By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

No. 7 LSU at No. 8 Ole Miss

Saturday, Sept. 19 • 6:30 p.m. • ABC

Oxford, Mississippi • Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

Point Spread: LSU – 2.5 from -3 before LSU QB Sam Leavitt injury/Over/Under – 57.5

OVERVIEW

The most talked about game of the LSU offseason is finally here, and it just got even more melodramatic with LSU star quarterback Sam Leavitt getting listed as doubtful with an unconfirmed injury on the Southeastern Conference availability report as of Wednesday night.

New LSU coach Lane Kiffin leads No. 7 LSU (2-0) on a return trip to No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0) after his controversial departure from being the head coach at Ole Miss, where he spent six years dramatically reviving the Rebels’ football program and put them in the program’s first College Football Playoff berth before leaving as the regular season ended. The anticipation for this game has been growing since Kiffin stepped on the plane to Baton Rouge on Nov. 30, but the hatred between the two fan bases has brewed, simmered and boiled for decades. From Billy Cannon’s Halloween run in 1959, to Bert Jones’ and Brad Davis’ last-second heroics and a home-cooked clock in Tiger Stadium in 1972, and the Tigers’ triumph to clinch a Southeastern Conference West title at Oxford in 2003, Kiffin’s return has the makings of yet another legendary night in the history of an LSU rivalry that has surpassed Alabama for the time being.

Just as intriguing as the off-field storylines are the matchups that will define Saturday’s outcome. There may not be two teams in the country that are more familiar with one another than these two. But it’s more than just familiar faces on the recruiting trail for the bordering programs. Kiffin brought with him eight assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., along with four former Rebels players. And Ole Miss coach Pete Golding poached a few LSU staffers and players of his own after being promoted from defensive coordinator. These programs know each other’s coaching styles, schemes, personnel and even morning routines inside and out.

Both teams are undefeated at 2-0 entering the SEC opener and find themselves in a top 10 matchup – the first in the rich history of the series since 1962. Drama, history, star-power, stakes, hatred — this Saturday in Vaught-Hemingway will have it all.

KEY STORYLINES

Sam Leavitt Doubtful

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt was listed as doubtful for the matchup in the initial SEC availability report on Wednesday night. Pete Nakos of on3.com reported that the Arizona State junior transfer quarterback has been limited in practice with soreness in his throwing shoulder. Leavitt’s absence would, of course, be a massive loss for the Tigers. He has thrown for 574 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions and ran for 135 yards and a team-high five touchdowns already this season. The SEC defines the doubtful designation as “unlikely to play due to significant concerns” and estimates the player has around a 25 percent chance to play. It is also worth noting that, according to new SEC availability reporting rules from this year, teams face fines ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 for putting misleading information on the report. And the program and head coach could face “accountability measures” for failing to provide accurate, timely information.

If Leavitt is sidelined, LSU will turn to either redshirt sophomore transfer Landen Clark of Elon University or redshirt freshman transfer Husan Longstreet of USC. Longstreet is a former five-star and was viewed as the primary backup throughout the off-season, but Clark has taken 32 snaps in LSU’s blowout wins compared to Longstreet’s seven. Clark has more game experience, starting 12 games in the FCS last season, and his dual-threat style fills in more seamlessly for Leavitt’s rushing ability. He can make difficult throws on the move and beat defenders with his legs. Longstreet is a promising young talent, but an away SEC opener may not be the ideal setting for his first career start.

Kiffin’s Reunion

Lane Kiffin is no stranger to a scathing former fan base. He has left plenty of hate-filled ex-supporters in his wake throughout his coaching career, but none more so than those he left on Rocky Top. After leading the Volunteers to a 7-6 record in 2009, he infamously left Tennessee after just one season to take over the head coaching job at USC, where he previously spent six seasons as an assistant. Although it was not for another 11 years that Kiffin led Ole Miss into Neyland Stadium, the Tennessee faithful remembered their ex-head coach and showed their appreciation with projectile beer cans, golf balls and mustard bottles late in the Rebels’ 31-26 victory. Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss will just be 293 days since Kiffin left Ole Miss when he leads LSU into Oxford. Not only are the fans the same, so are many of the players, coaches, support staff and administrators that helped Kiffin build the Rebels into what they are today. There is no telling what Oxford has in store for its most notorious turncoat.

