After bouncing back with a big SEC victory, No. 11 LSU returns to Tiger Stadium to host in-state opponent McNeese on Saturday night in Death Valley.
Kickoff is set for 6:55 p.m. CT on the SEC Network and the LSU Sports Radio Network. Dave Neal, Cole Cubelic and Tori Petry will be on the broadcast call, while Chris Blair, Jacob Hester and Gordy Rush will be on the radio call.
Last week, the Tigers put together a commanding 35-6 victory over then-No. 23 Texas A&M, holding quarterback Marcel Reed to 106 yards passing and -13 yards rushing. Tiger quarterback Sam Leavitt posted a really efficient day, going 17-for-23 with 312 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception. Wide receiver Jackson Harris had a breakout performance, tallying six catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Winston Watkins Jr. also recorded five catches for 107 yards.
Saturday Night Football
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"That was a big emphasis from the week, to trust the receivers, throw things on time, don't try to make extra plays,” Kiffin said on Monday. “Sam (Leavitt) did a really good job of that. I know we joked about it, but the injury helped that too."
Defensively, LSU smothered the Aggies. Freshman lineman Deuce Geralds recorded five tackles, two sacks and two pressures. Safety Ty Benefield led the team with nine tackles, while linebacker TJ Dottery finished with seven and a pass breakup. Edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen recorded six tackles and another sack, moving his season total to seven on the year, tied for the most in FBS.
LSU is the only team in the SEC to rank among the Top 15 nationally in both total offense and total defense. The Tigers are No. 3 in total defense (226.8) and No. 13 in total offense (502.0). LSU is averaging 38.8 points and 502.0 total yards per game (205.5 rushing, 296.5 passing). Defensively, the Tigers are allowing 15.5 points and 226.8 total yards per game (47.5 rushing, 179.3 passing).
“We try to let them enjoy it, let them have fun,” Kiffin said. “To create a cool program that has swagger, that people watch and go, ‘Man, I want to go play there.’ But you have to make sure you have discipline. It’s usually one way or the other. We try to have both.”
The Cowboys are led by quarterback Jake Strong, who has thrown for 321 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions through five weeks. Running back Omiri Wiggins leads the team with 375 yards and three scores on 56 carries. At receiver, Elisha Edwards and Curtis Deville lead the group with 311 yards and 284 yards for the season, respectively.
We’ve got another Saturday Night in Death Valley pic.twitter.com/bZITGyoDks
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Linebacker Landon Barrett leads the team with 31 tackles and an interception. Safety Sentario Willis has 18 tackles and two interceptions. Cornerback Mason Edwards has eight pass breakups through five games, the most of any defensive back for the Cowboys.
“This is not about the opponent,” Kiffin said. “This is about us practicing really well and playing really well. We don’t look at who they’ve played and what division. These guys play hard and have good players. This will be much more about us playing really well and the challenge to us all week to get better on fundamentals.”
LSU has won 40 straight games against Louisiana teams and the Tigers bring a 23-game nonconference regular-season winning streak in Death Valley into McNeese game. In addition, LSU coach Lane Kiffin has won 23 straight nonconference regular-season games, a streak that dates back to Florida Atlantic in 2019.
Fans can also get an all-access look into Kiffin's first season in Baton Rouge by watching The Difference, LSU Football's weekly docuseries on LSU+, following the Tigers all year long with exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes content you won’t see anywhere else. Start watching today.