LSU Collapses Late, Drops Series to OU
David Billiot Jr • March 22, 2026
Oklahoma - 4, LSU - 3
Saturday Afternoon Recap
It’s impossible to say just how catastrophic a loss on March 21st is with their being 8 more weeks to the season, but as of today, this one feels pretty dang catastrophic. For the third time in their 4 SEC losses, LSU found themselves on the losing side of a game decided by 1 or 2 runs. After opening the series with a massive win on Thursday night behind a special performance from Casan Evans, the Tiger lost the final two games and lose their second consecutive series to start SEC play. William Schmidt and the pitching staff was fantastic, but it was the same old story of being let down by the offense. Despite the sophomore starter only making it through 4.0 innings, he still threw well. Oklahoma’s offense did a fantastic job of making him work, particularly in the back half of his outing. Gavin Guidry and Deven Sheerin did their jobs, but one of the biggest questions of the day was regarding Jay Johnson’s decision making. He’s the best college baseball coach in the country, but choosing to send Guidry back out for the 8th inning and refusing to take him out at the first, second, or even third sign of trouble was quite perplexing. The veteran was fantastic through his first 3 innings, but fatigue seemed to set in and he remained out on the mound. Although Sheerin wasn’t perfect, he made the pitch he needed to for what should be a routine play for any team in the SEC, but as things have gone through 25 games in 2026, the play wasn’t made.
The offense was bad, yet again. The only 3 runs that the Tiger lineup put on the board came on two swings. Homeruns by Omar Serna and Chris Stanfield were the entire offense on Saturday. LSU only recorded two hits other than those. After striking out 13 times on Friday night, Jay’s lineup only struck out 5 times today. In the post-game press conference, he attributed the lack of hits to poor quality of contact. Recording only 4 hits in game 3 of a series is, quite frankly, abysmal. It’s the game that is widely considered high scoring, because college pitching staff’s are rarely equipped to run quality arms out on to the field for 3 straight games. There’s just no excuse for what is going on with this LSU lineup right now. For the third weekend in a row, this team ends the weekend with more questions than it entered with.
Pitching
Although he struck out 2 in the 1st, William Schmidt had a few mistake pitches and Oklahoma made him pay for one of them. After a leadoff strikeout of Sooner leader Trey Gambill, who had two RBI hits last night, the sophomore stud left an 0-1 breaking ball up in the zone and Camden Johson drove it the other way in to the Left Field Landing for a solo homerun. Following a second strikeout, Schmidt hung another breaking ball to Jaxon Willits in a 1-2 count, but got away with it with a deep flyout to right field. The 2nd inning was far more clean, going 1-2-3 on only 11 pitches. He got in to trouble in the 3rd, mostly due to himself. After striking out the leadoff hitter, a swinging bunt and back to back walks loaded the bases with just 1 out for Oklahoma’s 3 and 4-hole hitters. Schmidt struck them both out to a loud applause from the packed Alex Box. After two quick outs in the 4th, back to back singles by the Sooners set up another massive spot for the sophomore. After a first pitch ball, Schmidt got three straight swing and misses on his breaking ball and struck out Jason Walk to escape once again. With his pitch count already at 83 through 4 innings, back to back singles to start the 5th were enough for Jay Johnson to make the call to the bullpen. Schmidt threw the ball well, but the Sooner lineup deserves credit for making him work hard, despite only scoring 1 run off of him.
- Final line: 4.0 IP / 6 hits / 1 run / 7 Ks / 2 BB / 90 pitches (59 strikes, 66%)
Gavin Guidry entered in a tough spot as he often does. With runners on 1st and 2nd and no one out and LSU clinging to a 2-1 lead, the veteran was entering in boiling water. With 3-hole hitter Brendan Brock up in a big spot, again, he squared around to try and bunt the runners over. A wild pitch did the job for him, moving both the tying and go-ahead runs in to scoring position. Guidry struck him out on a full count, then Steven Milam snagged a line drive right at him and made another routine 6-3 groundout to end the inning and make it 7 Oklahoma runners stranded in the past 3 innings. Guidry returned in the 6th and struck out the side, despite a 2-out walk. He’d return for the 7th and go walk, strikeout, walk, strikeout with a wild pitch mixed in to set up runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. The tying run would likely score on anything through the infield and Deiten LaChance came close to making that happen, but Steven Milam made yet another monster play with a backhand deep in the 6-hole to gun him out by a few steps. With 59 pitches, Guidry surprisingly returned for the 8th. Another 4-pitch walk to leadoff the inning seemed like a sign that he was out of gas, but Jay left him in. Oklahoma singled in the next two at bats to make it 3-2 and runners were still on 1st and 2nd with no one out. A sacrifice bunt would move them in to scoring position and that’s where Guidry would finally be taken out of the game.
