Whit Weeks left Tiger Stadium on crutches with a boot on his right leg, and Lane Kiffin already seemed to know where some of the blame belonged. LSU had just crushed Texas A&M 35-6, but apparently even a blowout comes with a scheduling complaint. With another key player injured, Kiffin once again took aim at the SEC’s nine-game slate and used LSU’s growing injury list as evidence that the conference may be asking for too much.

Kiffin’s point was simple: other conferences can get starters off the field earlier in softer matchups, while SEC teams are more likely to keep taking hits deep into games.

“Like I said, seven more SEC games to go,” Kiffin said during a presser, according to LSU Tigers on the TigerBait YouTube channel. “That’s one of the issues with the scheduling now, the way it is in the SEC and what every other conference plays with. You got games you don’t have to play players in, and you don’t have to play them in second halves and different things. So, be careful what you wish for.”

There is some logic behind the argument, with seven league games still ahead, including five against ranked opponents. But LSU has played only two conference games so far, and Kiffin himself described many of the injuries as “freak knee injuries” unrelated to training. That makes it harder to pin the current injury wave entirely on the schedule, especially when programs across the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten are dealing with major injuries too.

Kiffin had already raised the issue in July, arguing that the SEC should not have moved to nine conference games before the College Football Playoff committee showed it would reward stronger schedules. He also warned that adding another league game could push schools to drop marquee nonconference matchups.

Weeks’ injury has now added more urgency to that concern. The linebacker suffered a fracture in his lower right leg that requires surgery and is expected to miss four to six weeks, with the November 7 game against Alabama mentioned as a possible return target. Kiffin said LSU will have a clearer idea of the timeline after surgery.

With the injury list continuing to grow, Kiffin said he has never been part of a team that has lost this many key players to season-ending injuries or long absences during the season.

Safety Dashawn Spears tore his ACL against Ole Miss, and tight end Trey’Dez Green hurt his knee in the same game and is targeting a return for the Alabama game. Wide receiver Phillip Wright III is done for the season after a leg injury against Louisiana Tech, while reserve linebacker Charles Ross tore his ACL against the Aggies. LSU also lost its defensive end Gabe Reliford and cornerback Aidan Anding to season-ending injuries during spring football.

“Unfortunately, I said this would be a major challenge,” Kiffin said. “This was not a team built for a lot of top-level injuries, but here we are. I told the staff, you’ve got to earn your paychecks the rest of the year, because it’s not like we are in Week 11.”

Kiffin overhauled the roster through the portal, but the depth is now thinner at several key positions. With Weeks out, Davhon Keys, who led the Tigers last year in tackles, and TJ Dottery are the main options at linebacker, with Tylen Singleton and Zack Weeks also in the rotation. LSU now gets a break from SEC play when McNeese visits Tiger Stadium, giving Kiffin exactly the kind of matchup he argues can help teams protect their starters before Kentucky and Mississippi State come to town in October.