No. 7 LSU surprisingly lists QB Sam Leavitt as 'doubtful' for highly anticipated clash against No. 8 Ole Miss
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No. 7 LSU's first injury report ahead of its Saturday game against No. 8 Ole Miss had a massive surprise.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt was listed as doubtful by coach Lane Kiffin. SEC injury reports do not require teams to list a reason for a player's injury, and it was not publicly known that Leavitt was injured after the Tigers' Week 2 win over Louisiana Tech.
On3's Pete Nakos reported that Leavitt is dealing with a sore throwing shoulder and has been limited in practice, while CBS Sports reported that Leavitt did not throw at all on Wednesday.
Leavitt was 25-of-38 passing for 344 yards in the 45-14 win, but threw three interceptions in the first half. Like at the end of the Tigers' Week 1 blowout over Clemson, he was replaced at the end of the game by backup QB Landen Clark.
Clark would presumably start in Leavitt's absence if the Arizona State transfer can't go on Saturday.
The first SEC game of the season for either team is the biggest game of Week 3 and has been seen as one of the biggest games of the season ever since the SEC's schedule was released. As you know by now, Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU as the Rebels were heading to the College Football Playoff at the end of the 2025 season.
His departure was protracted as he attempted to coach the team in the postseason while also still taking the job at LSU. Ole Miss rebuffed Kiffin's efforts and promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to replace him for the playoff and beyond. Ole Miss won its first two playoff games with Golding in charge before losing to Miami in the semifinals.
Leavitt is in his first season with the Tigers after spending the last two seasons at Arizona State. His 2025 campaign ended after only seven games when the QB suffered a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury.
In 2024, Leavitt was one of the breakout stars of college football as he and RB Cam Skattebo led the Sun Devils to the Big 12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Leavitt completed 62% of his passes for 2,885 yards and 24 TDs in 2024 with just six interceptions. He also added 443 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. His passing stats were down across the board in 2025 before his season ended prematurely, but he still had rushed for over 300 yards and five scores.
This season, Leavitt is 41-of-66 passing for 574 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions and has rushed 23 times for 135 yards and five scores. Clark is 7-of-10 passing for 109 yards and a TD with seven carries for 42 yards and a touchdown in his limited playing time so far.
If Leavitt's injury is serious and causes him to miss significant time, it'll be the second straight season where Kiffin's team has dealt with an early-season QB injury. In 2025, Ole Miss starter Austin Simmons suffered an ankle injury in Week 2 against Kentucky. He was replaced by Trinidad Chambliss, who played so well that he kept the starting job when Simmons was healthy.
Chambliss went on to finish eighth in the Heisman voting last season and returned for another season with the Rebels after the NCAA had initially denied him an extra season of eligibility.
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