LSU head coach Lane Kiffin knows Sam Leavitt has to play better, but he firmly believes there was much more behind his quarterback’s struggles against Ole Miss than just a few missed throws.
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The Tigers suffered a heartbreaking 32-24 loss to the Rebels on Saturday night in Oxford after falling into a deep 24-7 hole at halftime. Showcasing some serious grit, LSU fought all the way back to tie the game at 24 apiece in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss answered right back with a late touchdown drive, and a final-second interception by Jaylon Braxton in the end zone officially sealed the Tigers’ fate.
It was a wild, up-and-down night for Leavitt. The LSU signal-caller finished 16-of-27 for 158 yards, one touchdown, and one pick through the air. He also flashed the elite rushing ability that has made him such a weapon since arriving in Baton Rouge, carrying the rock 17 times for 63 yards and a score.
But the box score only tells half the story. Speaking to reporters on Sunday about LSU’s habit of starting incredibly slow in back-to-back weeks, Kiffin pointed directly at Ole Miss’s ferocious early pass rush as the main reason Leavitt couldn’t settle into a groove.
“I think they’re a little different,” Kiffin said. “I think two weeks ago was much more us with execution, and I think this was a combination of a dumb start really fast on defense too. When you get rushed like that early, the way that they were able to apply, that makes the quarterback move around early and start to run before, and not just stay in the pocket.”
Right from the jump, the Rebels’ defensive line was all over him, limiting Leavitt to a brutal 51 passing yards in the first half. Some fans even joked online that he looked like he was “seeing ghosts” because the blue jerseys were closing in so fast.
Even though he showed massive heart running for his life while getting constantly exposed by Rebels defensive tackle Will Echoles up the middle, that relentless early pressure clearly rattled his internal clock for the rest of the game. That early panic came back to haunt LSU in the final moments of the game.
On third-and-goal from the Ole Miss 6-yard line, Leavitt dropped back and actually had his tight end, Zach Grace, wide open along the goal line for a game-tying touchdown.
But with his internal clock completely sped up from a night of heavy hits, Leavitt rushed the throw and sailed it past Grace. On the very next play, his desperate fourth-down pass was deflected into a game-ending interception.
This is exactly where Kiffin believes a lack of weekday preparation caught up to his young quarterback. Leavitt had been battling a throwing-shoulder injury all week, dropping to “doubtful” before a Thursday walkthrough upgraded him to “questionable.”
Because of the limitations, Kiffin revealed that Leavitt missed the most critical practice period of the week.
“Well, it didn’t help missing practice last week,” Kiffin admitted. “He actually missed third-down red-zone day. You know, the timing of those routes. I believe the practice matters. So that didn’t help him.”
It was a brutal ending for a quarterback who was already carrying a ton of weight on his shoulders before the game even kicked off. The LSU coach also praised Leavitt for continuing to compete despite the difficult start.
“I thought Sam really was competitive, made some great plays running around, and, you know, trying to will the comeback and everything,” Kiffin said.
Moving forward, Kiffin made it clear that fixing the offense isn’t just on Leavitt. “We’ve got to play better around him. We’ve got to protect him better,” Kiffin said. If the Tigers want to keep their season on track, they have to ensure these slow starts don’t become a permanent weekly habit.