No. 8 LSU and QB Sam Leavitt overcome a rash of turnovers in a 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Sam Leavitt overcame three interceptions with three touchdown runs, and No. 8 LSU pulled away in the second half for a 45-14 victory over a Louisiana Tech team that gave the Tigers fits for the better part of their match-up Saturday night.

“It’s a big reality check for us,” Leavitt said. "After a game like this, you can have a lot more focus to hone in on those little details and get to work.”

While LSU's defense dominated, allowing just 140 net yards while producing seven sacks and three turnovers, Lane Kiffin's offense will have more than a few corrections to make before what might as well be billed the “Kiffin Bowl” next Saturday.

That's when the Tigers (2-0) visit No. 9 Mississippi (2-0), the program Kiffin left in favor of rival LSU at the end of the 2025 regular season — when Ole Miss was bound for the College Football Playoff.

“Maybe it’s what we needed," Kiffin said of his offense's erratic play for nearly three quarters, hoping that it will help coaches “get their attention."

But Kiffin also stressed that LSU is “in a good place."

“We’re winning by 31 points and we’re really upset,” he said. "We’ve got a good standard going.”

LSU turned the ball over four times and committed 10 penalties for 101 yards against Tech (1-1), which odds makers had listed as a five-touchdown underdog.

Although the Tigers gained 528 yards and drove inside the 20 10 times, three of their red-zone possessions ended with field goals and two with interceptions. Safety Jordan McRae converted his pick of Leavitt on the goal line into a Louisiana Tech-record, 100-yard return for a touchdown that pulled the Bulldogs to 10-7 — a score which stood at halftime.

Kiffin was critical of LSU's offensive line for allowing five sacks “and a lot of negative plays.” LSU finished with 147 yards rushing but saw several drives stall because of difficulty running the ball.

Still, the coach noted that his main concern with his offense is "how we finish drives and taking care of the ball. The yards are still up there.”

Tech trailed by just six points before LSU began to pull away on Leavitt's 9-yard TD run with 4:32 left in the third quarter. Leavitt added a 5-yard TD run and 10-yard scoring pass to tight end Trey'Dez Green, who finished with six catches for a game-high 104 yards receiving.

“We just have to stay composed," Green said. "It’s football and you are going to have bad plays. It’s nothing too major; we came in at halftime and made the adjustments and executed the plays the coaches called for us better in the second half.”

LSU edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, a transfer who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss, had three sacks. The second forced Tech to attempt a 54-yard field goal that fell short, ending a possession that began on the LSU 19 after Tech cornerback Jenard Lockhart's 35-yard return of receiver Eugene Wilson III's fumble.

Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie said LSU has "one of the best defenses I’ve ever seen.”

“They’re really fast. They’re big. They’re athletic,” Cumbie said.

The takeaway

Louisiana Tech: Playing in Death Valley was a humbling experience for the Bulldogs' offense on the heels of an 80-6 victory over Northwestern State the previous week. In the first half at LSU, Tech had zero net yards and no first downs, its only scoring coming on McRae's interception.

LSU: While Leavitt completed 25 of 38 passes for 344 yards — including a 57-yard pass over the top to Jackson Harris — he has just two TD passes through the first two games and only one from inside an opponent's 20. Leavitt has been more effective running the ball on red-zone possessions, scoring a team-leading five TDs rushing through two games, including two in a 51-10 season-opening victory over Clemson.