By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
For most college football fans and players, the final home game of the season is a time to slow down, reflect on the season and appreciate the last opportunity to step onto the field or into the bleachers before a long offseason awaiting a return. But for the 2026 LSU Tigers and many of their fans, that could not be farther from reality.
Safety Ty Benefield summed it up best following LSU’s 31-13 loss to Alabama.
“There should be nothing else in your head but wanting to get that sour taste out of your mouth more than anything,” he said in his postgame press conference. “Losing is hard, and we all hate that. If you don’t, you’re a weirdo.”
And Benefield and the Tigers have not left that mentality in the postgame locker room. It is translating onto the practice field as No. 21 LSU (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) prepares to face another top 10 opponent in No. 6 Texas (7-2, 4-2 SEC) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC) in Tiger Stadium.
“When you’re eager to come back and put something else on tape, you just play with a different type of edge in practice,” Benefield said after practice on Tuesday. “It’s like this urgency that’s something you can feel. You can feel the speed of things picking up, and it’s like you want to make plays and you want to make these game-changing things. And that’s healthy and all, but you definitely want to make sure that you’re not chasing plays because when you start doing stuff like that, you get out of your job.”
The loss to the Crimson Tide dropped LSU down from No. 14 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings down to No. 22 in the Week 11 rankings released Tuesday night. With three losses, the Tigers have no room for error over the final three weeks of the season, starting with the second of potentially three straight top 10 opponents in the Longhorns. No team with three regular season losses has ever earned an at-large bid to the playoffs, and there is very little chance that LSU receives the necessary results from the top SEC teams to contend for the final conference championship game.
Coach Lane Kiffin and his players have preached the importance of taking it one game at a time and not focusing on the long-term outcomes or things outside of their control. Benefield echoed that philosophy, but said that the do-or-die situation the Tigers find themselves in can be a tool as well.
“A little healthy mix of both be honest with you – realizing your back is to the wall, but also not thinking about it as much,” Benefield said.”We understand the situation. We got to understand the situation we’re in, but we can’t focus on it.”
As the Tigers sprint to the finish line of the 2026 season, hoping to leave some unsuspecting playoff bubble teams in the dust on their way there, Benefield did take a moment to reflect on his brief time at LSU when asked about what it will mean to play one final game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday – a chance to stop and smell the bourbon as Nick Saban might say.
“(It) means a lot, definitely,” Benefield said. “Seeing how I’ve developed over these past eight, nine months, but also just on a bigger scale, like seeing how I’ve developed over my career, college football.”
Benefield transferred to LSU from Boise State in the offseason ahead of his senior year. He quickly transitioned from a Mountain West standout to an SEC star in his only season in Baton Rouge. He has totaled 41 tackles, three sacks, two pass break-ups and an interception through nine games this season. He is ranked as the No. 57 overall prospect and No. 3 safety in the 2027 NFL Draft by CBS Sports and the No. 5 safety on ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s big board.
But that stardom was not always the case for Benefield.
“My story has never been like some picture perfect one,” he said. “Never been a five-star out of high school, not somebody’s guy or anything like that, I had to really earn everything.”
Benefield, the son of former CFL linebacker Daved Benefield, moved from Canada to California to pursue his football career at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. He then transferred again to Crean Lutheran and fought his way to becoming a three-star recruiting prospect. He was rewarded with offers from the likes of Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, BYU, Colorado State but chose to become a Boise State Bronco instead.
He made an immediate impact as a freshman, recording 46 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, five pass breakups and an interception in 13 appearances with five starts. The Broncos finished 8-6 and won a Mountain West title, but the work was not finished for Benefield.
He returned for his sophomore season, now a full-time starter, and helped Boise State to a 12-2 record, second consecutive conference championship and CFP appearance. Benefield improved his tackle total to 82 and had five tackles for loss, three pass break-ups and an interception. He was also named the Defensive MVP of the Mountain West Conference Championship Game with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. As a junior, he led the team with 107 tackles and added 8.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and three pass breakups before choosing to transfer to LSU in search of steeper SEC competition.
“It’s beautiful,” Benefield said of his career path. “I wouldn’t change anything, and I’m so excited to enjoy this game with my brothers. And I’m so thankful for LSU for taking a chance on me and seeing the work that I put in.”
That work has led him to one of the biggest stages in the sport – a CFP elimination game for the LSU Tigers in the Cathedral of College Football. But still, Benefield and his Tiger teammates have not stopped working. They know that creating a memorable final Saturday night in “Death Valley” starts Monday through Thursday.
“I feel like everybody knows what’s going on.” Benefield said. “There needs to be no talking and more action, so that’s kind of the initiative we’re taking is, you practice the way you play and so practice has to be at an all time premium.”
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