LSU Tigers Drop Second SEC Game Early As Kentucky Takes Overtime Thriller

The LSU Tigers fall on the road once again as the Kentucky Wildcats win a 35-34 overtime battle. The Tigers drop to 4-2 on the year and 1-2 in conference play. It's not the start to the Lane Kiffin era that anyone in Baton Rouge wanted.

With a brutal schedule ahead of them, LSU faces an uphill battle to get into the College Football Playoff with four ranked opponents left. Luckily for them, only one of them is on the road. The Tigers have not won a game away from Tiger Stadium since September 30, 2025 (last year's opener against the Clemson Tigers).

The LSU offense had moments where it was incredibly fun to watch, but it was usually followed by something frustrating. They dominated time of possession in the first half, but then it flipped.

The Tigers have had creative offensive play-calling all year long, but Charlie Weis Jr. was in his bag once again. They started early by getting Zach Grace involved in a route that led to his first career catch - a wide-open 22-yard score. Then they had Sam Leavitt take the snap while off-center. Then, they had Leavitt toss the ball to Jackson Harris, who launched the ball to backup tight end Roman Mothershed for a 41-yard touchdown.

LSU needed these creative plays at times, because the offense wasn't as successful as the near 400 yards they put up might suggest. Especially in the second half, there were a few mistakes from Leavitt that could have cost them the game. The defense answered the call, but they still needed some luck to keep the lead late.

Leavitt threw an interception early in the second half and gave the Wildcats the ball at the Tigers' 36-yard line, with a four-point lead. Instead of increasing that lead, the defense forced a turnover on downs.

Then, in the fourth quarter, while it was a 27-24 LSU lead, Kentucky was able to lead one of their better drives, but it ended with a missed field goal from 42 yards out. Leavitt immediately gave them the ball on an ugly, avoidable fumble. They were bailed out once again with a missed 26-yard field goal.

The passing attack didn't get much help from the ground game, though, an unexpected development given how they matched up coming into the night. They had just 2.5 yards per carry as a team. Dilin Jones was more effective as a pass-catcher in this game, leading the team with 7 catches for 84 yards.

Kentucky kicker Adam Zouagui was obviously able to redeem himself as his first made kick of the game was with 19 seconds left, and he sent the game into overtime, which is where the Tigers lost the game.

For all of the praise that the Tigers' play-calling was getting throughout the night, a decision to punt the ball away on 4th and 1 near midfield (though on the LSU side) with 1:37 left in the game is surely going to be called back into question for a bit.

The defense is not going to be happy about their performance in the bookends of this game. In the middle of it, they looked like the Blake Baker-led unit that fans had come to love. Outside of that, it was giving shades of the loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. Kenny Minchey found a groove, led a great two-minute drive and then had the rush on the two-point conversion to win the game.

A lot for the Tigers' coaches to go back and review in this one. Sloppy play throughout (five first-quarter penalties); they lost the turnover battle -2 and obviously lost the game. With teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns left, there could be an opportunity to win Playoff voters back, but that is not going to be very easy.