LSU

Injuries continue to pile up for LSU early this season at a rate coach Lane Kiffin admitted Saturday was unlike anything he had previously encountered.

Senior linebacker Whit Weeks, one of the clear leaders and stars of the defense, exited the Tigers’ 35-6 rout of Texas A&M during the third quarter on crutches and in a walking boot.

Weeks’ departure came a week after injuries knocked tight end Trey’Dez Green (East Feliciana, Zachary) and safety Dashawn Spears (Denham Springs) out of LSU’s 32-24 loss at Ole Miss, following previous hits to edge rusher Gabriel Reliford (Evangel Christian) and cornerback Aidan Anding (Ruston) in the spring and wide receiver Phillip Wright III (Destrehan) earlier this month.

Sophomore linebacker Charles Ross II has now also been lost for the season with a torn ACL, Kiffin told reports Sunday.

“I have not been around this many significant injuries this early in the year like this,” the coach said. “It’s really unfortunate. The good thing was guys stepped up and played in place of really significant players in Spears and Trey’Dez being out, and now with Whit, I don’t have any update on that.

The timetables for Weeks from a reported fractured right leg and Green from a sprained knee remain unclear, with Kiffin only saying Saturday that Weeks’ injury “didn’t look good when he walked off.” More information is expected this week.

Those two players were chosen this season to wear the Tigers’ No. 7 jerseys designated for top playmakers for the team.

Green has been a top target early in the season with 14 catches for 222 yards and a touchdown and a notable matchup issue that commands attention from opposing defenses, while Weeks’ impact similarly exceeds his 23 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and three quarterback hurries — numbers that also make him one of the unit’s statistical leaders.

“Whit means everything,” veteran safety Ty Benefield said. “Being here for however long I’ve been here, he’s like a brother to me, and he’s such an amazing leader, a fierce competitor. He’ just legit. But obviously like I said before, next-man-up mentality, and (linebacker) Davhon (Keys) did his thing today, and I’m so happy just giving confidence to those guys because everybody on this roster has the ability and the talent to make plays. It’s just the mental piece. And he came in and executed, did his one-11th and super proud of him.”

Keys wrapped up six tackles in extended playing time Saturday.

Oregon transfer Zach Grace took over the bulk of Green’s snaps at tight end with fellow junior Malachi Thomas, a transfer from Pittsburgh, also involved, but neither recorded a catch.

Reliford and Anding, highly ranked in-state prospects in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes, had trended toward more prominent rolls on the defense this season before tearing their ACL and Achilles, respectively.

Wright scored his first college touchdown Sept. 5 during a big three-catch, 70-yard fourth-quarter in the 51-10 rout of Clemson before suffering a leg injury Sept. 12 while covering a kick return in a 45-14 defeat of Louisiana Tech.

Spears, who has gradually emerged as a more consistent and notable playmaker the past two years, was lost early in the game against Ole Miss, just a week after being one of the major sparks in the Tigers’ finally blowing open the Louisiana Tech win.

The 6-foot-3, 209-pound athlete had seven tackles, a third-down sack, a fourth-down pass breakup and an interception-forcing quarterback hurry in the season’s earlygoing.

His absence most of the night in Oxford, Miss., appeared to further compound challenges LSU had containing Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

The Tigers adjusted Saturday by shifting Benfield to Spears’ “star” role and inserting redshirt freshman Jhase Thomas (Destrehan) at rover for his heaviest playing time thus far in his young career.

“That game plan was unique,” Kiffin said. “We made a unique move with Dashawn being out. We moved Ty and played him in that spot the whole game. So those perimeter runs and quarterback scrambles, that’s a really great tackler right there in re-routing perimeter plays and stuff. And we played two freshman safeties behind that.”

Eight regular-season games remain, though, including seven more SEC matchups, and each will pose its own set of matchup challenges.

Even before clarity on Weeks’ diagnosis postgame Saturday, Kiffin expressed concern about the impact injuries could have on the team’s outlook over the long haul.

He had previously expressed the losses for Spears and Green as more worrisome than the on-field loss to the Rebels from which they exited.

“Those things are gonna catch up to you,” Kiffin said. “I don’t care what plays you draw up.”

Quarterback Sam Leavitt brushed aside a question of the severity of a second-quarter hamstring injury that visibly limited his mobility Saturday, saying, “I’ll be just fine.”

He and Kiffin joked that the issue may have actually provided a silver-lining in forcing him to remain in the pocket and focus more on processing through his passing reads without being able to bail and scramble, though it also meant the Tigers needed to lean more into Landen Clark at times when mobility might be necessary.

“Guys fighting through injuries,” the coach said. “Sam obviously is very injured. I joked with him maybe it was the best thing that happened because he had to stay in the pocket and throw on time because he knew he couldn’t run. But really gutsy performance by him. I was actually getting ready to take him out, and he said no way was he coming out. He was gonna play through it.”

