Lane Kiffin's total teardown-and-rebuild of LSU hits the midpoint of the season when Mississippi State rolls into Tiger Stadium looking to prove last year's second-half collapse was a blip, not a trend.
Bush’s Picks
MSSTLSU
MSSTLSU
OverUnder
Best BetLSU
LSU enters this one with a completely retooled roster and the nation's top-ranked transfer class, headlined by a former Pac-12 star quarterback in Sam Leavitt. Mississippi State is breaking in a new starter of its own in Kamario Taylor behind a defense that was one of the SEC's worst a year ago. The talent and continuity gap points firmly toward LSU here.
Mississippi State
+Year 3 continuity under Lebby, DC Arnett retained
+Defense expected to improve after historically bad 2024
+Offense trending up late in Lebby's tenure
−Faded from 4-0 start to 5-7 finish in 2025
−New, unproven starter Kamario Taylor at QB
−Roster depth flagged as a major question mark
LSU
+Nation's No. 1-ranked transfer class per 247Sports
+Landed three five-star transfers including QB Sam Leavitt
+Total program reset under new coach Lane Kiffin
−Leavitt coming off November foot surgery
−Zero game continuity with a brand-new roster
−First-year staff untested under Baton Rouge pressure
LSU fired Brian Kelly and turned the whole operation over to Lane Kiffin, who responded by attacking the transfer portal like nobody else in the country. 247Sports rated LSU's transfer class the best in the nation, headlined by three five-stars, and the crown jewel is quarterback Sam Leavitt, poached from Arizona State after he threw for 4,652 yards and 36 touchdowns in 24 games there. Leavitt had foot surgery last November and missed the back half of the Sun Devils' 2025 season, but Kiffin says he's back to full strength and on track for an unrestricted fall camp.
Mississippi State is dealing with its own quarterback change. Blake Shapen, who led the Bulldogs to a 4-0 start in 2025 before the wheels came off, is gone, and Kamario Taylor takes over as Jeff Lebby's starter in Year 3. Lebby's staff kept defensive coordinator Arnett around after a defense that ranked among the worst in the SEC in yards allowed, and the hope is that continuity on that side of the ball, paired with Lebby's usual offensive tinkering, keeps Mississippi State from repeating last year's fade from 4-0 to a 5-7 finish.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
MSST Mississippi State
LSU LSU
The gap in roster investment between these two programs is enormous right now. LSU spent the offseason buying an entirely new team around Leavitt, while Mississippi State is still trying to squeeze more out of a roster CFN pegged for a 4-8 season, with depth flagged as the program's biggest question mark heading into the fall.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Oct 2?vs Alabama—
Sep 25?vs Missouri—
Sep 19?@ South Carolina—
Sep 12?@ Minnesota—
Sep 5?vs UL Monroe—
LSU Tigers
Oct 9?@ Kentucky—
Oct 3?vs McNeese—
Sep 25?vs Texas A&M—
Sep 19?@ Ole Miss—
Sep 12?vs Louisiana Tech—
Sep 5?vs Clemson—
Recent form.
Baton Rouge in prime time is never a comfortable trip, and this LSU roster is built to make outside SEC visitors uncomfortable early and often. The bigger question for Kiffin isn't talent, it's chemistry — a roster with this much fresh transfer turnover, including a new QB1 coming off a foot injury, still has to prove it plays like a team and not a collection of portal additions six weeks into the season.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
LSU Tigers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
For Mississippi State, this is exactly the kind of game that will tell the story of Lebby's third season. If Arnett's defense has actually taken the step forward the staff is promising and Taylor gives the offense steady quarterback play, the Bulldogs at least keep this competitive. If not, it's a reminder of how far the gap has grown between the SEC's rebuilding programs and the ones that can simply buy a new roster every offseason.