- Final line: 3.1 IP / 2 hits / 3 runs / 6 Ks / 4 BBs / 70 pitches (39 strikes, 56%)
Deven Sheerin entered in a spot desperately needing a strikeout with LSU’s defense playing back and conceding the tying run. He was in a great spot to get it after starting 0-2, but after Gambill fouled off 4 pitches, he was hit in his foot to load the bases. Sheerin then induced the double play ball that he needed, but an error on Jack Ruckert prevented a single out from being recorded and the game was tied. A sacrifice fly to right field gave Oklahoma their first lead since the 1st inning. Sheerin would find a way out of the 8th without further damage following an intentional walk and a flyout. Aside from the hit batter, the hard-throwing righty did his job, but was let down by his defense. He’d stay in for the 9th and pitch around a walk with a couple of strikeouts to hold the deficit at 1.
- Final line: 1.2 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 2 BBs / 45 pitches (29 strikes, 64%)
Hitting
For the second game in a row, Omar Serna was the most productive LSU hitter. His 2-run homerun in the 1st inning immediately put the Tigers in control, which they’d have until the 8th inning. Jay had told us last night that Serna wouldn’t be coming out of the lineup anytime soon or possibly ever and further emphasized that point after today’s game. The freshman started at 1st base today and held his own with a few nifty plays. Serna finished 1-4.
Chris Stanfield carried on the production that he has delivered since returning from his hand injury, hitting his 1st homerun of the season. His solo shot in the 5th extended the Tigers lead to 3-1. He finished 1-4.
Derek Curiel and Trent Caraway each went 1-3. Curiel wasn’t as productive as we know he’s capable of, but he did get an infield hit, along with a walk. The sophomore scored once to finish 1-3.
Following a tough night with a few strikeouts, Cade Arrambide moved back to catcher and found his way on base a few times. In the 9-hole, he only saw 3 at bats, but drew walks in two of them and finished 0-1. His defense behind the plate was better, particularly with blocking up pitches in the dirt with runners on base. Oklahoma very well could have scored a few more runs if not for the job Arrambide did back there.
Up Next
LSU will return on Tuesday for midweek action vs Louisiana Tech. First pitch will be for 6:30 central. The Bulldogs currently hold a record of 15-8 with two games remaining in their weekend series at New Mexico St tonight and tomorrow afternoon. They took game 1 on Friday night with a score of 13-8. The top competition they have faced was Southern Miss at home in Ruston, in which they were swept and outscored 25-5 in three games. LSU now sits with a 16-9 record and falls to 2-4 in the SEC. After LA Tech, the Tigers will remain home to welcome Kentucky next Friday.