LSU’s manhandling of Texas A&M was enough to boot the Aggies from both major top 25s, but not help its own poll positioning heading into October.

The Tigers (3-1, 1-1) slotted at No. 11 in Sunday’s latest editions of both the AP and Coaches polls, actually losing a spot in the former and holding steady in the latter, after their 35-6 victory in the pivotal early-season matchup.

[ READ MORE: LSU SUFFOCATES TEXAS A&M, MARCEL REED ]

AP voters weren’t ready to return coach Lane Kiffin and company ahead of his former program after Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1) edged LSU in Oxford, Miss., just a week earlier.

The Coaches list dropped the Rebels further after their own first loss this week, allowing the Tigers to hold steady despite the surge of another locally relevant SEC program.

Florida (4-0, 2-0), in former Tulane coach Jon Sumrall’s first season, headlined this week’s major rankings changes with its double-digit leaps to No. 8 on both lists after dismantling Ole Miss, 52-28, in the Swamp on Saturday.

Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0) joined the Gators among the nation’s biggest risers at No. 16 this week, up eight spots in the AP and debuting in the Coaches.

No. 1 Texas (4-0, 1-0) and No. 2 Georgia (4-0, 2-0) continues to lead strong SEC contingents in each set of rankings.

Four of the Coaches’ top eight, six of the top 12 and nine of the top 25 hail from the conference, which now has an even stronger positioning in the AP with five of the top 10, six of the top 11 and 10 of the top 25.

Kentucky (3-1, 1-1), where former LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan now holds the same position, joined the AP list this week at No. 24.

Texas A&M (2-2, 0-2) — with back-to-back tough-to-swallow losses to those Wildcats and now the Tigers — were again one of the most significantly tumblers in a particularly fluid back half of the top 25.

The Aggies have fallen from top-10 team to well outside of the top 25 in a span of 10 days.

LSU remains home this week for a non-conference matchup against in-state McNeese State (2-3) before returning to SEC action against now another back-to-back pair of top-25 opponents at No. 24 Kentucky on Oct. 10 and home against No. 16 Mississippi State on Oct. 17.

AP POLL — WEEK 5 (SEPT. 27)

1. Texas (4-0) — Steady
2. Georgia (4-0) — Steady
3. Notre Dame (4-0) — Steady
4. Miami (4-0) — Up 2
5. Ohio State (3-1) — Up 2
6. Indiana (4-0) — Down 1
7. Alabama (4-0) — Up 1
8. Florida (4-0) — Up 13
9. Ole Miss (3-1) — Down 5
10. BYU (3-0) — Down 1
11. LSU (3-1) — Down 1
12. Texas Tech (4-0) — Down 1
13. Utah (4-0) — Up 2
14. Iowa (4-0) — Up 3
15. Oregon (3-1) — Up 5
16. Mississippi State (4-0) — Up8
17. Tennessee (3-1) — Down 3
18. USC (4-1) — Down 6
19. Oklahoma State (3-1) — Previously unranked
20. Houston (3-1) — Up 5
21. SMU (3-1) — Up 1
22. Boise State (3-1) — Previously unranked
23. UCLA (4-0) — Previously unranked
24. Kentucky (3-1) — Previously unranked
25. Missouri (3-0) — Down 6

COACHES POLL — WEEK 5 (SEPT. 27)

1. Texas (4-0) — Steady
2. Georgia (4-0) — Steady
3. Notre Dame (4-0) — Steady
4. Miami (4-0) — Up 1
5. Indiana (4-0) — Down 1
6. Ohio State (3-1) — Up 1
7. Alabama (4-0) — Up 1
8. Florida (4-0) — Up 14
9. BYU (3-0) — Steady
10. Texas Tech (4-0) — Steady
11. LSU (3-1) — Steady
12. Ole Miss (3-1) — Down 6
13. Utah (4-0) — Up 2
14. Iowa (4-0) — Up 2
15. Oregon (3-1) — Up 1
16. Mississippi State (4-0) — Previously unranked
17. Tennessee (3-1) — Down 4
18. USC (4-1) — Down 6
19. SMU (3-1) — Up 6
20. Houston (3-1) — Previously unranked
21. Duke (4-0) — Previously unranked
22. Penn State (3-1) — Down 8
23. UCLA (4-0) — Previously unranked
24. Michigan (3-1) — Down 6
25. Missouri (3-1) — Down 4

Eleven months after the wheels came off every which way imaginable against Texas A&M in the third quarter, LSU used the same period on the same field to throw some dirt on the suddenly reeling Aggies.

