The biggest game on the docket for Week 3 of the college football season is the No. 7 LSU Tigers traveling to play the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels. There are countless storylines around this SEC affair, but one of the main ones entering the game centers on LSU's Sam Leavitt's availability.
On Wednesday, Leavitt popped up on the Tigers' injury report and was listed as doubtful. That came as a surprise and put question marks around whether he'd suit up or not. He was upgraded to the questionable tag on Thursday, and by Friday, he was completely off the injury report.
Matt Moscona of LouisianaSports.net reported that Leavitt was dealing with back spasms on Wednesday, which is why he was listed on the injury report.
A source told ESPN's Heather Dinich is going to be "available" to start. After a couple of days with his status seemingly in the air, he's going to play and start for the Tigers.
Sam Leavitt will play for Tigers after multiple injury report changes
It was a shock when Leavitt was placed on the injury report anyways, as he didn't appear to be hurt during last week's outing against Louisiana Tech. In that game, he was 25-of-38 for 344 passing yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.
This whole situation just appeared to be some gamesmanship by Lane Kiffin and his staff to keep the Rebels on their toes. Kiffin is facing off against Ole Miss for the first time since he ditched them ahead of last year's College Football Playoffs to accept LSU's job.
To make matters worse, Kiffin looked to bring players from Ole Miss to LSU. He quickly became the villain of college football, and with a return to his old stomping grounds, he was playing a game around his starting quarterback.
Kiffin and company made it a priority to get Leavitt to transfer to LSU, as they gave him a whopping $4.5 million in NIL. It's no secret how much the Tigers valued him, and in the biggest game of the year thus far for LSU, he will be suited up.
Not only does this game have a personal feel to it, but it will have implications for the College Football Playoff. Whoever drops this game will have to overcome the loss and rally to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Having Leavitt out there competing against Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is going to be absolute cinema. They are regarded as two of the top quarterbacks in the nation, and under the prime-time lights, fans should expect to see both of them.
Fans will likely still keep a close eye on Leavitt throughout the game to see how he holds up, but from all accounts, No. 10 will be on the field and under center for the Tigers.
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