‘Lane Kiffin Gamed the Whole Press Cycle,’ ‘Who Saw That Coming?’ — CFB Fans Go After LSU as Sam Leavitt’s Sudden Clearance for Ole Miss Fuels Suspicion

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Sam Leavitt’s mysterious injury week has ended with the result that plenty of people around Ole Miss expected all along.

The LSU Tigers quarterback disappeared completely from Friday night’s SEC availability report, clearing the way for him to face the Rebels on Saturday. That completed a rapid progression from doubtful Wednesday to questionable Thursday to no designation at all Friday, fueling more suspicion about how Lane Kiffin handled the week.

Sam Leavitt’s Rapid Recovery Draws More Suspicion

Leavitt’s initial doubtful designation was a surprise because he finished LSU’s 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech without an obvious injury. He then missed Wednesday’s practice before returning Thursday and being upgraded to questionable.

Reports have differed on the precise issue. Back spasms were cited earlier in the week, while another report described soreness in Leavitt’s throwing shoulder. LSU has not publicly announced a specific diagnosis.

The skepticism was already widespread before Friday’s update. Ole Miss coach Pete Golding revealed that Kiffin texted him Wednesday to say his quarterback was out before the first availability report was released.

Golding’s response was essentially that he would believe it when he saw it. He recalled working under Kiffin when Ole Miss once listed 42 players on an initial Wednesday availability report.

Leavitt’s removal Friday gave fans another reason to pile on.

One reaction read, “Lane Kiffin gamed the whole press cycle.”

Another fan sarcastically wrote, “I am so shocked.”

One Ole Miss fan remarked, “WOW, who saw that coming? Um, we did. We all did.”

“That’s a major fine, right? Lying on the injury report?” one fan asked.

Those reactions followed an earlier wave offan skepticism when Leavitt was upgraded Thursday.

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LSU Has Not Been Found To Violate SEC Injury Rules

Suspicion is not the same thing as proof that LSU manipulated its availability report.

The SEC requires teams to provide increasingly specific player-status updates throughout conference game weeks. Schools can be fined if the conference determines they knowingly submitted inaccurate information, but there has been no evidence that LSU violated the policy.

Leavitt also did miss Wednesday’s practice before returning Thursday, giving the Tigers a factual basis for listing him on the report while his condition was uncertain.

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What Friday changes is the football outlook. The No. 7 Tigers are now positioned to have their starting quarterback against No. 9 Ole Miss in Kiffin’s highly anticipated return to Oxford.

Leavitt has completed 41 of 66 passes for 574 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions through two games. He has been considerably more dangerous on the ground, adding 135 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

His 80.3PFN QB Impact score ranks No. 43 nationally.

There is still one SEC availability report due 90 minutes before Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Barring another unexpected twist, however, the injury mystery that dominated LSU’s week appears to have ended exactly where Ole Miss thought it would: with Leavitt behind center.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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