The No. 10 Tigers (3-1, 1-1) continued its effective corralling of Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed — after nightmares failing to do so the past two years — and more than doubling their halftime lead en route to a 35-6 victory.

“It’s funny,” smiled senior safety Ty Benefield, a transfer from Boise State. “We just heard a bunch about the past and the past and the past. We heard all throughout the offseason guys from their team saying the past and stuff. And it’s funny because we’re not in the past. We’re in the present. So we showed up and showed out.”

LSU rebounded in a major way from its first loss of the Lane Kiffin era a week earlier in the coach’s highly anticipated and hostile return to Ole Miss.

The defense held the Aggies to 197 total yards, including returning the nightmare favor to Reed, who finished with 106 yards on 10-for-26 passing and -13 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

Quarterback Sam Leavitt and company meanwhile stockpiled the type of explosive plays for which Kiffin’s offenses are known and that had eluded them almost entirely in Oxford, Miss., last week.

The Tigers finished with their third 500-yard game in four weeks, including 312 through the air and another 194 on the ground.

“That’s a really quality win,” Kiffin said. “You’re playing in the SEC with two teams that were ranked coming in in the top 25, and so you win 35-6 and really kind of dominating numbers, 500 yards to 197. And it’s like I said in the first game: When those things happen, that’s a lot of people doing things right. That makes me feel really good as a coach that they responded well and that they prepared really well.”

An early 36-yard run by sophomore back Dilin Jones, his and the team’s second-longest of the season thus far, set up the opening touchdown, a 1-yard direct-snap, cleanly paved run across the goal line.

And a career night by junior wide receiver Jackson Harris highlighted the big passing game.

The transfer from Hawaii caught six passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, a 16-yarder just before halftime on which he created late separation and tracked the ball in over a defender and a 57-yarder early in the third quarter that began blowing the game open.

“We just prepared really hard this week,” Harris said. “We just took a look in the mirror after last week, and we just cleaned up what we needed to work on, and that’s what happens when you’re accountable.”

LSU allowed Texas A&M just a 24-yard David Olano field goal before halftime and quickly showed the Aggies wouldn’t manage much more after the break.

The Tigers forced a quick three-and-out with a third-down sack by senior safety Tamarcus Cooley.

And when faced with a fourth down a couple minutes later, Leavitt found a wide-open Harris streaking down the middle of the field for the 57-yard strike, the team’s longest of the season thus far.

“I’m glad we did that,” Kiffin said. “That’s kind of I feel like that’s probably part of why we were hired here, that aggressiveness. And I almost didn’t do it. Our defense was playing so well I almost punted the ball, and then I caught myself at the last second and new that we had that play available. I was like, ‘OK, that’s not kinda how we roll. That’s not how we talk to our team, being conservative.’ So the players made a good play. It’s really a play that has kind of popped out over the years on fourth-and-one situations and gives a lot of people problems.”

Landen Clark danced his way to a pair of short touchdown runs in relief of Leavitt.

And the Aggies were forced to settle for a 53-yard Olano kick late in the third quarter to finish with their lowest scoring output in the series since a 27-0 shutout in Baton Rouge in 1988.

“We discussed (last year’s game) in January when we got here,” Kiffin said. “That was kinda the book on (defensive coordinator) Blake (Baker) … LSU had played great defense vs. passing teams and stuff, and then a running quarterback could give ’em some problems. So I thought Blake did a really good job. That’s what good coaches do. They spend an offseason to game-plan for a specific game like this, which helps you down the road, because you’re gonna play more of ’em like it. You know that you put it on tape that there’s a plan to stop it.”

Benefield and linebacker T.J. Dottery led LSU with seven tackles each, but the unit received standout play from every level and direction.

True freshman defensive tackle Daverin “Deuce” Geralds II had five tackles, including two for loss and a sacks, and senior edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen had six tackles, including 1.5 for loss and his seventh sack of the season.

Senior linebacker Whit Weeks flew around for four tackles and a disruptive third-down hurry before exiting in a boot and on crutches.

“Whit means everything,” Benefield said. “Being here for however long I’ve been here, he’s like a brother to me, and he’s such an amazing leader, a fierce competitor. He’ just legit. But obviously like I said before, next-man-up mentality, and Davhon (Keys) did his thing today, and I’m so happy just giving confidence to those guys because everybody on this roster has the ability and the talent to make plays. It’s just the mental piece. And he came in and executed, did his one-11th and super proud of him.”

Keys stepped in and wrapped up a season-high six tackles.

Junior defensive tackle Stephiylan Green, the transfer from Clemson, recorded his first career sack.

Cooley added an interception to his three-tackle, one-sack night, and sophomore corner Michael Turner Jr., the former John Curtis star, snatched his first college interception.

Leavitt finished 17-for-23 for 312 yards, two touchdowns a second-half interception and rushed five times for 22 yards.

