LSU football coach Lane Kiffin returned to Oxford Mississippi on September 20 and took one on the chin against his former assistant Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels, losing 32-24 in a game that caused Trinidad Chambliss to celebrate with an F-bomb and immediately dimmed his Tigers' College Football Playoff and title hopes.
Injuries to two key players also hurt LSU as they attempted to scratch and claw their way back in the game. When the dust settled, Kiffin's team found itself with a 2-1 record staring down the barrel of what looks like a borderline must-win against Texas A&M football September 25 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Kiffin's team's national title hopes may look to be on life support right now, but they are far from dead. A win against the Aggies would do wonders, but it's more about how his team plays going forward that truly matters, which is why LSU shouldn't panic going forward.
Sam Leavitt is still getting acclimated
Transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt has College Football Playoff experience from his time with Kenny Dillingham's team at Arizona State and is in the perfect system, with the perfect coach, to maximize his talents. That being said, it will take time.
Leavitt battled back spasms and an undisclosed upper body injury leading up to the Ole Miss game and didn't perform his best in a hostile SEC environment. Kiffin tried to explain Leavitt's injury, but it didn't matter to the Rebels faithful as they cheered their team on to an emotionally charged win over a coach they felt abandoned them this past offseason.
As Leavitt and his teammates continue to get used to the passion, speed, and power of opposing SEC teams, they will adjust. They simply ran into a buzzsaw in Oxford, and it showed on both the scoreboard and the injury report. Leavitt has uncharacteristically thrown four interceptions so far this season, but that won't continue based on his track record with the Sun Devils and his talented new teammates.
Two losses equals Playoff berth?
The SEC has reestablished much of its luster so far this season as NIL spending has ramped up and the conference has drawn closer to the Big Ten, which won the last three national championships. Highly-ranked teams including the Aggies, Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns are all vying for berths to this season's College Football Playoff. While that may sound intimidating to LSU football fans after the Ole Miss loss, it's important to keep perspective.
Article Continues BelowLSU football is a recruiting powerhouse and has been for years. Kiffin is one of college football's most established offensive masterminds and the Tigers are still figuring things out on that side of the ball. The SEC schedule can be seen either as daunting or as an opportunity depending on a fan's faith in their team. With the Aggies headed to town, coach Kiffin's team has a golden opportunity to prove they are one of the nation's best teams again.
Kiffin's team will close out the 2026 regular season with games against ranked opponents Alabama, Texas and Tennessee before finishing against Arkansas. Kiffin, Leavitt and the Tigers know they must improve, or risk getting embarrassed and relegated to a lesser-tier bowl game at the end of the season.
A two-loss regular season will likely punch Kiffin's team's ticket to the Playoff, a tough but possible goal for the LSU football coach to set.
LSU has tasted championship intensity
Kiffin's Tigers got a front row seat, and a starkly bitter taste, of what championship college football intensity is all about in their loss to the Rebels, which will only serve them the rest of the way. The Tigers hung in admirably and got their offense moving in the second half, outscoring the Rebels 17-8. As Leavitt continues to learn Kiffin's offense, new concepts and new possibilities will unfold.
Kiffin and the Tigers are now seen as something of an SEC villain after their high profile head coach left the Rebels for a lucrative offseason contract. Leavitt is familiar to fans from his days at Arizona State but is still learning how to steer the high-speed convertible that is Kiffin's offensive attack.
The best days are yet to come for Kiffin and LSU, despite the challenges they face ahead. With a little more luck and better health in the coming weeks, they will almost certainly find themselves in the mix for an SEC title and playoff spot, as long as they keep their composure the way they did in Oxford.