LSU’s season has reached the kind of crossroads where the stakes don’t need much dressing up.
Saturday’s matchup with Mississippi State at 11 a.m. on ESPN is the kind of game the Tigers simply have to have. After a one-touchdown loss at Ole Miss and last Saturday’s one-point overtime defeat at Kentucky, No.
22 LSU can’t afford another slip. A loss would drop the Tigers to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Southeastern Conference, and in the current 12-team College Football Playoff setup, that leaves almost no room to breathe.
Maybe a 9-3 team gets in this year. LSU can’t count on it.
So this one comes with a familiar Tiger Stadium symbol attached to it: the “WIN!” bar, the old piece of goalpost that has taken on a life of its own in LSU lore. Players tap it on the way out of the locker room and into Death Valley, but this time that gesture needs to mean something beyond tradition.
“Just win, baby … or else.”
That’s the reality now.
There is at least a case for LSU at home. The Tigers have been dominant in Baton Rouge, winning by an average score of 49-11, even if the list of victims includes Clemson and Texas A&M, two teams that have not exactly been in top form. But Mississippi State brings its own dangerous profile, even if the Bulldogs may be dealing with more than one missing piece.
Quarterback Kamario Taylor has been the engine of Mississippi State’s offense, leading the SEC in total offense with 321.8 yards per game, total touchdowns with 18 and passing touchdowns with 17. He has also been questionable all week because of what is believed to be turf toe. Taylor missed the Bulldogs’ last game, a two-week-old setback against Alabama.
Top running back Fluff Bothwell is also dealing with an unspecified foot/ankle injury. If both are limited or unavailable, Mississippi State’s task gets a lot harder.
That said, the Bulldogs arrive ranked ahead of LSU for the first time since 2000, and only the eighth time in the 117 prior meetings between the teams. Still, if Taylor and Bothwell are not really able to go, Mississippi State’s upset path gets awfully narrow.
LSU, though, has its own obvious issue: turnovers.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt has to stop giving the ball away. Through six games, he has nine turnovers - eight interceptions and one fumble - and he is the only FBS quarterback who has thrown at least one interception in every game this season.
Some of that has come down to bad breaks, including tipped passes and balls that should have been caught. But the bottom line stays the same.
LSU cannot keep handing opponents short fields, or worse, a pick six like the one that haunted it against Louisiana Tech.
Leavitt’s numbers are still strong enough to matter. He is averaging 8.65 yards per pass attempt and has 17 total touchdowns, with 10 passing and seven rushing. That leaves him just one behind Taylor in total touchdowns.
But for LSU, the conversation Saturday starts and ends with the same thing: clean football, no self-inflicted wounds, and a win. The Tigers have owned this series overall, leading it 78-36-3, and they are 28-4 against Mississippi State since 1992.
By the end of the day, LSU needs that to be 29-4. Anything else would make the “WIN!” bar feel a lot heavier on the walk back inside.
In Other News...
LSU Has Bigger Problems Than A Homecoming Kickoff Debate
LSUs week has turned into one long reminder that the biggest issue in Baton Rouge is not the homecoming kickoff time. After dropping to 22nd in the rankings following the loss to Kentucky, the Tigers are still trying to steady themselves heading into Mississippi State, with linebacker TJ Dottery and coach Lane Kiffin both stressing the need for cleaner execution. The schedule gripe has drawn some student reaction, but it sits well behind the more immediate concern of getting the football team back on track.
The campus mood could use a lift, and the mens basketball team provided one with an 85-81 win over UCF in a wildly thin rotation. LSU played with only six players amid an eligibility controversy, yet Donovan Dent still delivered the game-winning layup and Abdi Bashir Jr. led the way in scoring. It was the kind of gritty result that gives the program something to point to while the football side works through its own far bigger problems. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Bounce-Back Bid Comes With One Big SEC Concern
LSU heads into Week 7 looking to steady itself at home against Mississippi State after the loss to Kentucky, and the Tigers have enough on their plate already without adding another layer of uncertainty. This is the kind of SEC game that can turn quickly if the matchup script changes early, especially with both teams dealing with injuries and LSU still trying to get back to the level of consistency that made it dangerous in the first place.
Mississippi States quarterback situation is the wrinkle LSU will be watching closely, because the Bulldogs offensive outlook shifts depending on who is available. For LSU, the path back starts with cleaner work on both sides of the ball, better execution in key moments and a sharper response than the one it showed a week ago, but the bigger question is whether the Tigers can prepare for the version of Mississippi State that actually shows up. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Could Catch A Huge Break In Mississippi State's Backfield
Mississippi State arrives on LSUs schedule with a couple of key offensive questions hanging over its backfield, and both of them trace back to the same injury-hit trip through Alabama. Quarterback Kamario Taylor and running back Fluff Bothwell were each listed as questionable for the matchup with LSU after leaving the previous game hurt, leaving Jeff Lebby and his staff to sort through contingency plans as kickoff gets closer.
For LSU, the uncertainty matters because the Bulldogs offense could look very different if either player is limited or unavailable. Lebby has already identified possible replacements, but the Tigers will be watching to see whether Mississippi State can get either Taylor or Bothwell back in time, since their status could shape how much stress LSUs defense has to absorb on Saturday. [Read more 🡒]