenge for a defense that can ill afford to keep losing experienced pieces as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Got The Bounce-Back Win Fans Wanted At A Cost
LSU got the kind of response it needed Saturday, blanking Mississippi State 31-0 and putting together the sort of complete performance that had been missing in recent weeks. The defense set the tone early and never let the Bulldogs get comfortable, shutting down drives and turning multiple fourth-down chances into empty trips while the offense found a steadier rhythm behind quarterback Sam Leavitt and running back Dilin Jones.
The win, though, came with a familiar sort of concern for a team still trying to get healthy. LSU also came out of the game with new injuries to key players, including wide receiver Jackson Harris and edge rusher Lamar Brown, adding to the uncertainty surrounding a roster that finally looked organized on the field. Leavitt's better timing and confidence were a promising sign, but the larger question now is whether the Tigers can build on it without losing more pieces along the way. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Is Pushing An Eligibility Fight The SEC May Not Tolerate
LSUs latest off-court battle is not about a game plan or a depth chart, but about whether the school has gone too far in pushing eligibility rules on behalf of its programs. The issue has flared around former professional players brought in by mens basketball coach Will Wade and football coach Lane Kiffin, with the school leaning on legal action to get those players onto campus teams despite NCAA restrictions.
Louisiana courts have already granted preliminary injunctions that helped some of those former pros suit up, but the bigger threat is now coming from the SEC itself. The conference has warned that LSU could be expelled over what it sees as a lack of institutional control, turning a roster-building strategy into a potential league-wide crisis for an athletic department already under scrutiny. [Read more 🡒]