LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin addressed one of the biggest factors in the program’s 2026 CFB season after a 38-17 win over the Auburn Tigers.
The Tigers fell behind the competitive pack early in the 2026 CFB season with losses to Ole Miss and Kentucky in the first five weeks, which has dented their hopes of reaching the College Football Playoffs.
After LSU picked up a 38-17 win over Auburn on October 24, Coach Kiffin made it a point to remind everyone about the real circumstances that have defined LSU’s start to the season.
Lane Kiffin thinks LSU Tigers’ 2026 season has been abnormal
Kiffin spoke to the media after the win over Auburn and was asked about the best games that LSU have played this season, ending it with an admission that LSU’s injury situation and their results are abnormal.
“We’ve played really good games this year. The opening game, it was about as well as you could have played… Last week, they didn’t score against us. We’ve played really well. We’ve had five games where our backups are in at the end of the game, including 3 SEC games. That’s very abnormal.”
These comments come a week after Kiffin explosively told Mississippi State to stop complaining about losing key players to injury, because LSU and other top teams have also lost players to injury already.
The Tigers have lost LB Whit Weeks, Safety Dashawn Spears, WR Phillip Wright III, and are expected to be without key contributors like Charles Ross II and DT Richard Anderson.
Thankfully, LSU did see TE Trey’Dez Green return to the field against Auburn, while WR Jackson Harris avoided major injury. DE Princewill Umanmielen is expected to return soon as well.
QB Sam Leavitt is playing through a hamstring injury as well, so Kiffin is fair to hold the opinion he does about the team’s injury crisis being abnormal, especially with their recent results.
If the Tigers manage to go the rest of the season without a loss, they will presumably be locked into the CFP. Even one more loss makes their qualifying situation dicey, so LSU and Kiffin will hope they can push through their injury crisis and continue extracting results on the field.
Read more: