LSU safety Ty Benefield stopped and had to take a deep breath.
Apparently, the thought of playing his final home college game hadn’t crossed his mind, until being asked about it during Tuesday’s media availability.
“It means a lot seeing how I’ve developed over these last eight, nine months,” Benefield said of Saturday’s ‘Senior Day’ in Tiger Stadium. “On a bigger scale, seeing how I’ve developed over my career in college football. My story has never been some picture-perfect one.”
The 6-foot-3, 216-pound Benefield is one of 13 players listed on LSU’s athletics website as either a senior or graduate student. He signed with the Tigers out of the NCAA Transfer Portal after earning first team All-Mountain West honors at Boise State.
He was part of coach Lane Kiffin’s heralded portal signing class that could be playing in their final home game when No. 24 LSU (6-3, 3-3 in SEC) hosts No. 8 Texas (7-2, 4-2) at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
Benefield, whose father Daved won a Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League in 2000, moved from Vancouver to Altadena, Calif. and starred on both sides of the football for Creen Lutheran. He was a three-star recruit that chose Boise State and made 33 starts (played in 41 games), including 28 straight, with 235 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 16 pass break-ups and five interceptions.
He’s been a big part of LSU’s secondary in his only season in Baton Rouge. He ranks third on the team with 41 tackles, three TFLs, two quarterback hurries and an interception.
“I’ve never been a five star out of high school, Not somebody’s guy,” Benefield said of his journey. “I had to really earn everything. It’s beautiful. I wouldn’t change anything. I’m so excited to enjoy this game with my brothers.
“I’m so thankful to LSU for taking a chance on me and seeing the work that I put in,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be a fun game making this the last one here.”
LSU finds itself with its feet on the edge of a cliff.
The arrival of Kiffin after six successful seasons at Ole Miss, coupled with the signing of the nation’s top-ranked NCAA Transfer Portal class, was expected to inject new life into a program that hadn’t been in the College Football Playoffs since winning the national title in 2019.
The Tigers find themselves tied for eighth place in the Southeastern Conference following last week’s deflating 31-13 home loss to Alabama.
To even hold a hint of possibly reaching the CFP, the Tigers need three wins to close the season, and that starts with Texas.
“We’re focused on Texas,” LSU defensive end Princewill Umanmielen, another senior that transferred from Ole Miss. “Go 1-0. We can only do this. You’ve got to win this game first. Treat it like another game, another week.”
Junior tight end Treyden Green said the team had already turned the page from Saturday’s disappointment.
“We had 24 hours to harp over the loss against Alabama,” he said. “I feel we’re in a good head space right now and everybody knows what needs to be done. We’ve fought adversity before. This is nothing new. We’ve had adversity that we’ve had to overcome. … Being there for our brothers and playing for them.”
There’s been plenty of messaging throughout LSU’s Football Operations Center about the pitfalls of losing.
Wide receiver Jackson Harris, who has emerged as Sam Leavitt’s top receiver, knows what winning means at LSU and to the state.
“We had ‘Tell the Truth Monday’, and we flushed it and moved on,” he said. “We can’t dwell on our last game. We can learn from it. We’ve got to move on. We’ve got a really good team coming in. If you’re worried about last week, you’re not going to have your best for Texas.”
LSU was coming off of a bye week and was locked in a 3-3 tie with Alabama in the first quarter. The Tigers overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit to take a 13-10 lead with 2:44 to play in the third quarter on Dilin Jones’ 5-yard run.
The lead didn’t make it through the remainder of the quarter when Alabama triggered a stretch of 21 unanswered points on a 7-yard TD pass from Keelon Russell to Josh Ford with 36 seconds showing in the quarter.
LSU outgained Alabama, 457-285, but struggled in the red zone with four drives that produced a first-quarter field goal, a missed field goal, failed on fourth-and-four and Leavitt threw an interception.
“A little healthy mix of both,” Benefield said embracing a backs-to-the-wall mentality without obsessing over it. “We understand the situation we’re in but can’t focus on it.”