Bayou Bandits vs. Trinidad Chambliss

Coordinator Blake Baker’s LSU defense has been historically dominant through the first two games of 2026. Its 142.5 yards allowed a game ranks first in the country and the 18.5 rushing yards given up per contest is second. The Tigers’ first-team defense has yet to give up a touchdown and has held opposing offenses to just four non-penalty first downs. Chambliss, though, will be leagues beyond anything they have faced. He has thrown for 561 yards and five touchdowns in games against No. 24 Louisville and Charlotte after leading the SEC in passing last season. More importantly, he is a threat to move outside of the pocket and make plays with his legs. Baker’s kryptonite since arriving at LSU has been mobile quarterbacks. Chambliss ran for 71 yards against a Tigers team that gave up 380 rushing yards to SEC quarterbacks last season. LSU will need to pressure Chambliss while preventing him from picking up extra yards with his legs or extending plays to find receivers down the field.

Life Without Kiffin & Weis In The Ole Miss Offense 

Ole Miss replaced the lauded offensive masterminds of Kiffin and Weis with someone who worked closely with them just a few years ago. John David Baker took over as offensive coordinator after serving three seasons as the Rebels’ tight end coach (2021-2023) and two as co-offensive coordinator with Weis (2022-2023). After two years as the OC and quarterbacks coach at East Carolina, he returned to Ole Miss to implement an offense that he said was the same as Kiffin and Weis’s at its core. He wanted to slightly modify the offense around his playmakers and prioritize an even faster tempo with a focus on the ground game, despite his air raid upbringing under OC Graham Harrell at North Texas and USC. Through two games, Ole Miss has stayed balanced, running the ball 65 times and passing 71 times, but the Rebels surprisingly threw more times than they ran the ball in a 41-9 blowout of Charlotte. The offense has averaged 454 total yards and 41 points a game, but the LSU defense will be one of the toughest units it faces all season.

Establishing The Run

LSU’s 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech exposed a glaring weakness in the Tigers’ offense. LSU put up 147 rushing yards against the Sun Belt Conference foe, 125 yards when you do not count Leavitt’s 22 yards and 87 yards excluding a single 46-yard run from Dilin Jones. Whether it was on early downs, in short yardage or in the red zone, the Tigers’ offensive front was consistently smothered by the Bulldogs. Golding is still calling the defensive plays for Ole Miss as the head coach. He is too sharp of a defensive mind, and the Rebels are too talented of a defensive unit for the Tigers to allow themselves to become one-dimensional. Ole Miss ranks No. 103 in the nation with 152.5 rushing yards allowed per game this year. In LSU’s first away game of the season in the most hostile crowd it will face all year, the offensive line needs to take advantage of the Rebels’ front and produce a reliable run game to help settle into the offense’s preferred pace, take pressure off the quarterback and keep Golding’s defense honest.

A Weak Spot – The Ole Miss Secondary

The Rebels’ 41-38 win over No. 24 Louisville in Week 1 of the season is one of the best wins of the college football season so far. Against a ranked opponent on a neutral site, Chambliss led Ole Miss on a game-winning 40-yards drive to set up a 48-yard Lucas Caniero field goal as time expired. The win showed a resiliency and maturity that most teams do not get to test early in the season. However, it was not without its flaws. Offensive mistakes led to just a 10-7 score at halftime, and when the offense put it together after the break, the defense was exploited. Particularly, miscommunications and a poor performance in the secondary allowed Louisville to put up 261 passing yards and 32 points. Coverages were blown in crucial moments and tackles were missed as the Rebels struggled to get by without starting corner Antonio Kite and safety Sharif Denson. Both are expected to make their return from injury against LSU, and Golding said the secondary has worked to resolve any communication issues. It still leaves the question, though: Even if a safety knows how to call for help, can he stop Trey’Dez Green?

