Lane Kiffin has already shown LSU what his offense can look like when everything clicks. The Tigers were sharp in a 35-6 win over Texas A&M, then put 63 on McNeese a week later. When the protection is there and Sam Leavitt gets the ball out on time, this group can move.
But LSU has also shown the other side of the equation, and that’s the problem. The offense has been too easy to derail at times, whether it’s turnovers, pressure or simple missed chances.
Kiffin can dial up enough answers. The Tigers still have to finish the job.
The Louisiana Tech game was the clearest example of how messy it can get. LSU still won 45-14, but that final score buried a rough first half on offense.
The Tigers coughed it up four times before halftime, including three Leavitt interceptions. One of those was taken back 100 yards for a touchdown, and somehow Louisiana Tech reached halftime with zero total yards while trailing by only three.
That’s the kind of sequence that keeps a game alive when it should be over.
Against Ole Miss, the issue looked different. LSU had trouble getting much going through the air, and Leavitt finished with 158 passing yards on 16 completions in 27 attempts. Dilin Jones did his part on the ground with 106 rushing yards, but the passing game never consistently stressed the Rebels.
“We had open players,” Kiffin said after reviewing the film.
That’s the frustrating part for LSU. The offense wasn’t always being asked to do something impossible. There were chances there, and too many of them went unused.
The pressure up front was part of it, too. Kiffin made it clear his quarterback needed help, because Leavitt can only do so much if he’s forced off his spot before routes have time to develop.
Protection and decision-making have to work together. One without the other leaves the same problem in place.
There were still flashes of what this offense can be. Leavitt finished 17 of 23 for 312 yards and two touchdowns, and early in the third quarter Kiffin made the aggressive call to go for it on fourth-and-1 from LSU’s own 43.
That turned into a 57-yard touchdown to Jackson Harris. The fake drew the defense in, Harris got loose, and the Tigers cashed in.
“We go for it,” Kiffin said afterward. “We take shots.”
That part should stay. LSU needs that kind of confidence, because it gives the offense a way to punish defenses that crowd the line. But even that play was a team effort - the fake, the route, the throw and the blocking all had to line up.
Kiffin also pointed to the value of Leavitt working on time within the offense, even joking after the quarterback’s hamstring injury that “he had to stay in the pocket and throw on time.”
That’s the lesson LSU has to carry forward. The Tigers can’t keep leaning on Leavitt to create something after the play breaks down. The offense already has enough built into it to score.
The point now is consistency. LSU showed against Texas A&M what this system can be when it’s clean.
It has also shown, in games like Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss, how quickly it can slip when the ball is turned over or the timing falls apart. Kiffin can keep putting the pieces in place.
The Tigers have to stop wasting them.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin's Daughter Just Gave LSU Fans An Awkward Texas Twist
Lane Kiffins family is already adding a little extra spice to LSUs looming matchup with Texas. Landry Kiffin, the daughter of the Tigers head coach, was headed to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma and showed up in Longhorns gear, then joked on social media that she was scouting the competition before LSUs game with Texas.
The timing makes it an easy topic around Baton Rouge, where the Tigers and Longhorns are set to meet Nov. 14 at Tiger Stadium. For LSU fans, it is the kind of small but combustible detail that turns a regular trip to a rivalry game into another reminder that the Texas prep work is already underway. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Freshman WR Is Forcing A Rethink Before Kentucky
LSUs receiver room already had plenty of moving parts before Corey Barber Jr. made himself harder to ignore. Under coach Lane Kiffin, the Tigers have brought in nine wide receivers through the transfer portal, and that kind of depth usually means every snap has to be earned. But the true freshmans standout showing against McNeese gave LSU something it could not fake in a crowded rotation: a young player forcing his way into the conversation.
Now the focus turns to Kentucky, where Barber and Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown are both in line to battle for playing time. Brown arrived with the kind of rsum that typically buys a longer look, but Barbers emergence has added a new wrinkle to how LSU may handle the position group going forward. For a team already sorting through a loaded receiver mix, the next game will say a lot about how quickly the freshmans rise can turn from a one-game spark into a real role. [Read more 🡒]
Ed Orgeron Just Took A Big Step In His LSU Return
Ed Orgerons return to LSU has taken another noticeable step, as the former Tigers head coach and current special assistant joined the football team on its road trip to Kentucky. It was his first trip with the program since a health issue in August kept him away, and it adds another layer to a reunion that has already had a real football purpose, with Orgeron involved in recruiting as LSU continues to lean on a familiar face.
Lane Kiffin confirmed Orgeron is back around the program and spoke about both his health and his presence with the Tigers. Even so, Orgeron is not expected to be on the sideline for the Kentucky game, leaving his return in a sort of middle ground for now: close enough to matter, not quite complete enough to answer every question about how this comeback will look moving forward. [Read more 🡒]