By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
At times in Saturday’s 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech, LSU’s offensive line played hauntingly familiarly to the that of former coach Brian Kelly in the run game.
And that’s scary, considering the fact that the real season for the No. 7 Tigers (2-0) starts Saturday at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0) at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
“Not real good,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said when asked to assess his offensive line, which he previously criticized as far as the guard play last week after the 51-10 win over Clemson. “Five sacks, a lot of negative plays.”
In the first quarter, for example, the Tigers failed to run well in short yardage situations up the middle:
–1st And Goal, Tech 6-yard line … Running back Dilin Jones, 1 yard.
-2nd And Goal, Tech 5-yard line … Jones no gain.
Then quarterback Sam Leavitt was sacked for the first of four of those in the first half and five for the game.
In the second quarter, the interior of LSU’s offensive line with left guard Bo Bordelon and right guard Aliou Bah continued to struggle:
-1st And Goal, Tech 2-yard line … Jones, 2-yard loss.
–2nd And Goal, Tech 4-yard line … Leavitt sacked for 2-yard loss.
And the problems up the middle continued in the third quarter:
–1st And Goal, Tech 2-yard line … Jones 1-yard loss.
–2nd And Goal, Tech 3-yard line … Jones no gain.
–3rd And Goal, Tech 3-yard line … Leavitt sacked for 8-yard loss.
“Inability to run the ball,” Kiffin continued as the Tigers finished with 147 yards on 44 rushes for a 3.3-yard average. In the first half, though, LSU rushed 23 times for 44 yards for a 1.9-yard average. In the first quarter, LSU rushed 12 times for 13 yards.
And Leavitt threw three interceptions in the second quarter as the Tigers led by just 10-7 in the first half despite 278 yards of total offense.
“They did a really good job with a lot of pressures,” Kiffin said of Tech. “And then we didn’t execute on assignments. And then the turnovers certainly didn’t help. But the inability to run the ball in direct (up the middle) runs. And so, as you saw later, we had to start going around them with things.”
In other words, LSU had to finesse the defense of Louisiana Tech, which was a 32-point underdog.
LSU recovers from crash to earth, but needs improvement for Ole Miss.https://t.co/pziJeJhsFL
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 13, 2026
“This was an offensive production issue about how we finish drives and taking care of the ball,” Kiffin said. “The yards are still up there (528), but you’ve got to finish the drives and do a better job in the red zone.”
The Pro Football Focus grades on LSU’s offensive line did not paint a pretty picture.
Starting left tackle Jordan Seaton and starting center Braelin Moore were the only Tigers to produce an overall grade in the 70s (on a 100 scale) at 71.7 and 73.4, respectively. Starting left guard Bo Bordelon was at 57.5. Starting right tackle Weston Davis, who left the game with an injury, graded at the starter low of 43.3. Starting Right guard Aliou Bah was at 60.8.
Backup true freshman left tackle Brysten Martinez turned in a 41.5. Backup right guard Devin Harper had a 55.7 in 10 snaps. Backup Ja’Quan Sprinkle had a 60.4 as the No. 2 left guard in 10 snaps. Sean Thompkins Jr. played well at right tackle in place of Davis with a 72.3.
Ole Miss’ defense, for which head coach and former defensive coordinator Pete Golding calls the plays, has not played well statistically so far. The Rebels under new defensive coordinator Bryan Brown, who was listed as a co-DC last year with the Rebels, are No. 108 in total defense with 395.5 yards allowed a game and No. 103 against the rush with 152.5 yards given up a game.
LSU is No. 3 in total offense in the country with 620.5 yards a game and No. 27 in rush offense at 228.
“We turned the ball over four times,” Kiffin said. “And then the red zone – to be down therre 10 times – two times without scores. Really disappointing there. Sam’s got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We made a lot of yards, and we were smooth through that at times. So, we’ve got to execute better.”
And do not be surprised if there is a change or two in the offensive line – either with the starting five or in the rotation.
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