AUBURN, Al. – Behind their best offensive performance of the season, No. 18 LSU dominated Auburn, 38-17, on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt finished 32-of-45 for 387 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Receiver Jackson Harris posted another stellar day with nine catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Tigers recorded seven sacks, two coming from edge rusher Jordan Ross.
The Tigers have an open date next week. LSU returns to action on Nov. 7 at home vs. Alabama. Game time and television information are both TBA.
Game Recap
LSU won the coin toss (breaks 4-game losing streak) and deferred its decision until the second half. LSU defended the south endzone in the first quarter.
LSU would force an Auburn three-and-out thanks to a 6-yard sack sack from edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, his ninth of the year. Auburn punted from their own 13 with 13:43 to play in the first quarter. The punt went 38 yards.
Starting with great field position at the Auburn 49, a Dilin Jones rush of 11 and a Leavitt scramble of 14 would quickly bring the ball inside Auburn territory for LSU’s offense. However, on 3rd-and-8 from the 14, Leavitt’s scramble would only go for two yards, forcing a Scott Starzyk 30-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good, giving LSU an early 3-0 advantage with 10:54 to play in the first quarter.
Auburn would respond with a 12-play, 69-yard drive, converting on multiple third-and-long tries to keep the drive alive. The drive would end, however, after a throw into the end zone on third down fell incomplete, forcing a 23-yard field goal attempt from Alex McPherson. The kick was good, making it 3-3 with 6:50 to go in the first quarter.
Leavitt and LSU’s offensive then put together one of their best drives of the season, going 65 yards on eight plays, ending with a 10-yard touchdown connection from Leavitt to Jackson Harris, one of four catches for Harris on the drive. Leavitt went 6-for-6 on the possession. LSU took the 10-3 advantage back with 3:48 to play in the first quarter.
The Tigers lengthened their lead with a 14-play, 95-yard scoring drive, culminating in 15-yard touchdown completion to Trey’Dez Green, making it 17-3 LSU with 9:48 to play in the second quarter. The drive was extended thanks to a wild conversion on 4th-and-2 from LSU’s own 31, a trick play from Leavitt to Green that went for 11 yards.
To that point, Green had three receptions for 34 yards.
With seemingly all the momentum on LSU’s side, Auburn punched back with their own 11-play drive spanning 75 yards, taking four minutes and six seconds off the clock. The drive was set up with a 34-yard rush by QB Byrum Brown, which brought the ball down to the LSU 1. On the next play, Brown took a keeper for a score, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 17-10 with 5:42 to play in the first half.
On 3rd-and-5 from the LSU 30, with Auburn hoping to get another possession before half, Leavitt found his favorite target Jackson Harris, who took the ball 70 yards to the house for the touchdown. That play gave LSU the 24-10 lead with 4:29 to play in the first half. It marked Harris’ second TD of the game and his seventh of the season.
That touchdown connection from Leavitt to Harris was the longest play by LSU since 10/26/24 76 yd TD rec by Aaron Anderson from Nussmeier vs. TAMU. It’s the ninth time Leavitt has thrown for 3+ TDs; 3rd time in 2026. It also marks the eighth 100-yard receiving game for Harris; 2nd in 2026.
Leavitt and the LSU offense kept their foot on the gas, adding to their lead with a 10-play, 74-yard drive culminating in a four-yard touchdown rush, extending the lead to 31-10 with 20 seconds to play in the first half. It was a critical score before the break.
LSU’s 31 points were the most first-half points vs. an SEC opponent since 12/19/2020 vs. Ole Miss (34); most on the road vs. SEC opponent since 11/16/19 at Ole Miss (31).
With 13:56 to play in the game, running back Dilin Jones broke a tackle and took a 12-yard rush into the end zone, extending the Tigers’ lead to 38-10. It capped off a seven-play, 67-yard drive. Jones moved up to 90 yards on the day on 19 carries.