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Saturday, September 19, 2026 11:00 a.m. CT Bill Snyder Family Stadium ESPN2 Last time the Wave walked into Manhattan they left with a 17-10 win in 2022. K-State got the 34-27 answer in New Orleans in 2024. This one closes the three-game series. Tulane is 1-1 after the Duke punch and a 28-24 home comeback vs South Alabama. Kansas State is 2-0, has not allowed an offensive touchdown, and is a 20.5-point favorite. Can the Green Wave steal one in Manhattan again? Roll Dat Wave Pod w/ @greenwavecolin drops today! Sponsor: @RedshirtLtd http:// Redshirtltd.com CODE: RDW = 10% Off The Best Tulane Lids Around! Tulane Green Wave: Year 1 of the Will Hall era. Ugly 17-3 opener at Duke. Then a messy, necessary 28-24 win at Yulman when Jaylin Lucas ran for 214 and Kadin Semonza hit Destyn Hill from 14 yards with 1:17 left. Semonza is the starter. 25-of-43, 352 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT through two games. Roster reality heading to Manhattan: The Wave still cannot stay on the field. Duke held the ball 36:35 . South Alabama held it 37:40 and went 10-of-16 on third down. Tulane is 13 first downs in a “win.” That will not travel against a better defense. What remains is still Wave culture: Lucas just set an American Conference yards-per-carry record (19.5) on 11 carries. Hill has 9-158-1. Anthony Brown-Stephens and Zycarl Lewis Jr are the next layer that need to start producing. Semonza and Hill need some help. Maybe the TE’s will finally get involved. Johnnie Daniels punched in two short TDs vs USA. Jamauri McClure (foot, I fear this is way more serious then they are letting on) has not played in either game. If he is not ready, Lucas / Turner / Daniels have to carry a road Power-4 defense that has allowed 144 yards per game. Kansas State Wildcats: Year 1 of Collin Klein. He was the OC in that 2022 home loss to Tulane. Asked this week if that still burns: “No doubt.” They are 2-0 after 71-3 vs Nicholls and 34-7 vs Washington State. 105-10 combined. Defense has not allowed an offensive touchdown. Ranked No. 2 nationally in total defense (144.0), No. 1 in passing yards allowed (47.5), No. 3 in scoring defense (5.0). Three penalties for 35 yards in two games. Fewest in the country. (Tulane First Test) Offense is physical and complementary: 52.5 points, 523 yards, 7.2 yards per carry, 19-of-27 on third down. K-State is healthier, cleaner, and already has the identity tape they want. Tulane has the 2022 scar on this building and a chip after having to survive South Alabama. Both teams have questions. Only one of them looks like it has answers through two weeks. Kansas State offense vs Tulane defense: Klein and Sean Gleeson want to run first, stay on schedule, and live play-action. This is not a one-read air raid. It is a physical, complementary attack that has rushed for 607 yards on 84 carries through two games. Avery Johnson is the problem. Senior dual-threat. 37-of-55, 391 yards, 6 passing TDs, 2 INTs, plus 101 rushing yards and a score. He will keep it, pull it, and throw on the move. The two picks vs Washington State were stare-downs and along the sideline 10 yds or less. Jaylen Thomas (Wash St) jumped both (1-TD). Do not expect him to gift those again, but he does get stupid with the ball sometimes so Tulane must capitalize. The run committee: Rodney Fields Jr. (Oklahoma State transfer) 206 yards, 2 TDs, including the 75-yard dagger to open the second half vs WSU. Joe Jackson still hits home runs and already has receiving TDs in both games. Jay Harris and Monterrio Elston Jr. have scored on the ground. Depth is real. Size at WR Spot: Josh Manning 6-3/220 (Missouri transfer) is the clear WR1: 13-130-2. Ten catches for 97 vs WSU. Joe Jackson and Brandon White are the YAC layer. Tulane’s 4-2-5 under Tayler Polk / Nate Fuqua just got gashed for 227 rushing yards by Nate Sheppard at Duke, then survived South Alabama’s 182-yard, 37-minute possession game. Third-down defense is the wound. 10-of-16 allowed to USA. Chris Rodgers (left leg) will not play and “may” be done for the year (2nd Opnion). That is a real loss next to Dickson Agu, who just posted 14 tackles. Next Man Up: Makai Williams stepped up in his replacement, made several key stops. Safety Jack Tchienchou is still the defensive leader. Ed Smith IV, Derrick Shepard Jr., Kam Hamilton, and the young ends have to set the edge against Fields/Jackson and keep Johnson from extending. Through 2 games Tulane has 1 sack and 4 TFL, they must improve this number if they want any chance in this game. Would love to see LB Dalton Hughes rush the passer, did very well with that at USA. Kevin Adams III has 21 tackles and is 2nd on the team, Jack with 18. The secondary can hunt if it is third-and-7+. K-State is converting 70% of those. Last time in this building the Wave made K-State scoreless in the second half. That script does not exist if Fields hits the edge on first down and Johnson gets clean play-action. Look for Macho Stevenson to get a bunch of work with the height of K-State WR room. X Factor: