No. 10 LSU and No. 23 Texas A&M are set to bring two quarterbacks into the spotlight in Week 4, and both Sam Leavitt and Marcel Reed arrive with plenty to clean up after rocky starts to SEC play.
What made this matchup look so compelling in the first place was the way both passers opened the season. Leavitt transferred to Baton Rouge and quickly became the kind of quarterback LSU fans wanted to believe in right away, while Reed entered the year coming off a huge breakout that had him looking like one of the league’s rising stars. But after rough Week 3 losses, the mood around both players has shifted.
Leavitt’s first two games with LSU hinted at why the hype built so fast. He flashed real athleticism, made plays on the move and gave the Tigers a rushing element that changed the offense.
He ranks second in the SEC in quarterback rushing with 135 yards and 3 touchdowns. Through the air, he was also No. 2 in the SEC with 574 passing yards and two touchdowns, though he had already thrown four interceptions.
Then came his first SEC test against Ole Miss, and the outing went sideways. Leavitt had a rough first half against the Rebels and only steadied things a bit with a two-touchdown second half.
He finished with 158 passing yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts, plus 63 rushing yards and a score. It also marked his third straight game with an interception, and the performance raised questions about whether his arm is ready for Lane Kiffin’s offense.
Just as troubling was how often he seemed to bail out of reads and settle for a scramble instead of pushing the ball deeper.
Those are the kinds of mistakes that become expensive fast against SEC defenses.
Reed has his own set of problems. Last season, he was the engine behind Texas A&M’s rise, throwing for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding 493 rushing yards and six more scores. He helped push the Aggies to their first College Football Playoff appearance and reached No. 3 in the AP poll, so the standard around him was always going to be high.
This season, though, the production has dropped. Reed managed only 396 total yards across his first two games, and his rushing impact was especially muted, with just 37 yards on the ground in that span. Then Week 3 brought a 31-21 loss to unranked Kentucky, a defeat that dropped Texas A&M 14 spots in the AP Poll, the biggest slide of any team that week.
Against Kentucky, Reed threw 49 passes and finished with 236 yards and 2 interceptions. It was his third straight game with a sub-60 QBR, something that only happened twice all last season. He did show some burst as a runner with 80 rushing yards and a touchdown, but much of that came on a 40-yard scramble on fourth-and-13.
For both quarterbacks, the next step is pretty clear: slow down, stay composed and don’t force the issue under pressure. Each defense will demand quick decisions and punish mistakes. That means resisting the urge to rush throws or take off too early.
Leavitt has already learned how ugly that can get. Against Ole Miss and LA Tech combined, he was sacked 7 times, and that pressure helped fuel 4 interceptions across those two games. Three of those picks came in the red zone, costing LSU 7 points against Ole Miss and putting the spotlight on how costly hurried decisions can be.
Reed has to be cleaner too, especially when the first read isn’t there. His first interception against Kentucky came on a quick slant deep in Kentucky territory, and the second was even more damaging, with Reed forcing a jump ball into double coverage after a broken play. Those are the kinds of snaps Texas A&M can’t afford if it wants to take down LSU.
If Reed is going to stress the Tigers, the run game may be his best route. LSU just watched Ole Miss quarterback Trinnidad Chambliss have success on the ground, finishing the Rebels’ win with a 14-yard rushing touchdown.
Reed is at his most dangerous when defenses have to respect both his arm and his legs, and that part of his game has not looked like last season’s version so far. Still, the path is there: if he can threaten LSU early as a runner, he could force the Tigers’ linebackers to tighten up and open passing lanes over the middle.
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 🡒]