Clark, the transfer from Elon, ran six times for 20 yards and his second and third touchdowns of the season.

LSU received the edge in Saturday morning’s “College GameDay” predictions for its pivotal early-season matchup against Texas A&M — but only narrowly and not without some insult.

Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit each forecast the No. 10 Tigers (2-1, 0-1) to rebound from last week’s road loss at No. 4 Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0), while Desmond Howard and celebrity guest-picker Johnny Knoxville expect No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1) to shake back on the road from last week’s home loss to Kentucky (2-1, 1-1).

“I’m a believer in (Texas A&M coach Mike) Elko,” McAfee, the former Indianapolis Colts punter turned sports media/entertainment personality, said during the ESPN show’s weekly broadcast. “I have not seen anything that makes me think that this is an Elko team over the last couple of weeks. I think LSU was destined to lose last week regardless because the football gods. Give me LSU at home getting back on track. Even though I love this A&M team, I like the Tigers this evening.”

Saban, the former LSU and Alabama coach, emphasized the opportunity to host the game on an infamous Saturday night in Death Valley even further.

“I tell you what: There’s huge stats in the SEC when you play home at night against SEC opponents,” he said. “The home team wins a lot. I’m taking LSU.”

Herbstreit, the former Ohio State quarterback, shared his intrigue for the matchup between the Tigers’ offense, including a quick focal point on quarterback Sam Leavitt, and the Aggies’ defense.

But he anticipates another unit that has been strong thus far this season after struggling in the recent series history to be the deciding factor Saturday.

“What a matchup with Mike Elko as a defensive mind and (LSU offensive coordinator) Charles Weis Jr. and Lane Kiffin going against each other,” Herbstreit said. “I think (LSU quarterback) Sam Leavitt’s composure in the pocket will be critical. But at the end of the day, at home in Tiger Stadium, I think its (defensive coordinator) Blake Baker and this LSU defense that wins the game.”

The edge for the Tigers came after Howard kicked off the segment on the other foot.

The former Heisman winner at Michigan and Super Bowl champion with Green Bay thinks Texas A&M has regrouped and refocused well enough from its loss to the Wildcats to stun the crowd in Baton Rouge for a second straight year.

“I think Mike Elko, the head coach of the Aggies, got his team’s attention this week after that performance last week against Kentucky,” he said. “I believe that they’re gonna go into Death Valley and take care of LSU. Give me the Aggies.”

Knoxville, decked out in a full Tennessee Volunteers uniform, evened the picks at 2-2 with a jab against the Tigers’ coach before Herbstreit wrapped the segment with his purple-and-gold pick.

“I don’t know how anyone can root for Lane ‘Left Out In The Parking Lot’ Kiffin,” said Knoxville, the “Jackass” show and film star. “He is to college football what toe fungus is to flip-flops. So I’m going with A&M.”

The Tigers and Aggies are scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff in Baton Rouge.

Texas A&M has won the past two meetings, including the matchup last season at LSU than ended coach Brian Kelly’s tenure.

Home teams had won eight straight prior to that lopsided finish.

LSU maintains a 10-5 edge in the modern history of the series going back to a Cotton Bowl after the 2010 season and then the Aggies joining the SEC in 2012.

Will Wade isn’t trying to be conventional. He’s not trying to settle for nostalgic storylines and tournament appearances. And he doesn’t give a damn what many outside Louisiana have to say.

LSU’s once-again coach provided a considerable media turnout Wednesday an outlook for his first season back in Baton Rouge in his typically fiery and humorous fashion.

Wade assured that the Tigers have a complete roster in place and have been practicing largely in “business as usual” fashion since “right after Labor Day” despite only having four players listed on the online roster as Division-I programs ramp up extended playing-season practice hours.

Moreover, he exuded confidence that this year’s team has the chance to compete at a championship level.

“I’m not hiding from this: What we’re doing’s unconventional,” Wade said of his lean into veteran transfers and international players to build this year’s roster. “I understand that. I understand that. But, you know, 20 years ago, AirBnB was unconventional. Everybody stayed in a hotel. Fifteen years ago, you rode in a taxi everywhere. Now you take Uber. So just because it’s unconventional doesn’t mean it’s not gonna work.

“Yeah, it may not work. If it doesn’t work, write about what an idiot I am. I understand that. But just because it’s unconventional — it’s like I told our guys: We’re gonna be unconventional, and we’re gonna be unapologetic about it. It is what it is. We’re gonna be unapologetic. This is who we are. This is what we’re doing. This is the path that we charted, and we’re gonna go down it. And that’s fine… Hey, look, when you do stuff that’s unconventional, everybody’s waiting for you to fail. Everybody’s waiting for us to fail. That’s fine. If we fail, I own it. I own it. But I felt this is the best way to try to deliver a championship team for LSU from the jump that gives us the best chance to jump-start our program.”