Defense, Defense, Defense. Clean tackling, generate pressure, force mistakes that’s the only way! Kansas State defense Vs Tulane Offense: Hall and Russ Callaway will still want to run it and play-action off it. Semonza is not Retzlaff and he is not Johnson. He does not have to throw 40 times. He has to stay on schedule, hit Hill / Brown-Stephens / Lewis when K-State loads the box, and protect the football. The offensive line is the swing unit on the road. Reese Baker is the veteran. The rest of that front is still proving it. Against a Jordan Peterson front that has allowed 47.5 passing yards per game and stuffed two opponents under 200 total yards, early-down protection is everything. The line is improving and played way cleaner. If McClure is still out, Lucas is the feature. 214 yards on 11 carries vs USA is real. It is also 11 touches. He cannot be the entire plan for 60 minutes in Manhattan. Turner and Daniels have to finish drives. Tight ends Dawson Johnson, Vance Bolyard and the F package (Ty Thompson/Gabe Lovorn) have to be involved. They were afterthoughts at Duke and USA. K-State defense last two weeks: No offensive touchdowns allowed. 144 yards per game. 2-of-12 third downs vs Washington State. Gabe Powers leading the linebacker room. Wendell Gregory and Elijah Hill wrecking the edge. Secondary has not been stressed because nobody has stayed on schedule. First Test for them. Peterson is multiple. Four-man, five-man, nickel. They are assignment-sound and the least-penalized team in the country. You will not draw them offside into a free first down. If that front stays gap-sound, Semonza is in obvious passing downs by the middle of the second quarter. That is when this defense lives. If they overpursue Lucas the way USA did, the Wave can steal explosives. Hill already has a 61-yarder and the game-winner. Last year in New Orleans K-State finished 34-27. In 2022 in this building they could not score after halftime. The difference Saturday is whether Tulane can stay ahead of the chains against a front that has not blinked yet. X Factor: Explosive run game + zero turnovers. Anything less and the clock becomes K-State’s friend. Tulane Green Wave @ Kansas State Wildcats: Overall and Three keys to victory for Tulane: On paper this one should not be close. Kansas State’s favor. K-State is 2-0, healthier, cleaner, and already has the run-game and defensive tape they want. They have not allowed an offensive touchdown. They convert 70% of third downs. They have three penalties in two games. Tulane is 1-1, a 20.5-point dog, missing Chris Rodgers, and still waiting on Jamauri McClure. The Wave just needed a last-minute score to survive South Alabama at home. The only reason this is interesting is 2022. This building has seen the Wave win here. Klein has not forgotten it. Hall’s group has to play a complete, complementary, clean road game it has not played yet. Harley Day in Manhattan. 11 a.m. kick. ESPN2. Loud. Three keys for Tulane: 1. Set the edge and make Fields/Jackson earn everything. If Fields hits the 75-yard variant early, Johnson gets free play-action and the Wave defense spends the morning in the middle of the field. Set the edge, tackle in space, force K-State into third-and-7+. That is the only down this secondary can hunt. Generate pressure and force mistakes 2. Let Semonza be efficient without turning it over. He does not have to out-duel Avery Johnson. He has to stay on schedule, take what Peterson gives him, and protect the football. One or two completed drives that end in the end zone change how K-State has to play the rest of the morning. Ball security is non-negotiable on the road as a three-score dog. 3. Win early downs and stay out of obvious passing situations. The reloaded Wave offensive line does not have to dominate. It has to give Semonza a clean pocket on first and second down and create enough push for Lucas / Turner / Daniels / McClure (if healthy) to keep Peterson honest. Third-and-long against this front is where the game gets away. Stay ahead of the chains, convert a couple of third-and-mediums, and you at least give yourself a fourth-quarter chance. Bill Snyder will be loud. Kansas State will have moments. They almost never had to sweat the first two weeks, this is a plus for Tulane if they strike first. Play complementary and clean football, finish in the red zone, tackle, and make Klein remember 2022 for one more Saturday. #RollWave Make sure to follow Patrick Harkness on X
