Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was supposed to be Lane Kiffin's chance to prove his controversial move from Ole Miss to LSU was worth it. Instead, he walked out of Oxford, Mississippi, with a bad 32-24 loss to his former team. The Rebels dominated from the jump, and Trinidad Chambliss played like he had something to prove, completing 33 of 48 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, along with one rushing touchdown.
Kewan Lacy added 43 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, and Deuce Alexander hauled in seven catches for 60 yards and a receiving score. Chambliss, Lacy, and Alexander were all part of the Ole Miss roster that Kiffin abandoned last year right before the College Football Playoff. The optics alone were bad enough, but LSU is now up against it to make the CFP.
Adding insult to injury, one of the Tigers' top defensive backs, safety Dashawn Spears, is now set to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. More news: Deion Sanders Fuming Over Colorado Player’s Behavior After Loss to Northwestern Spears, a 6-foot-3, 208-pound safety and former four-star prospect from Denham Springs, Louisiana, committed to the Tigers in April 2023 under the previous regime led by Brian Kelly. But when Kiffin took over, Spears chose to stick around and help push LSU back toward the top of college football.
Across his first two seasons in Baton Rouge, he recorded 53 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, three pass breakups, and two interceptions. This season was supposed to be his breakout, and now he'll have to wait until 2027 to rejoin the Tigers. More news: Big Ten Team Showing Interest in Brian Kelly After Disappointing 0-2 Start More news: LSU’s College Football Playoff Odds Plummet After Ole Miss Loss This is a devastating blow for LSU, primarily because the road only gets more difficult from here.
First comes Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies next week, before matchups against McNeese, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Auburn, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Nearly half of those will be on the road against SEC rivals, and LSU can't afford many more losses.
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