Only forward Mouhamed Dioubate and guards Divine Ugochukwu, Abdi Bashir Jr. and Austin Nunez — transfers from Kentucky, Michigan State, Kansas State and UTSA, respectively — are currently listed on the Tigers’ public roster.

But Wade said 15 players have been enrolled in school and practicing together for weeks, that he would comfortably comment on 14 of those players at the moment and that, while three or four players are still awaiting official eligibility clearance, he is confident LSU will have “all the guys that we can get eligible and need eligible” by the season opener Nov. 3 against UNO.

“I don’t want to get into and I can’t get into for a variety of different reasons all the eligibility of each guy, and we’re not gonna go down that road on each kid. I know there’s been some frustrations probably with how we’ve done this, but we’re always gonna protect our kids. And there’s a reason behind all of this. And I’m not gonna sit here and explain our reasoning behind everything. But when we recruit kids and when we go about things with our players, we always are gonna protect them and we always are gonna do what’s right by them. And I feel that we’re doing what’s right by those players.”

The one exception Wade would seem to be former St. John’s guard R.J. Luis Jr., who is involved in an ongoing legal battle for another potential season of eligibility.

Luis played one season at UMass (2022-23) and two at St. John’s (2023-25) before going undrafted in the June 2025 and signing a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound wing was traded to the Boston Celtics that August, waived in October and signed with the G-League affiliate Maine Celtics, but suffered an injury and was waived before the season.

A 19th Judicial District judge in Baton Rouge granted Luis, the 2025 Big East Player of the Year, a preliminary injunction Aug. 24 that would legally allow him to play this season, but the SEC has staunchly fought during the past month against athletes returning from professional opportunities since many have challenged the league and the NCAA following the association’s overhaul of its eligibility system this summer.

“I can talk about whoever you wanna talk about… I mean, outside of one, because you know the SEC, they hold everybody’s words against them,” Wade said. “So I wanna be careful about not doing anything with that. But outside of that one — I think everybody knows who I’m talking about — with him we’re gonna go through the process, we’re gonna abide by what the SEC tells us to abide by. We’re not trying to do anything untoward towards any of that. So we’re gonna go through processes, and we’ll see where that ends up.”

The coach said he’s been proud of the way the team of players from a wide range of backgrounds has come together in a short time.

Asked about what three international players in French center Brice Dessert, Senegalese-Italian forward Saliou Niang, Croatian forward Michael Ruzic bring to the program, Wade quipped, “We’ve got more than three,” with a smile and a wink.

He’s particularly confident in the outlook on offense where the Tigers have shown the ability to perform well as they’ve worked to increase their pace and said defensive rebounding is his chief concern with two weeks until a preseason exhibition at McNeese State and six weeks until the regular season.

Wade was well aware that he and the approach have garnered criticism around the country, and he was equally unconcerned.

“We’re not concerned what anybody on the outside thinks,” he said. “They can all think what they want to think. But we’re here to build a winner for LSU and for Louisiana. That’s who my responsibility’s to — nobody else. I really don’t give a damn about anybody else. And so that’s what our responsibility’s to, so as long as we’re serving those people and as long as we’re doing that, we’re doing our job. And what anybody else thinks about our job, to hell with ’em.”

The coach smiled that some of the seemingly bad press has actually appeared to help in recruiting, as it piques interest to look more into him and the program and the way they operate.

He said he the Tigers plan to take incorporate more high school recruiting again for the 2027 cycle and beyond with a full year or more to focus on those classes as opposed to arriving back to Baton Rouge this spring.

But goals to win at a high level in his first season returning to the program called for a different strategy in Wade’s mind, and some of the shifting landscape of college sports overall helped present new opportunities to potentially expedite success by working outside of or challenging old approaches.

“If I’m wrong, I’m wrong — I’ll take it, and we’ll restart next year,” he said. “We ain’t gonna be any worse than we’ve been. So, I mean, hell, what’s the downside? I don’t see much downside in that. We’re giving ourselves a chance at incredible upside. And if we’re no good, alright, we’ve just gotta live through one more bad year. We’ve had a few of ’em. We’ll live through one more bad one, and we’ll get it going next year. We’ll do it conventionally, and we’ll go get a bunch of high school five-stars and go do what we do. So we can do that, too.

“But that’s not the best way to get it going right now. This is the way we thought was the best way to get it going right now. And you guys can all write I’m a moron if it doesn’t work. I own that. I’m the one out front of this. I’m the one who charted the course. I’m the one who did that. If it don’t work, hold me accountable. We’ll get it to work the next year. But I felt this was the best way to get it going. And, hey, we’re going for it. We already came here the first time and went to the NCAA Tournament four out of five years, and we did all of that stuff. And we came here to win championships. We didn’t come back just to go to the NCAA Tournament. We came here to win. We’ve gotta be better than we were the first time. This isn’t about nostalgia and all that other stuff. We’ve gotta be better. So this gives us the best chance to be better.”

