With the number of injuries that have wreaked havoc with his roster this season, it would have been understandable for LSU head coach Lane Kiffin to embrace this week’s open date and exhale.
But after consecutive wins over Mississippi State and Auburn – both of which were in impressive fashion – there was an obvious reason Kiffin, in his own terms, would have liked for his Tigers to ‘spot the ball’ and line up against another opponent on Saturday.
“Our team’s been playing well the last couple of weeks,” Kiffin said Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference coach’s teleconference. “As much as it’s good for health reasons, I wish we didn’t because we’re in rhythm. It is what it is. It’s where it is. We’ve been working really hard to improve, work on things.”
No. 15 LSU (6-2, 3-2 in SEC) is scheduled to host No. 10. Alabama (6-2, 4-2) in a SEC matchup at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 in Tiger Stadium.
The Crimson Tide hold a one game lead over the Tigers in the league standings, topped by Kentucky (7-1, 5-1) and Georgia (6-1, 4-1).
LSU’s in a four-way tie for fourth place in the SEC standings with Florida, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
The Tigers have responded from a 35-34 overtime loss at Kentucky with emphatic wins over Mississippi State (31-0) at home and Auburn (38-17) on the road.
LSU produced the SEC’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week this week with quarterback Sam Leavitt and defensive end Jordan Ross.
The Tigers’ offense was exceptionally sharp for the most part in both games and appeared to reach another level last week at Auburn with 552 total yards of offense and 31 points in the first half of play.
Leavitt joined Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow as the first player to complete 30-plus passes in consecutive games. His 32 completions were a career-high mark on 45 attempts for 388 yards and three touchdowns.
Leavitt added 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground for 442 total yards and four touchdowns.
“I was telling coach (Ed) Orgeron on Tuesday, one of the biggest joys of being in coaching is seeing improvement and seeing that happen throughout the season,” Kiffin said. “It happened on our team (Ole Miss) last year. (We) Really improved in the middle part of the year and it happens a lot of time in portal-heavy sides of the ball.
“If you coach really consistently, and to watch our offense – in particular the quarterback and the receivers’ improvement – is really awesome to see when it happens,” Kiffin said. “That’s not where our passing game was at all earlier in the year. To see it there is really exciting to see the players’ development and the credit for to their coaches (offensive coordinator) Charlie (Weis Jr., (quarterbacks coach) Dane (Stevens) and (wide receivers coach) G-Mac (George McDonald).”
Leavitt, despite a nagging hamstring injury in his previous four games, has vaulted to sixth nationally with 2,173 yards passing and 17 touchdowns. His per-game average of 271.63 yards ranks him second in the SEC to Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss’ 275.14.
Wide receiver Jackson Harris, a transfer from Hawaii, has emerged over that span as Leavitt’s top target, ranking second in catches on the team with 36 receptions with team highs in yardage (634) and touchdowns (7).
He turned in a career-best effort in the win over Auburn with nine catches in 14 targets with 178 yards and two touchdowns – giving him four scores in his last two games.
Kiffin spent three years as the offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama where the Crimson Tide were national champions in 2015.
Alabama opened the season with five straight victories before a home loss to then No. 1 Georgia, 20-17, followed by a 26-10 setback at Tennessee. They defeated Texas A&M, 31-20, last week.
“We have to get ready for the most talented team we’ve played,” Kiffin said. “When you combine offense and defense, these guys really are loaded. They look like the old Alabama teams. Really long, fast receivers.
“Really special, unique defensive players,” Kiffin said. “It’s going to be a really big challenge for us. We’ll have to prepare really well and play really well.”
