Five takeaways from LSU football's blowout win over McNeese

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LSU football throttled McNeese 63-14 on Saturday night. With the win, LSU moves to 4-1 on the year and 3-0 in the nonconference slate. LSU did what it was supposed to do vs. an FCS team. The Tigers made quick work of the Cowboys and left little doubt.

LSU QB Sam Leavitt played despite a lingering hamstring injury. Leavitt completed 18/23 passes for 176 yards and three scores. Leavitt didn't run the ball once as LSU tried to protect its quarterback.

LSU racked up a whopping 367 yards on the ground, led by 125 yards from sophomore Harlem Berry. That mark was a career high for the five-star who began the year fourth on LSU's depth chart, but is now the Tigers' RB2 after a couple of impressive weeks. Stacy Gage surpassed 100 yards, too, averaging 18.3 yards per carry thanks to two long touchdown runs.

True freshman Corey Barber was LSU's leading wideout, catching seven passes for 82 yards and two scores. Roman Mothershed also caught his first touchdown as a Tiger.

Here are five takeaways from LSU football's Week 5 win over McNeese.

LSU's offense ran 101 plays

LSU set a program record on Saturday night with 101 plays. Meanwhile, McNeese only ran 47 plays.

LSU's offense didn't lack for reps in this one. LSU marched down the field drive after drive. The absurd volume of plays allowed LSU to get significant reps for players down the depth chart. QB2 Landen Clark threw 16 passes, and QB3 Husan Longstreet threw nine. Eight different Tigers recorded a rushing attempt, and 10 different Tigers caught a pass. LSU racked up 731 yards, including 39 first downs. LSU held the ball for 37:13 minutes.

This is what LSU wanted to see from its offense. The Tigers didn't play down to their opponent. Charlie Weis Jr's unit played a clean game and put up gaudy numbers.

LSU escaped the game healthy

LSU's top priority was coming away from this game healthy. In recent weeks, LSU sustained injuries to key players like Trey'Dez Green, Whit Weeks, and DaShawn Spears. Spears will be out for the year, while LSU hopes to get Weeks and Green back in October.

LSU can't afford more injuries to key contributors. The three players mentioned above were All-SEC caliber, and losing the trio was a major blow. Nonconference play is over, and the rest of the schedule is a grind. LSU's top-line talent is high-level, but questions remain about its depth. This isn't a team built to deal with injuries. LSU needs to stay healthy moving forward. The Tigers accomplished that goal on Saturday night.

Harlem Berry's 125 rushing yards were a career high

Expectations were high for Harlem Berry when he arrived at LSU in 2025. The five-star running back was the top-ranked RB recruit in his class. LSU paid up to keep the talented rusher at home.

LSU made an effort to retain Berry when Kiffin took over as head coach. Berry's talent plus LSU's decision to retain the sophomore hinted at a big role for the New Orleans native, but Berry began the year as the fourth running back on LSU's depth chart, behind Dilin Jones, Stacy Gage, and Caden Durham. That came as a surprise.

Over the last few weeks, Berry fought his way up the depth chart. Last month, Kiffin said Berry earned LSU's RB2 job, and he's now posted back-to-back solid outings. Berry ran the ball 15 times for 125 yards, a career high for the sophomore.

If Berry's breakout is for real, LSU has real depth at running back. Berry will have to prove he can do it vs. conference opponents, but Saturday was a step in the right direction.

True freshman Deuce Geralds continues to impress

LSU defensive tackle Deuce Geralds burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2026. Geralds turned heads all summer long, and after five weeks, he already looks like one of the best interior defensive linemen in the SEC.

Geralds notched another sack and logged two pressures on Saturday. Geralds now has five sacks, ranking No. 4 in the SEC. The three players ahead of Geralds are edge defenders, so he's the only defensive tackle in the SEC with five sacks through five games.

LSU rewarded Geralds effort with a touchdown on offense. In the second half, Geralds took a direct snap on the goal line and barreled into the end zone for a touchdown.

The College Football Playoff race begins now

After five weeks, LSU is 4-1. This is just about where most expected LSU to be at this point. When the schedule came out, the expectation was that LSU would go 2-1 vs. Clemson, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M while taking care of business vs. Louisiana Tech and McNeese. That's exactly what happened.

Now, everything LSU wants is in front of it. The recipe is simple: If LSU goes 10-2, it will make the College Football Playoff.

The remaining schedule isn't easy. LSU hits the road to play a ranked Kentucky team next week, before returning home to face Kamario Taylor and Mississippi State. To cap October, LSU faces Auburn on the road before the Tigers begin a grueling November slate that includes Alabama and Texas.

LSU needs to win out in October to create some margin for error vs. Alabama and Texas. The good news is that both of those games are in Tiger Stadium, but Alabama looks like a machine right now, and Texas is the No. 1 team in the country.

LSU has the talent to make a run. Sam Leavitt needs to keep settling into the offense, and LSU needs to stay healthy. The next month will tell us what we need to know.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Five takeaways from LSU football's blowout win over McNeese

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