LSU slipped slightly in the latest national polls following its first loss of the season, but maintained an AP top-10 spot and wasn’t far off in the Coaches rankings.

The Tigers (2-1) rallied from a nightmare start in Oxford, Miss., but couldn’t match Ole Miss (3-0) at the finish as the Rebels managed a late go-ahead drive and then end-zone stop on the other end, 32-24.

Coach Lane Kiffin and company dropped three spots in the AP poll to No. 10 and four spots in the Coaches to No. 11 .

Ole Miss jumped four spots to No. 4 in the AP and three spots to No. 6, one of the most significant leaps in each poll.

No. 1 Texas (3-0) and No. 2 Georgia (3-0) continue to a lead unchanged tops of the polls and strong SEC contingents in each top 10 and top 25.

Alabama (3-0), No. 8 on both lists, joins the Longhorns, Bulldogs and Rebels in the top 10. The Tigers, No. 13/14 Tennessee (3-0), No. 19/21 Missouri (3-0), No. 23/20 Texas A&M (2-1), No. 21/22 Florida (3-0) are in both top 25’s with No. 24 Mississippi State (3-0) entering in the AP and No. 24 Oklahoma (2-1) hanging on in the Coaches.

Texas A&M took the week’s biggest tumbles, 14 spots in the AP and 12 in the Coaches, after a 31-21 home loss to Kentucky (2-1).

No. 3 Notre Dame (3-0), No. 4 Indiana (3-0) and No. 5 Miami (3-0) join Texas and Georgia to round out the Coaches top five, with Notre Dame and Indiana at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively, in the AP.

AP POLL — WEEK 4 (SEPT. 20)

1. Texas (3-0) — Steady
2. Georgia (3-0) — Steady
3. Notre Dame (3-0) — Steady
4. Ole Miss (3-0) — Up 4
5. Indiana (3-0) — Down 1
6. Miami (3-0) — Down 1
7. Ohio State (2-1) — Down 1
8. Alabama (3-0) — Up 2
9. BYU (3-0) — Up 2
10. LSU (2-1) — Down 3
11. Texas Tech (3-0) — Up 2
12. USC (4-0) — Steady
13. Penn State (3-0) — Up 1
14. Tennessee (3-0) — Up 1
15. Utah (3-0) — Up 2
16. Louisville (2-1) — Up 7
17. Iowa (3-0) — Up 1
18. Michigan (3-0) — Up 1
19. Missouri (3-0) — Up 1
20. Oregon (2-1) — Up 1
21. Florida (3-0) — Previously unranked
22. SMU (2-1) — Down 6
23. Texas A&M (2-1) — Down 14
24. Mississippi State (3-0) — Previously unranked
25. Houston (2-1) — Down 3

COACHES POLL — WEEK 4 (SEPT. 20)

1. Texas (3-0) — Steady
2. Georgia (3-0) — Steady
3. Notre Dame (3-0) — Steady
4. Indiana (3-0) — Steady
5. Miami (3-0) — Steady
6. Ole Miss (3-0) — Up 3
7. Ohio State (2-1) — Down 1
8. Alabama (3-0) — Up 2
9. BYU (3-0) — Up 4
10. Texas Tech (3-0) — Up 2
11. LSU (2-1) — Down 4
12. USC (4-0) — Down 1
13. Tennessee (3-0) — Up 1
14. Penn State (3-0) — Up 1
15. Utah (3-0) — Up 2
16. Oregon (2-1) — Up 2
17. Iowa (3-0) — Up 3
18. Michigan (3-0) — Up 1
19. Louisville (2-1) — Previously unranked
20. Texas A&M (2-1) — Down 12
21. Missouri (3-0) — Up 1
22. Florida (3-0) — Previously unranked
23. Washington (3-0) — Up 1
24. Oklahoma (2-1) — Down 3
25. SMU (2-1) — Down 9

The highly anticipated top-10 SEC showdown headlined by LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss lived up to its billing with a dramatic, down-to-the-wire finish in a packed and electric Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

But the polarizing coach’s hostile homecoming to Oxford, Miss., will be remembered more for a nightmare start and unhappy ending, despite a valiant second-half rally

Once the No. 7 Tigers (2-1, 0-1) managed to pull back even from a 17-point deficit, his former quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the No. 8 Rebels (3-0, 1-0) had one last long drive and one goal-line stop to spoil their guests’ evening, 32-24.

