Baton Rouge – Behind another standout defensive performance, No. 8 LSU powered past Louisiana Tech on Saturday night, 45-14.
Linebacker TJ Dottery led the team with nine tackles, while Whit Weeks finished second with seven tackles. Edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen tallied five tackles and three sacks.
The Tigers return to action next Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. CT kick against Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.
Game Recap
LSU won the toss and elected to receive. However, the Tigers went three-and-out on their opening possession.
Freshman DT Deuce Geralds got the Tigers off the field on 3rd-and-5 from the Louisiana Tech 25. LSU took over at their own 37-yard line after a three yard return from Eugene Wilson III.
An 11-play drive spanning 52 yards was stalled after Leavitt was brought down for a sack by Alonzo Jackson Jr. at the Tech 11. Scott Starzyk nailed a 29-yard attempt to give the Tigers an early 3-0 edge with 6:36 to play in the first quarter.
Another three-and-out for Tech followed and another sack for the LSU defense was secured as Princewill Umanmielen recorded a take down of Blake Baker for a 1-yard loss. Wilson III returned the punt 27 yards to the Tech 44.
Behind a 42-yard pass from Leavitt to Jackson Harris and a 5-yard scramble and rushing touchdown, LSU extended its lead to 10-0 with 3:46 to play in the first quarter. It was a three play drive spanning 44 yards. The drive lasted one minute and 11 seconds.
On 3rd-and-3 from the Tech 30, Baker’s pass to Eli Finley was completed, but linebacker TJ Dottery forced a strip-fumble, which was recovered by Tamarcus Cooley at the Tech 41.
With 1:53 to play in the first half, Leavitt’s pass to Harris was intercepted and returned 100 yards for a touchdown by Jordan McRae, cutting the LSU lead to 10-7. That halted a nearly 10-minute drive that went 19 plays spanning 74 yards.
After another methodical drive from LSU, Leavitt was picked off again, this time by linebacker Zheric Hill and returned 25 yards to the Tech 30. It marked LSU’s fourth turnover of the half and Leavitt’s third interception of the half.
La Tech had exactly 0 yards of total offense in the first half.
Dilin Jones got LSU’s offense going to open the second half with a 46-yard rush across the middle of the field, bringing the Tigers down to the Tech 2. However, a stand by the Bulldogs limited LSU to a field goal, where Starzyk booted a 25-yard attempt to extend the Tiger lead to 13-7 with 10:12 to play in the third quarter.
The Tigers got some breathing room with 4:32 to play in the third with a 9-yard QB keeper from Leavitt, extending the LSU lead to 19-7. Kiffin & co. elected to go for the two-point conversion and they were successful with Leavitt scrambling and finding Malachi Thomas in the back of the end zone. LSU led 21-7.
With 3:45 to play in the third quarter, Baker’s pass was picked off by DJ Pickett and returned 32 yards to the LA Tech 11. It marked Pickett’s first INT of the season.
LSU was stopped and limited to a field goal. Starzyk’s 23-yard attempt was good, extending the Tigers’ lead to 23-7 with 2:12 to play in the third quarter.
The momentum continued into the fourth quarter. Needing one yard on 3rd-and-1 at their own 36, Trey’Dez Green took a direct snap and rushed the ball for six yards and the first down. On the next play, Leavitt scrambled and found Eugene Wilson III for a 53-yard pass down to the LA Tech 7. Then, Leavitt rushed for a 5-yard TD with 13:35 to play, extending the LSU lead to 31-7.
That drive marked career high in passing yards for Leavitt – 329 (prev: 319 vs. Texas Tech, 2025). Saturday was also Leavitt's 3rd 300-yard passing game of his career (319 vs. Texas Tech, 2025; 304 at Oklahoma State, 2024).
With 11:49 to play, Deuce Geralds forced a fumble, which was recovered by Jhase Thomas and returned 22 yards to the Tech 20.
The Tigers cashed in on the turnover with a 6-play drive spanning 20 yards, culminating in a 10-yard touchdown connection from Leavitt to Green, giving LSU a commanding 38-7 advantage with 9:39 to play.
On 3rd-and-9 from the Tech 33, Baker found Jalen Mickens for a 67-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 38-14 with 8:08 to play.
With 1:54 to play in the contest, Landon Clark rushed for a 7-yard TD to give LSU the 45-14 lead.