LSU QB Sam Leavitt Has Tigers Fans Panicking vs. Louisiana Tech
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The LSU Tigers looked like one of the best teams in the country after dismantling Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s debut. One week later, Sam Leavitt and the offense delivered a first half that looked almost unrecognizable.
No. 8 LSU carried only a 10-7 lead over Louisiana Tech into halftime Saturday despite the Bulldogs finishing the first two quarters with zero total yards.
The reason was turnovers.
LSU gave the ball away four times in the first half, with Leavitt throwing three interceptions. One of them turned directly into Louisiana Tech’s only touchdown and quickly sent social media into a frenzy.
Sam Leavitt Throws 3 First-Half Interceptions for LSU
Leavitt still piled up 234 passing yards before halftime, completing 17 of 27 attempts, but he failed to throw a touchdown and repeatedly gave Louisiana Tech life.
His worst mistake came late in the second quarter.
With LSU leading 10-0 and driving at the Louisiana Tech 12-yard line, Leavitt threw an interception in the end zone to Jordan McRae. McRae returned it 100 yards for a touchdown, turning what could have become a three-score LSU advantage into a 10-7 game with 2:07 left before halftime.
The interception was already Leavitt’s third of the night.
LSU also lost a Eugene Wilson III fumble, giving the Tigers four turnovers through two quarters.
The numbers made the score even more difficult to believe. Louisiana Tech finished the half with 20 passing yards and minus-20 rushing yards. LSU, meanwhile, had 278 total yards and possessed the ball for more than 20 minutes.
Leavitt did account for LSU’s only touchdown on a 5-yard run in the first quarter.
The ugly half came only one week after he starred in LSU’s 51-10 win over Clemson. Leavitt produced 343 total yards and three touchdowns in his Tigers debut, including 113 rushing yards and two scores.
Naturally, that performance helped fuel tons of hype around Kiffin’s new offense.
Saturday’s first half told a much different story, however.
LSU, Sam Leavitt Draw Reaction After Ugly First Half
The bizarre sequence of turnovers quickly became a talking point online.
Kalshi Sports was among the accounts reacting as LSU repeatedly failed to put Louisiana Tech away.
Yahoo Sports also weighed in as Leavitt’s night continued to unravel.
The performance also comes with significant expectations attached to Leavitt.
Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s Ron Higgins reported in August that Leavitt’s move from Arizona State to LSU came with a one-year NIL deal worth a reported $5 million. He arrived as the centerpiece of Kiffin’s offensive overhaul after being one of the biggest names in the transfer portal.
That kind of prinvestment was made for LSU to get difference-making quarterback play.
Instead, through two quarters against Louisiana Tech, the Tigers were getting almost everything except that.
The LSU defense had completely erased the Bulldogs’ offense. Louisiana Tech had not produced a single net yard and had only four completed passes at halftime.
Yet LSU led by only three points because its own offense kept giving the game away.
Leavitt still had an entire second half to change the story.
But after a dominant debut against Clemson, his follow-up started about as poorly as LSU could have imagined.
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