LSU Drops A Spot To 4 In A.P. Poll; Caden Durham Injury Update

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Winning 56-10 over Southeastern Louisiana Saturday night was not enough for No. 3 LSU to stay in that position on Sunday in the Associated Press college football poll.

The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) dropped to No. 4, likely because SLU is a lower level Football Championship Subdivision program and was a 39-point underdog. Penn State (3-0) did not play and dropped a spot into LSU’s previous No. 3.

Miami (4-0) jumped two spots to No. 2 after beating Florida, 26-7. Ohio State (3-0) also did not play and remained No. 1. The rest of the top 10 had Georgia (3-0) at No. 5, Oregon (4-0) at No. 6, Oklahoma (4-0) at No. 7, Florida State (3-0) at No. 8, Texas A&M (3-0) at No. 9 and No. 10 Texas (3-1), which dropped two spots after a 55-0 win over Sam Houston.

LSU still got a lot out of its win over the Lions.

Healthier Garrett Nussmeier and offense’s nice tuneup vs. SLU mixed with Ole Miss’ porous D may concoct a nice Hotty Toddy cocktail in Oxford Saturday. @racertodd Column:https://t.co/1YnrbKofQF

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 21, 2025

“This game was a really good opportunity for us to sharpen up in those areas that we’re going to need moving forward,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said.

Kelly wanted to work on third and fourth down conversions particularly. The Tigers were 9 of 14 on third downs after going 4 of 14 last week in a 20-10 win over Florida, and they were 3 of 3 on fourth down after none of those situations a week ago.

“That’s what we were looking to do,” he said. “The priorities from this game were the conversions. That needed to be a point of emphasis. When we got those opportunities, we were prepared. And we wanted to get into some fourth down situations, because invariably you’re going to have these. We needed these opportunities.”

LSU may need to convert such situations at much more critical times with the score likely much closer Saturday when the Tigers play at Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0 SEC) at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. The Rebels stayed ranked No. 13 Sunday in the A.P. poll after beating Tulane, 45-10.

Source: LSU RB Caden Durham (ankle) is expected to practice lightly this week and his status for Ole Miss will be determined later in the week. An MRI ruled out a high ankle sprain after he got injured Saturday against SE Louisiana. pic.twitter.com/KPOEr8rjqi

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 21, 2025

CADEN DURHAM INJURY UPDATE

The Tigers’ run game got some good news Sunday as starting tailback Caden Durham’s ankle injury suffered Saturday night is not a high ankle sprain, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test has indicated, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. The high ankle sprain usually means several weeks out of action.

Durham, who leads the Tigers with 213 yards on 52 carries, will have a chance to play against Ole Miss Saturday.

“The first I heard was an ankle sprain,” Kelly said Saturday after the game. “But we like to check those things out. We’ll make sure everything’s good.”

Durham will likely be listed as questionable this week and either be held out of some practices and/or will practice on a limited basis as game day gets closer. He injured his ankle in the second quarter against Southeastern and did not return to the game. He gained 17 yards on seven carries and caught three passes for seven yards.

LSU-OLE MISS STATISTICAL COMPARISON

The game will match two of the best teams in the SEC, but on opposite ends of some of the statistical rankings.

LSU is No. 10 in rushing defense at 64 yards allowed a game … Ole Miss is No. 120 with 190.5 yards given up a game. LSU’s running game could be helped by that as it is No. 111 nationally with 116.8 yards a game. The Rebels are No. 25 in rushing in the nation with 218.5 yards a game.

The Tigers are No. 9 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 9.3 points a game. … Ole Miss is No. 42 in scoring defense, giving up twice more at 18.8 a game. Ole Miss will be the best offense LSU has faced this season as it is No. 9 in total offense with 543.3 yards a game, but the Tigers are No. 17 in total defense with 246.3 yards allowed a game. And the Rebels are scoring 44.8 points a game for 12th in the nation. Even after LSU’s 56-point output Saturday, it is 76th in the nation with 29 points a game.

Ole Miss’s total defense numbers are not great at 72nd in the nation with 356.8 yards allowed a game, but it could match up well with LSU’s offense, which is just 69th in the nation wth 391.8 yards a game.

LSU’s offense, though, could be on the verge of improving significantly as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier appears to be moving beyond an abdomen/torso injury he has dealt with since August. He completed 25 of 31 passes for a season-high 273 yards and a season-high three touchdowns Saturday.

Asked if he would describe Nussmeier as 100 percent now, Kelly said, “Yeah, I’d say that. We had talked about during the week that he was on the other side of the injury, and he felt really good. And we knew during the week that he was healthy, just by the way he was throwing the football. So, yeah, I would say that’s the version you’ll get the rest of the year.”

Ole Miss, meanwhile, is No. 14 in the nation in passing offense with 324.8 yards a game behind two quarterbacks. Transfer Trinidad Chambliss completed 17 of 27 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 14 times for 112 yards in the win over Tulane Saturday. Chambliss started the last two games after an ankle injury to sophomore Austin Simmons, who opened the season as the starter.

LSU is No. 43 in the nation in pass defense at 182.3 yards allowed a game. Ole Miss’ numbers against the pass or better at No. 25 with 166.3 yards a game.

SEC RANKED DOUBLEHEADER

The LSU-Ole Miss game will be the first of a doubleheader of ranked pairings on ABC Saturday. No. 17 Alabama (2-1) plays at No. 5 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.

The second 10 of the Associated Press poll has No. 11 Indiana, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 14 Iowa State, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 17 Alabama, No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 19 Michigan and No. 20 Missouri.

The bottom five has No. 21 USC, No. 22 Notre Dame, which won its first game, 56-30, over Purdue, No. 23 Illinois, No. 24 TCU and No. 25 BYU.