LSU head coach Lane Kiffin said Saturday’s arduous result at Kentucky didn’t mask any of the blemishes his team had even if they had stopped the final two-point conversion that led to a 35-34 gut punch defeat.
“I don’t overreact either way,” Kiffin said during his weekly news conference Monday. “If we would have won, stop them on the two-point play or any of those four scenarios. Everyone would have been saying we played. We overcame adversity. Today, we’ve got some issues to work on.”
The No. 22 Tigers (4-2, 1-2 in SEC) dropped their second straight league road game and must rebound against No. 16 Mississippi State (4-1, 2-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium. The Bulldogs, which opened 4-0, had an open date following a 56-23 home loss to Alabama on Oct. 3.
“Staying to your standards,” Kiffin said when asked about his message to his team. “That’s why I don’t set goals with a number of wins. It’s your standard that matters. The goals will dictate how you work. It’s about your process. It’s how do you work, and how you come to work every day.”
Kiffin said he reiterated to his team, which was involved in five lead changes with Kentucky, had two opportunities on offense, and two on defense, to win the game in regulation.
“I told them we had four chances to win,” he said. “(If) One of these plays go right, you’re winning.”
One of those key plays took place with LSU holding a 27-24 lead after wide Jackson Harris connected with Roman Mothershed on a 41-yard double pass with 9:42 remaining in the game.
When the Tigers defense forced a pair of field goal attempts, one of which was set up by Sam Leavitt’s fumble, and the Wildcats missed both opportunities, the offense was presented with another chance to cement the game away.
LSU maintained the ball for five plays and 23 yards, gaining one first down, with Leavitt found Winston Watkins for nine yards on third-and-10, creating a fourth-and-one at the Tigers’ 43-yard line.
Both teams expended time outs with Kiffin eventually sending his punt team back on the field and punter Grant Chadwick had an effort that netted 38 yards.
Kentucky got the ball back with 1:37 left and drove 67 yards in nine plays with quarterback Kenny Minchey completing 5 of 6 passes for 62 yards. That got the Wildcats close enough for Adam Zouagui’s 33-yard field goal with 12 seconds to send the game into overtime.
LSU took a 34-27 lead when Leavitt scored on a 15-yard run and Scott Starzyk’s extra point, setting the scene for Kentucky to answer.
The Wildcats, who took a 7-3 lead two plays into the game, fueled by CJ Baxter’s 77-yard run, picked up a pair of first downs, and Baxter scored on second-and-goal from a yard out.
For the second straight week Kentucky opted to go for two points and the win and Minchey literally walked in from three yards away on a quarterback draw.
Kiffin was asked about not having senior linebacker Whit Weeks in the middle of his defense. He was injured in the win (35-6) over Texas A&M and does not have a timeline for a return from his broken fibula.
“You just don’t replace Whit,” he said. “It’s not about Davhon (Keys). I spent 30 minutes with him today. He’s in a hard place. This guy put everything into this. Sometimes we worry how this impacts us and what’s going on with us as the head coach. I sat down with just him, asked him, ‘How are you doing’?
“Whit Weeks text every defensive player before the game. That’s who he is,” Kiffin said. “You don’t replace that, or you don’t replace when things aren’t going well in the game. That alpha, that’s been part of whenever you don’t have that guy.”
Having played against LSU in each of his previous three seasons, Kiffin understood Weeks’ impact on LSU’s defense.
“I felt there was a difference when he wasn’t playing, and the points per game given up on defense a year ago when he wasn’t playing versus when he was,” he said. “He’s just different. He’s different in the games. He and (defensive coordinator) Blake (Baker) have a really good relationship. That works really good. You just don’t replace that.”
OFFICIALLY SPEAKING
Kiffin, whose team was flagged seven times for 50 yards compared to Kentucky’s two for 20 yards, said he has not heard back from the SEC’s office of officials on Minchey’s 1-yard scoring run on the final play of the first half for a 21-17 halftime lead.
The Wildcats lined up in a tight formation with additional players lined up behind Minchey to execute the ‘tush push’ on the fourth-and-goal play. According to replay Minchey was stopped short of the goal until a belated surge enabled him to cross in the goal line.
“We haven’t got that back yet,” he said. “We’re not allowed to tell you what we get back. (The) System, they admit they’re wrong, but they don’t want you to know.”
“It is what it is,” he said. “I didn’t think it was a real well officiated game on our side. That’s going to happen and over the course time it’s going to even out. I feel like things we’re missed like the block in the back on the punt return (Brock Coffman’s 55-yard TD for a 14-10 lead). They happen both ways over time.”
During his Zoom call with reporters Sunday evening, Kiffin indicated line judge Jake Osgood told him, ‘There was just too much at stake” for him to blow the play dead.
“He said he’d be killed if he would’ve blown the whistle for the play being stopped, even though it appeared to be stopped,” Kiffin said.