REBELS TO WATCH

QB Trinidad Chambliss: Sixth-year quarterback named SEC Newcomer of the Year after leading the conference with 3,937 passing yards and 22 TDs, thrown for 561 yards and five TDs in two games this season

RB Kewan Lacy: Junior All-American ran for 1,567 yards and 24 scores (No. 1 in SEC) last season, has 148 yards and three TDs in 2026

WR Deuce Alexander: Redshirt junior in second year as a Rebel, leads team with 235 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 13 catches, caught 44 passes for 684 yards and two TDs last year

S Sharif Denson: Senior Florida transfer set to make Ole Miss debut on Saturday, started 11 games for the Gators last season and stood out during camp, should provide much-needed reinforcements in the secondary

DE Kam Franklin: Junior preseason All-SEC selection coming off a five-sack, 69-tackle 2025, six tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack this season

K Lucas Carneiro: Senior earned 2025 All-SEC first-team honors after making 31/35 field goals and all 56 of his extra-point tries, hit all 10 extra-points and four of five field goals this season

KEY MATCH-UPS

LSU Linebackers Whit Weeks, TJ Dottery vs. Ole Miss Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Running Back Kewan Lacy

Stopping Chambliss and Lacy is a losing battle for most teams. Sell out to stuff the run and Chambliss beats you down the field. Commit to containing Chambliss and Lacy gashes the heart of the defense. Weeks and Dottery are the center of an LSU defense that has had great success with linebacker blitzes and disguised coverages, and their speed allows them to guard boundary to boundary. The duo will be crucial to cutting down Lacy at the point of attack and the first line of defense when Chambliss extends plays.

LSU Interior Offensive Line vs. Ole Miss Defensive Tackle Will Echoles

The Tigers offensive line was not good against Louisiana Tech. The LSU run game was looked to be fully back after its success against Clemson, but even following that 309-yard performance Kiffin alluded to the unsatisfactory guard play. Echoles has just four tackles so far this season, but the junior was named All-SEC last season with 68 tackles, 11 ½ tackles for loss and five sacks. He is a disruptor in the middle of the trenches that LSU will have to neutralize if it wants to get the run game going.

LSU Tight End Trey’Dez Green vs. Pete Golding’s Kitchen Sink

Whether a linebacker, safety or cornerback, no one player can match up with 6-foot-7 Green. He is too agile for linebackers and too big for defensive backs. Golding will have to get creative to limit Green, who is emerging as the safety blanket of the LSU offense and its most timely playmaker. He caught six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown and generated six first downs against LA Tech. At times, he was impossible to bring down — a real concern for the Ole Miss secondary.

STATS AND TRENDS TO KNOW

It is the first time since 1962 that LSU and Ole Miss face off while both are ranked in the top 10.

LSU is 66-44-4 against Ole Miss. The Rebels are the Tigers’ second-most common opponent behind Mississippi State.

The series in Oxford is tied 11-11-1

LSU is 58-30-5 all-time in SEC openers.

The Tigers are 23-14 when featured on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” which will be making its third ever trip to Oxford Saturday.

THE OUTLOOK

Everything gets thrown off if Leavitt is not able to go for the Tigers on Saturday night. With him, Kiffin has one of if not the most talented roster in college football. The offense has had its concerns — Leavitt has had to improvise his way out of pressure, he has struggled with interceptions and accuracy at times and the run game all-but disappeared in the first half against LA Tech. The LSU defense, however, has been the model of consistency, and can keep LSU in a gritty game if necessary. Ole Miss has the best backfield in the nation. Chambliss and Lacy will be a test unlike anything the Tigers have faced this season, so will Golding’s defense and the historic crowd awaiting them in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. LSU will not be able to survive in that hostile environment if it struggles to run the football as much as it did last week, especially if Leavitt is not available. The offense needs to prioritize finding a rhythm and taking care of the ball while the defense tries to contain the Rebels and take the crowd out of the game. LSU will need to make Chambliss uncomfortable with its potent pass rush while also accounting for his mobility and playing sticky coverage down the field to limit improvised explosive plays. It is a top-10 matchup, in a historic rivalry and the first of a nine-game SEC slate. It is time to see if Kiffin’s Tigers are for real.

TIGER RAG PREDICTIONS

(Editor’s Note: Predictions made not knowing final playing status of LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt.)

KACE KIESCHNICK, Staff Reporter – LSU 27, Ole Miss 24.

GLENN GUILBEAU, Editor – Ole Miss 24, LSU 20.

TODD HORNE, Executive Editor – LSU 47, Ole Miss 21.