I watched the coaches film of the Lions game and felt some mixed emotions after going through all of the plays. First and foremost, the offensive line has to play much better than what they showed against the Lions given the investment the Saints have made through either draft capital or contractually. The right side in particular was a big reason why the offense struggled to get off to a good start against the Lions as they could neither open lanes in the running game or give Tyler Shough consistent time to throw. Cesar Ruiz was entering the year needing to have a bounce back campaign after how his 2025 season went and his performance against the Lions was not a good start to accomplishing his goal. Taliese Fuaga has been a mixed bag thus far in his young career which is not abnormal for young offensive tackles. Tali had a promising rookie season but followed it up with an up and down sophomore season where he dealt with multiple injuries over the course of the season. He is someone the Saints will have to make a decision on regarding picking up his fifth year option after the season and someone who the Saints need to play well in order to accomplish their goals this season. But I have to give the offense credit because the last 20 or so minutes of the game was fun to watch. Shough was in rhythm from then on and made big time throw after big time throw getting multiple receivers involved. Although as I was watching the game live I could not help but notice it took way too long to get Juwan Johnson on the board. Juwan has had a track record of performances like this before and you would like to see better consistent production from him rather than the all or nothing types of games he has had in the past. I will be curious to see if he gets involved in the passing game much sooner against the Ravens this week which could very well help the offense get off to a better start. Moving on to who I thought was the player of the game, Chris Olave. Olave took a little while to get going in conjunction with the offense but he ultimately did exactly what I thought he would do against Detroit, dominate. Olave took advantage of the Lion’s defensive backs all game long and with their starting safeties being injured Olave beat Detroit down the field for long gains multiple times. If Olave has enough games like this one against the Lions he could very well be in the offensive player of the year conversation when it is all said and done. The only obstacles I could see is his health and if his number of targets drops when Jordyn Tyson returns from his injury. Moving on to the defense, as a whole I thought the defense did a great job against the Lions. Holding them to seven points in the first half was great and even though the scoreboard showed they gave up thirty one points, fourteen of those came from short fields because of turnovers on offense. There was a lot of encouraging play across the defense, Jonas Sanker looked great in the star role and made some impact plays, whether they counted or not. On that note the duel between Chase Young and Penei Sewell did not disappoint as both had their moments throughout the game, with the biggest being Young’s strip sack that was not meant to be according to the officials. All I will say is even after the explanation there is just no way the officials called either Young’s play or all the other strip sacks across the league this weekend correct. Moving on, I would have liked to see Chase Young get more snaps on the opposite edge in what would have been a more favorable matchup for him against the Lions rookie offensive tackle. But not only for the matchup but also just to give the offense a different look so they do not just expect him in the same spot all game long. Speaking of aligning in different spots I thought Brandon Staley did a great job of moving Kaden Elliss around who then to his credit was able to take advantage and have a good game. However, an area of concern did rear its ugly head in this game which did not come as a surprise. The defensive line did not do a nearly good enough job stopping the run against the Lions. The Saints used a rotation of players along the defensive line throughout the game to try and keep players fresh which is a philosophy I believe in but with some older veterans in the mix I believe it would be in the Saints best interest moving forward to limit their snaps in favor of players like Vernon Broughton and Christen Miller. Vernon and Christen’s development would help raise the ceiling of the defense and improve the long term outlook on the defensive side of the ball. I expect the Saints to use more resources to shore up the defensive line when we get to the offseason but in the meantime the Saints will have to figure out how to get the best out of who they have on the roster. Overall I am concerned about the slow starts, the Saints and Kellen Moore have had enough of them now to where it is starting to look like a legitimate issue moving forward. If the Saints are to improve their chances against the best teams in the league they will have to be more productive early on in those games. I believe the slow starts can be fixed by Kellen Moore and the offense but I am not so sure the Saints have the answer to playing the run better on defense currently. But with those concerns I saw plenty of positives like Jonas Sanker settling in nicely to the Star role, Kaden Elliss being a versatile piece for the defense, Chase Young having a great battle with Penei Sewell, Shough and Olave connecting time after time on key plays. There is plenty for the Saints to improve on but after watching the tape they appear to be starting from a much better spot this season than in season’s past.