By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
You don’t always get what you pay for in sports. That’s why two of the lower payroll teams in Major League Baseball are in the World Series right now – the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. And the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are not.
But often you do. That’s why the Dodgers won the World Series in 2024 and 2025, and the Yankees won four from 1996-2000.
And on Saturday in Auburn, Alabama, LSU and its army of million-dollar donors and various Big Oil-type conglomerate collectives began seeing a return on their giant investments in coach Lane Kiffin at $13 million a year and his hand-picked roster of something close to $50 million.
Oil, or Texas Tea, was basically spewing all over the place at Jordan-Hare Stadium during the No. 18 and rising Tigers’ crude-flowing, 38-17 win over Auburn. And the Tigers now appear to be a College Football Playoff team at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
And it was wonderful to see, even for those who aren’t paying for it.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt turned in his second straight game worthy of an approximate $5 million salary for the No. 1 player in the transfer portal out of Arizona State. He struck for a career-high 387 yards and three touchdowns on 32-of-45 passing and rushed for another 54 on eight carries and a touchdown.
LSU “put the pedal down,” as Tom Petty sings, ran over Auburn and took one for the road behind Slingin’ Sammy Leavitt. https://t.co/py5Vzm3JlJ
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 24, 2026
Jordan Ross, the No. 8 edge rusher in the portal from Tennessee, supplied two quarterback sacks amid his four tackles. Princewill Umanmielen, the No. 1 edge rusher in the portal from Ole Miss and one of LSU’s higher priced commodities at likely close to $2 million, had five tackles and a sack and constant hurries.
Freshman Lamar Brown, the No. 1 defensive lineman in the nation of the 2026 class and No. 4 overall prospect, also had a sack off the bench.
LSU had seven sacks in all and virtually capped Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown to just 21 net yards on 19 carries because of the sacks and tackles behind the line. He completed just 15 of 24 passes for 160 yards. Last week when Auburn upset No. 1 Georgia, 27-24, on the road, Brown rushed for 115 yards on 26 carries.
“This was what the whole thing (his staff and roster) was supposed to look like when it was put together,” Kiffin said Saturday after the game when asked about Ross’ game. “And the pieces coming together and being explosive on offense, where you can get ahead and pay really good rushers at the edge. And they showed up today.”
Kiffin was seeing LSU’s money work for LSU and Kiffin on Saturday.
Quarterbacks and edge rushers – they are among the most expensive players in the NFL and in college football since the Name, Image & Likeness payments to players began in 2021. That’s where Kiffin spent the money he was allotted for a roster.
Kiffin’s first portal signee, wide receiver Jackson Harris of Hawaii at a position at discount prices in Kiffin’s philosophy, gushed with a career-high nine catches for a career-high 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Dilin Jones was also a bargain buy because he plays running back – also a position not as expensive in the NFL and in Kiffin’s mind. Jones continued to be LSU’s most physical back since Leonard Fournette as he chugged for 92 yards on 21 carries.
The rebuilt offensive line has not been the greatest, but it has been a more productive line than any LSU has had since 2019. Left tackle Jordan Seaton, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the portal and No. 3 player overall, came at a price of approximately $3 million. As of last week, LSU noted a major return on its investment. The Tigers already had more rushing yards than last season’s total. The Tigers put up 165 on Saturday and have 1,537 on the season after 1,352 a season ago.
“Yeah, this is where we planned on being,” Kiffin said. “We’d love to be that way every game. But the reality was we knew it was going to be a little slower.”
LSU brought in 11 new receivers, and Leavitt missed most of the spring.
“Now, you’re seeing a lot of receivers going in there and making plays and meshing together,” Kiffin said. “Sam was really good today. And we’re kind of where we have been for years in our passing game (at Ole Miss), and so it’s great to have it going here.”
LSU’s offense put up 552 yards on Saturday. It came into the game at No. 7 in the country at 504 a game. LSU’s getting what it paid for – a return on its investment. Kiffin is the first real offensive coordinator LSU has ever had as a head coach. And it has been fun to watch, and a program in most cases must have those type of offenses to be a national power.
Kiffin got tight end Trey’Dez Green back on Saturday after missing four games with a knee injury. He inherited Green from the previous staff, but he did have to pay him to keep him. Green has some of the hometown discount worked into his package as he’s from Zachary High and can’t see himself playing anywhere but LSU … within reason. Green caught five passes for 50 yards and a 15-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 17-3 in the second quarter.
“Hopefully, we can get Whit back,” Kiffin said of inherited linebacker Whit Weeks and the open week this week before Alabama and Texas at home back to back. Weeks has been out after surgery for a broken fibula bone in his leg and has missed the last four games.
“And then we can be the team we put together for the most part,” Kiffin said. “When we have our players, and we don’t screw things up, we’re hard to beat. And we play as well as anyone in the country, which is what this roster was put together to do.”
And LSU also got the Kiffin it paid for at $91 million over seven years on Saturday.
For there was the Kiffin LSU hired going for it on fourth down and two yards to go at his own 31-yard line with just a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter when his defense was playing well. And Leavitt hit his original favorite target – Green – for 11 yards. That kept a drive going that would cover 95 yards in 14 plays for a 17-3 lead on Green’s TD.
That’s the Kiffin LSU paid for.
“That was actually against the book,” Kiffin said. “The book was punt. But I just felt really good about our match-ups in this game – how our offense was coming into the game. And I just told myself going in, ‘There are going to be some situations where we’re going to be on the side of being aggressive and putting it on our players.'”
Well, there is no sense in LSU’s new coach “going by the book.” That’s not why he’s here. And the books of LSU’s football program, by the way, may never be balanced again.
But that POI – Proof of Investment – scored on Saturday at Auburn as Jordan-Hare emptied.
LSU’s POI is rolling now.
And it looks like Lane Kiffin and “that whole thing” of his and LSU’s is starting to flow.
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