LSU fans got a startling notification on their phones on Wednesday night seeing star quarterback Sam Leavitt was listed as "doubtful" entering a crucial Week 3 matchup with No. 8 Ole Miss. The Arizona State transfer played exceptionally well in the No. 7 Tigers' first two games and didn't appear to injure himself in either contest.
It was quite the head-scratching designation despite Leavitt not practicing Wednesday, but those who have been around the game long enough are very aware of the potential gamesmanship angle head coach Lane Kiffin may be playing. The former Ole Miss head coach isn't remembered fondly in Oxford and extra security will be employed on Saturday to ensure tempers don't boil over.
"No one on the Ole Miss staff is convinced LSU QB Sam Leavitt’s appearance as 'doubtful' on the injury report is sincere and he’ll miss the game on Saturday," ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel wrote on X Thursday.
Sure enough, on Thursday night, the next LSU injury report upgraded Leavitt from doubtful to questionable.
LSU QB Sam Leavitt is upgraded to questionable on the latest SEC availability report. https://t.co/CITYG71jxZ pic.twitter.com/Kjk35k8rrU
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 18, 2026
Kiffin is known to bend rules to his advantage, especially with the injury report. He once listed 26 players with a designation when he was in Oxford. Pulling this kind of stunt to play mind games with Ole Miss wouldn't be beyond his capabilities. In fact, it's right up his alley. He almost brought in two former NFL training camp participants until he faced a near-Brendan Sorsby-like wave of outrage.
Prediction/guess based on past history of Kiffin injury “reports” and not any insider knowledge on this specific situation: Leavitt plays
— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) September 17, 2026
If Leavitt plays Saturday, Kiffin and LSU have opened themselves up to unnecessary disciplinary action from the SEC too. There are potential hefty fines the conference could impose on the program for deceptive tactics and manipulating the intent of injury reports.
LSU QB1 vs. Ole Miss is a mystery if Sam Leavitt actually misses game with injury
For the sake of argument, let's say Kiffin is telling the truth and Leavitt actually does have some injury that could prevent him from playing on Saturday. Who does LSU turn to for the biggest game of the year so far? That question doesn't have an easy answer and it very well fuels the speculation that Kiffin is trying to make Ole Miss waste time by game planning for every possible scenario.
Redshirt freshman Husan Longstreet is currently listed as the No. 2 QB for LSU but in reality redshirt sophomore Landen Clark (listed as QB3) has seen more on-field action so far this year. When victory was certain for the Tigers against Clemson and Louisiana Tech, Clark earned significantly more snaps than Longstreet. He's thrown a cumulative 109 yards on seven completions, including a garbage time touchdown pass. Longstreet, on the other hand, has just one completion on one attempt for 33 yards.
So, if you're Ole Miss and you're taking the injury report seriously (which they shouldn't), then watching the limited tape of Clark may be a last-minute assignment for your defense this week. For all they know, Kiffin could deploy the position by committee and send both guys out there for certain packages.
That seems like a messy approach and maybe not worth the extra hassle if this is all just a ruse. Even if Leavitt plays, Kiffin just set himself up for an embarrassing scenario in which Ole Miss goes out there and is unaffected by the attempted distraction.
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