“Credit to Ole Miss, (coach) Pete (Golding) — they did a really good job,” Kiffin said. “The crowd showed up today and was a factor there at the end. So credit to them, and players made plays. That’s what all week my biggest fear every minute was when the game’s at the end and Trinidad has the ball in his hands. And the guy made a lot of plays during the game and did a great job. It’s why I said he’s the hardest player to play in America, and he showed up great today.”

Ole Miss marched 75 yards in 13 plays without star running back Kewan Lacy to take the eight-point lead on a 14-yard dash by Chambliss around lost containment and to the pylon and subsequent two-point run by J.T. Lindsey, the former Alexandria star and LSU signee.

LSU pieced together a 14-play, 69-yard drive down to the 4-yard line — without a key weapon of its own in tight end Trey’Dez Green — but couldn’t push any farther through the stout effort by the Rebels.

And a fourth-down pass by quarterback Sam Leavitt ricocheted off the helmet of defensive lineman Kam Franklin and up for grabs for cornerback Jaylon Braxton to corral and secure the Ole Miss victory.

Chambliss finished 33-for-48 for 363 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, plus the go-ahead rushing score late, compared to 330 yards of total offense for the Tigers.

The first half couldn’t have gone much uglier for Kiffin and company.

“I think you walk into a storm,” Kiffin said. “That’s what happens a lot of times in these games. You see it all the time. You go in, a buzzsaw, you walk in, it’s a build-up. The stadium was full an hour early. I guess I had to leave to get ’em to do that, so you’re welcome. But, yeah, it was. And then Trinidad early was on fire. And they got us in third down and really rushed really well. (Defensive tackle Will) Echoles I thought really played a good game, and they made it really hard.”

Ole Miss built a 17-0 lead on three straight scoring possessions as sixth-year quarterback Trinidad Chambliss looking his veteran and dynamic past carving up and down the field almost at will.

The Rebels meanwhile kept Leavitt and the LSU offense out of rhythm with just 24 yards on 14 plays their first three possessions.

Junior safety Dashawn Spears left during the first quarter and spent the rest of the night on crutches on the sideline, and starting running back Dilin Jones went down awkwardly — but thankfully only exited briefly — at one point in the second quarter.

“Tough game injury-wise on us, too, losing Spears early and then Trey’Dez, a big factor,” Kiffin said. “But I’m proud of the way the guys battled back. To be down like that at half and then score and let ’em go down and score and then come back and go on a 17-0 run is really good. But at the end we didn’t finish. We couldn’t finish on defense and stop ’em and let ’em go down and score, and then on offense we move down and then stall there at the end with a critical false start too that moves us back.

Jones returned later in the drive to finally put the Tigers on the board and to trim the deficit to 17-7 with 1:57 remaining in the half and the third-quarter kickoff due their way.

But Chambliss cruised 75 yards in eight plays right back to the other end zone for a 20-yard strike to Deuce Alexander to extend the lead back to 24-7 heading into the locker rooms.

And LSU’s opening possession of the third quarter proved a quick 3-yard loss and three-and-out.

The tide began to turn three plays later on an interception by junior cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson to provide a spark.

Leavitt led the ensuing drive 33 yards to the end zone on a scrambling 4-yard keeper to the end zone for the first of three straight scores.

The Tigers started finding more success pressuring and keeping Chambliss and the Rebels off balance for a couple possessions.

Leavitt connected with Winston Watkins Jr., a transfer from Ole Miss, for a 26-yard touchdown to pull back within 24-21 late in the third quarter, and kicker Scott Starzyk knotted the contest on a 23-yard field goal early in the fourth.

But the night’s storybook ending would belong to the home team.

“The game could’ve kept going the way it was,” Kiffin said. “So I was glad that they battled back in there and really strained during that third quarter, early fourth quarter, and kinda had ’em on the ropes. So we’re 0-1 in SEC play. Again, whether win or loss, I was kind of ready for that already knowing, ‘Man, it feels like we’ve already played a season with so much emotions with the first and third games and all that stuff, and now we’re right back to where we’ve always been and have eight SEC games to play.’ So there’s a lot of football left and go back home next week and get a win.”

This article will be updated further…

No one has better perspective on the dynamics and emotions at play for Lane Kiffin’s return Saturday to Oxford, Miss., than one of his LSU coaching predecessors and mentors.

Nick Saban’s return to Baton Rouge as Alabama’s head coach is the closest precedent to Saturday’s top-10 tilt between the No. 7 Tigers (2-0) and No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0),  with the senses of betrayal and hostility for Kiffin’s departure from the latter this offseason to take over the Magnolia Bowl rival program.

In the LSU-Alabama rivalry, the road team won the first two meetings after Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa, including the Crimson Tide’s 27-21 overtime win in his first return to Tiger Stadium.

