Nothing underwhelming or alarming about LSU’s cupcake break.
The now 10th-ranked Tigers demolished FCS visitor McNeese Saturday night, posting a 63-14 final that doesn’t reflect the Atchafalaya Basin-wide difference in the game.
By halftime, LSU had more than 10 times as much yardage (347-31) as McNeese, 20 first downs to two (not a typo) and a 35-0 lead that lived up to the expectations of Tiger fans and bookies.
The rout raced on, although McNeese got on the scoreboard twice and LSU didn’t beat the spread.
That was the only disappointment for the Tiger faithful. They got to see starting quarterback Sam Leavitt run the offense for a half, despite his week-old hamstring injury. They got to see third-team QB Husan Longstreet for the first time and he made the most of it, going 6-for-9 for 62 passing yards and adding 32 rushing yards while fair catching two punts. They got to see true freshman terror Deuce Geralds snag another sack at defensive tackle, his fifth of the year, before making a cameo appearance at fullback and rumbling unabated for a 1-yard TD as McNeese defenders appeared to retreat from his path.
It wasn’t flawless. Leavitt threw another sloppy interception, while going 18 of 22 otherwise for 178 yards and three touchdowns with more effective protection than the Secret Service provides.
“He was a lot better than he was last week, but he was still limited,” said Kiffin. “We were calling certain plays and protections to make sure he wasn’t going to get hit.”
Leavitt didn’t try to run (didn’t have to scramble, and no QB run calls were made), and moved around capably – not enough to earn a slot on Dancing with the Stars but sufficiently to keep him and the first-team offense in synch for next Saturday’s visit to Kentucky.
LSU set a school record with 39 first downs (the “old” mark was in the opening blowout of Clemson). Its 732 total yards (on a record 101 plays) were second in school history, behind a 746-yard explosion in 1977 when Rice got steamed 77-0. By a Charlie McClendon offense.
This is a Lane Kiffin offense, and he was non-plussed.
“I don’t care about milestones,” he said. “We’ll break all these. It means a lot of players are doing really well.”
That’s what he wanted. No injuries (check), no problems (check), relentless execution (almost).
Kiffin didn’t take volunteers from the Tiger Stadium student section to dress out in the fourth quarter, but he did give the bottom third of his 105-man roster playing time most will not enjoy again in 2026.
The only spike in excitement in the second half came when Kiffin called timeout before LSU’s first offensive play.
He said officials relayed an offer from McNeese to play with a running clock. Knowing veteran Cowboys’ coach Matt Viator, the notion the idea originated with him seems far-fetched, especially right after McNeese had scored for the first time, but Kiffin heard the proposal, huddled his players and in a fiery half-minute, cracked the whip.
“I told (the players) that we don’t do that,” Kiffin said. “I challenged them, come out and play really well. And set a tempo of how you play and a standard, regardless of whether you’re first-, second- or third-team, about how you play at LSU.
“You should make it a game that people don’t want to schedule you.”
McNeese will take its $750,000 and fully appreciate an open date this week, and hope for the same opportunity in the murky future of college football. FCS teams all over, particularly those in Louisiana, crave the hefty paychecks and the chance to play on the biggest sports stage in the Boot.
The outing provided LSU with an ideal workout to maintain game tempo and mindset going into the final seven games, all in the SEC.
“I really enjoy these games when they’re like this,” Kiffin said. “Because it means the players are prepared really well, and they’re executing really well.”
That gets put to the test over the next two months. Fortunately, there was no rain in Tiger Stadium Saturday night, and no storm clouds on the way out, either.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com