Forget about how starved LSU football fans are for their first College Football Playoff since 2019. Forget about how cool a home playoff game in December in Tiger Stadium would be.
LSU’s administration and donors want to win yesterday, too, because of the $91 million over seven years they will be doling out to new coach Lane Kiffin on the heels of paying off fired coach Brian Kelly nearly $54 million in a buyout.
Kiffin’s new roster of 41 portal players and 19 via the 2026 signing class cost reportedly more than $40 million.
No, this is not a rebuilding year. This is “Restoration On The Bayou,” a documentary coming to a national network near you soon. And it’s all about the now and the money.
And Kiffin is just as impatient as any foaming-at-the-mouth LSU fan, though he’s not saying that. Or did you not see his manic approach to the portal and complete revamp of LSU’s roster like never before last January? He was a coach possessed as if he was in his win-or-get-fired season as Kelly was last year, instead of his honeymoon.
The result is one of the most talented rosters in the country.
Kiffin will carry the same sense of urgency into the season, even though his roster is as much built for the future as it is for 2026.
Here we go:
SEPT. 5 – LSU 27, CLEMSON 10: New quarterback Sam Leavitt throws two touchdowns and runs for a third as his injured right foot looks fine in front of a full Tiger Stadium. Blake Baker’s defense shuts out Clemson until the third quarter.
SEPT. 12 – LSU 34, LOUISIANA TECH 7: Leavitt throws for 312 yards and three touchdowns with transfer wide receiver Winnie Watkins of Ole Miss catching a 77-yard touchdown.
SEPT. 19 – OLE MISS 34, LSU 31: LSU gets the buyouts of Ole Miss transfers Princewill Umanmielen and Devin Harper paid off at $950,000 during game week, not to mention legal fees.
Ole Miss defensive coordinator/head coach Pete Golding’s unit allows 298 passing yards to Leavitt and 108 rushing to running back Caden Durham, but LSU can’t stop the players left by Kiffin. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss throws for 307 and rushes for 82, while running back Kewan Lacy gains 128 with a 68-yard touchdown burst in the final moments for the win in a rocking Oxford.
A dozen Kiffin life-sized replica dolls burn throughout the night in The Grove. Talk about hot yoga!
SEPT. 26 – LSU 23, TEXAS A&M 13: Baker’s defense recovers and dominates the Aggies as edge Umanmielen sacks Marcel Reed twice. Running back Dilin Jones gains 103 yards on 22 carries as the Tigers go Old School.
OCT. 3 – LSU 51, MCNEESE STATE 7: It’s the Bonnette Bowl in Tiger Stadium as LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette welcomes his younger brother – McNeese SID Matthew Bonnette. After they each burn the other’s game notes, Leavitt torches the Cowboys’ secondary for 287 yards and two touchdowns before halftime. Backup Husan Longstreet completes 10 of 12 for another 111 yards and a TD in the second half.
He was the 1st passenger on the Lane Train of Transfer that traversed Hawaii to Maryland and 39 points in between for 41 players and the No. 1 portal class.https://t.co/eUzO5PdrRv
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) August 3, 2026
Jackson Harris, the first of 41 in Kiffin’s portal class, catches four passes for 163 yards.
OCT. 10 – LSU 37, KENTUCKY 10: Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.’s offense keeps on clicking to the tune of 528 yards in Lexington.
OCT. 17 – LSU 47, MISSISSIPPI STATE 13: Leavitt throws for 300 and rushes for 62 as wide receiver Jayce Brown catches three touchdowns of more than 40 yards.
OCT. 24 – LSU 21, AUBURN 17: Leavitt throws two interceptions in the first half at Jordan-Hare, but redeems himself by driving LSU 76 yards in six plays over the final minute. He finds the blossoming Harris for a 17-yard touchdown with 14 seconds left for the win.
NOV. 7 – LSU 31, ALABAMA 21: Trailing 24-21, Alabama drives inside LSU’s 30 in the final minutes, but safety Ty Benefield intercepts quarterback Austin Mack and returns it 85 yards for a TD. The Tigers (8-1, 5-1 SEC) win their sixth straight and jump to No. 3 in the nation.
NOV. 14 – TEXAS 28, LSU 21: The No. 1 Longhorns are too much for the Tigers as Arch Manning throws three TDs and becomes the third Manning to win in Tiger Stadium after Grandpa Archie in 1968 and Uncle Eli in 2001.
NOV. 21 – LSU 38, TENNESSEE 17: The Tigers face a playoff-dangerous third loss as the Vols take a 14-3 lead at the half. But adjustments by Kiffin and Weis work wonders as Leavitt throws four touchdowns in the second half.
NOV. 28 – LSU 41, ARKANSAS 0: LSU’s Dilin Jones runs it down the throat of the Hogs for 148 yards on 21 carries, and Baker’s defense holds Arkansas to 102 total yards.
The No. 3 Tigers (10-2, 7-2) schedule former rival Tulane for the first time since 2009, sort of. The CFP committee puts the No. 20 Green Wave (11-1, 7-1 American Athletic Conference) in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Dec. 19, at night in the first playoff game ever in Tiger Stadium.
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