Week 7: LSU vs. Mississippi State Recap

Chrissy Smith • October 19, 2026

BATON ROUGE - LSU needed a strong response after last week's overtime loss to Kentucky, and the Tigers delivered one Saturday afternoon in Death Valley. No. 22 LSU shut out No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0, using an efficient passing attack and a dominant defensive performance to get back on track in SEC play. The victory moved the Tigers to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Leavitt Delivers His Best Performance

Quarterback Sam Leavitt led the way for LSU, completing 31 of 38 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns. More importantly, he finished without an interception for the first time this season. Leavitt connected with nine different receivers, showing the kind of balance and confidence LSU needs from its passing game moving forward.

Jackson Harris was his favorite target, finishing with six catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with an apparent lower-leg injury in the third quarter. Eugene Wilson III and Malik Elzy also caught touchdown passes as the Tigers found ways to move the ball through the air.

Running back Dilin Jones contributed 84 rushing yards on 18 carries, helping LSU maintain balance on offense.

The Tigers built a 21-0 halftime lead and never allowed Mississippi State to find its footing.

Defense Set the Tone

While LSU's offense deserves credit for its performance, the defense was equally important in securing the shutout. Mississippi State finished with 291 total yards, but struggled to turn promising drives into points. The Bulldogs repeatedly moved into LSU territory, only to come away empty-handed.

LSU stopped Mississippi State on all five of its fourth-down attempts, including a critical stand near the goal line in the first half. Those stops prevented the Bulldogs from gaining momentum and kept the Tigers firmly in control.

Safety Ty Benefield also recorded an interception, while the defensive front applied pressure throughout the afternoon.

It was the kind of complete defensive effort LSU needed, particularly against a ranked conference opponent.

A Much-Needed Response

The biggest takeaway from Saturday's performance is how LSU responded to adversity.

After falling to Kentucky 35-34 in overtime, the Tigers had an opportunity to show how they would handle a disappointing loss. They answered with a convincing victory against a ranked opponent and played with the urgency needed in SEC competition.

There is still work to do as LSU moves deeper into its conference schedule, but this performance offered plenty of positives on both sides of the ball.

The Tigers will look to build on that momentum next Saturday when they travel to face Auburn. Maintaining the efficiency Leavitt showed against Mississippi State and continuing to make key defensive stops will be important as LSU tries to climb the SEC standings.

For now, LSU can take confidence from a performance that showed what this team is capable of when its offense and defense work together.

A quick share helps us a lot!

By Kaden Arkeder • October 18, 2026
Well this Giants game was one hell of a rollercoaster game. I will say a win is a win which everyone can agree the Saints had to do today. So although they almost blew a 24 point lead you take the W and prepare for the Steelers in Paris next week. But let us quickly break down the game today and put into context the whole game. Coming into the game owner Gayle Benson called out the entire organization to say their recent play was unacceptable and needed to be corrected ASAP. She made an appearance at Saints practice on Friday which was mostly seen as I still believe in you so go out there and get this right type of move. So with that as the backdrop before the game how did the Saints do starting off this game? Not well. The start of this game was pretty much like all of the Kellen Moore coached games for the Saints. A struggle to find a rhythm, find some semblance of a run game, shoot, a struggle just to execute penalty free football. Essentially all of the issues people have been harping on were issues again today. If it were not for a Giants fumble before the half the Saints would have been down 10-3 at halftime however they managed to capitalize and tie the game 10-10. But I think what helped jumpstart the lifeless offense was the injury replacement of Jeremiah Wright who took over for Cesar Ruiz in that last drive before the half as suddenly the run game looked to have some teeth to it. With the Saints quickly finding the run game and thus a rhythm on offense, the offense came to life and put up a couple scoring drives to make the game feel out of reach for a Giants comeback. At least, that is what Kellen Moore and his staff thought with ten minutes to go with a 34-10 lead. They went ahead and put the backups in like they had already earned the win and made bad play call after bad play call because they felt it was wrapped up. But it was not and the Saints almost cost themselves the game because of it. The Giants had a real shot with 10 seconds and 10 yards to go to at least tie the game to force OT or even go for the win by going for two. The entire organization should feel fortunate the Giants' comeback fell short because I do not know if any one would have been safe for another week if a complete meltdown had occurred. But the Saints managed to win 34-27 and at the end of the day they did what they had to do. But I cannot come away after watching this game thinking the Saints have turned a corner with this performance. Kellen Moore and his staff bought themselves a bit more time. It could end up being just one more week when it is all said and done but I cannot help to feel like they lucked into this win based on how this game was prepared for and coached. Those two elements did not change with this win. There are just too many questionable coaching decisions being made hindering what the Saints could be right now to even begin to feel like this win was the start of the coaching staff fixing the issues plaguing the team. Thankfully for them those decisions did not cost them today. For now the Saints will board a plane and continue fighting for their season in Paris, France where the surroundings there are equally questionable as this Saints team.
By Matt Miguez • October 18, 2026
This should be in the dictonary under "must-win".
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