Saban forecast a similar outcome for Kiffin and the Tigers on Saturday in what figures to be an electric Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

“I think Trinidad Chambliss is the most dynamic player in college football,” Saban said. “I think (Kewan) Lacy’s the best running back in football. I love Pete Golding as a defensive coach, and I think he’ll have ’em ready. But defense travels, and LSU has the better defense, so I’m taking LSU.”

Saban’s prediction split the crew’s picks for the day’s marquee game, following Desmond Howard’s quick selection of the home Rebels.

“The home team has won 12 of the last 14, including six straight,” the former Heisman and Super Bowl winner  said. “Trinidad’s number is six. On the desk with the great Morgan Freeman (an Ole Miss fan). Hotty Toddy, y’all.”

Freeman, the legendary actor who spent time as a child in nearby Charleston, Miss., was decked out in Ole Miss blue and red in support of the university he considers a home away from home.

“Let me just say this out loud: If I go for what’s his name? Lane? Is that it? I will not be able to go home tonight. That’s a fact,” Freeman said, playfully feigning forgetting the Rebels’ former coach’s name, before continuing to Saban: “So, in spite of my belief in your every thought, OLE MISS!”

Pat McAfee built on the commentary from Freeman, whose portrayals of God in the “Bruce Almighty” and “Evan Almighty” films have become lasting calling cards in a prolific career overall.

And the former West Virginia and Indianapolis Colts punter who has become a sports entertainment celebrity followed Freeman’s selection as well, sending the home crowd into a roar — but not without sneaking in a double-down on an even more notable prediction in favor of the Tigers as well.

“I do like that you say, ‘Coach Saban, I have belief in every thought,’ because when you speak, we all listen,” McAfee said. “And when I see something, it’s hard to forget it. That Week 1, I was down in Baton Rouge. And as God as my witness here, that LSU team looked fast. That LSU team looked talented. That LSU fan base looked committed. I actually said last week that I think LSU wins the national championship by 50 points. What could little ole Pete Golding and Ole Miss do against a team that I’ve been talking about like that?

“Well, you step foot in this incredibly hot state, you feel the energy from these fine folks, you can tell that hate can certainly motivate. And it does feel like in college football if that stadium’s upside-down, anything can happen. So I guess the question you’ve gotta ask, Morgan Freeman, is ‘ARE YOU READY!?'”

The shout kicked off a fan chorus of the “Hotty Toddy” chant, before McAfee continued: “Give me Ole Miss to beat Lane Kiffin as the football gods and actual God say there’s some football justice in this world.

He lowered his voice to add, “I still believe in LSU to win the national championship,” before shouting again: “Give me Ole Miss to get a huge win on this day. Thank you for the hospitality! Hotty Toddy!”

The reports of Sam Leavitt’s potential absence Saturday were greatly exaggerated.

No. 7 LSU (2-0) travels to Oxford, Miss., on Saturday with nearly its full complement of players available — including its starting quarterback — for its SEC opener at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0).

Leavitt’s status dominated headlines for the better part of two days after he was listed as “doubtful” Wednesday night on the initial injury report for the contest after reportedly being held out of practice earlier that day.

He, like other players for both teams, was upgraded during the week and was not longer listed at all late Friday.

As expected, the Tigers will likely only be without wide receiver Phillip Wright III (Destrehan), linebacker/edge Jaiden Braker and running back Raycine Guillory Jr., while linebacker T.J. Dottery was listed as questionable and linebackers Davhon Keys and Tylen Singleton and right guard Aliou Bah as probable.

The final report for Ole Miss listed only cornerback Victor Lincoln Jr. and offensive lineman Emanuel Faulkner as out and cornerback Cedrick Beavers as doubtful.

Leavitt has led an offense that has shown explosive flashes due in no small part to abilities to extend or make plays with his legs and to drive the ball downfield to his speedy weapons, including a career-high 344 yards Saturday against Louisiana Tech.

His four interceptions through two contests, including three against the Bulldogs, have also been a major discussion point this week ahead of his and the team’s first road trip and SEC game, a highly anticipated showdown with coach Lane Kiffin’s previous program.

The transfer from Arizona State has completed 41 of his 66 passes thus far (62.1%) for 574 yards, two touchdowns and the four picks and has rushed 23 times for 135 yards and five more scores.

COMPLETE INJURY REPORT (FRIDAY NIGHT / FINAL)

LSU

OUT: WR Phillip Wright III, LB/EDGE Jaiden Braker, RB Raycine Guillory Jr.
QUESTIONABLE: LB T.J. Dottery
PROBABLE: LB Davhon Keys, OL Aliou Bah, LB Tylen Singleton

OLE MISS

OUT: CB Victor Lincoln Jr., OL Emanuel Faulkner
DOUBTFUL: CB Cedrick Beavers