By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s three-year plan is complete … so far in the 2026 season, that is.
The Tigers are No. 1 in the nation in total defense with 142.5 yards allowed a game through two games. Yes, that is against a pair of questionable opponents as Clemson is No. 134 of 138 FBS teams in total offense with 246 yards a game and Louisiana Tech is No. 110 with 334 yards a game.
LSU’s defense held Clemson, which has obvious quarterback issues, to 40 net yards rushing (1.5 a carry) and 145 total yards and eight first downs in a 51-10 win in the season opener. Then the Tigers limited Tech to -3 rushing yards on 31 carries and 140 total yards on Saturday in a 45-14 win. LSU is No. 2 in the nation in rush defense, by the way, with 18.5 yards allowed a game.
Clemson’s offense recovered somewhat to beat Georgia Southern, 22-7, Saturday with 347 yards. Tech was coming off an 80-6 win the previous week in which it gained 528 yards, but that was against one of the nation’s worst football teams in Northwestern State, an FCS school in the Southland Conference that lost to NAIA Louisiana Christian, 42-37, in week one.
But, hey, LSU will take it.
In 2023, LSU had one of the worst defenses in its history, finishing 105 of 130 FBS schools in total defense and 15th out of 16 Southeastern Conference schools with 416.6 yards allowed a game under then-defensive coordinator Matt House. LSU, which had been called DBU previously, also finished No. 115 against the pass and last in the SEC with 255.6 yards allowed a game.
Then head coach Brian Kelly fired House after that season and cleaned house as he released the rest of the defensive staff as well and hired Baker away from Missouri. In 2024, LSU gradually improved and finished 61st in the nation in total defense at 364.4 yards allowed a game and pushed up to No. 27 last season with 328.7 yards allowed.
After Lane Kiffin replaced the fired Kelly following last season, he quickly decided to retain Baker. And the rest could be history.
“I thought our defense was lights out again,” Kiffin said after the win over Tech. “Amazing job – negative yards rushing, even with the twos (second team). But the first team was really lights out. It’s almost like you felt like they were going to get turnovers on every possession, so that was awesome.”
LSU collected two fumbles and an interception and sacked Tech quarterback Blake Baker – no relation – seven times. Edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, a senior transfer from Ole Miss, had three of the sacks and five tackles overall. He has 4.5 sacks and 11 tackles on the season.
But, the first true test of Baker’s defense will happen Saturday when the No. 7 Tigers (2-0) play at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi (6:30 p.m., ABC).
Ole Miss boasts perhaps the best backfield in the nation in senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and junior running back Kewan Lacy, who under then-Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. led the Rebels to a 13-1 season (7-1, SEC) in 2025 before losing in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Kiffin and Weis are both at LSU now.
“You just get to go play. The pressure’s not on you.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 14, 2026
-LSU coach Lane Kiffin on Ole Miss game to his players this morning.https://t.co/lFQWYHGXlG
The Rebels are No. 39 in the nation in total offense with 454 yards a game, while LSU is third with 620.5 a game. Chambliss is 33rd in the nation in passing efficiency at 170.4 on 44-of-62 passing for 561 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. LSU’s Sam Leavitt is No. 87 at 133.1 in efficiency on 41-of-66 passing for 574 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions.
Chambliss has also rushed for 62 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown, while Lacy has gained 148 on 30 rushed with three touchdowns.
“They have the best running back and quarterback in the country last season coming back,” Kiffin said Monday. “That’s going to put them in a position to win a lot of games. So, we’re going to have to prepare really well. That’s a big challenge for our defense. Here’s the best playing quarterback in the country last year. And he doesn’t make many mistakes. You’re dealing with a really mature quarterback. So, you’re going to have to play really well for a long period of time.”
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