BATON ROUGE - It wasn't a great day for defense as Denham Springs took on Woodlawn, but for the offenses, it was quite a time.

The Yellow Jackets and Panthers combined for 127 points on the evening as Denham Springs eventually took the win with a final score of 73-54.

Meanwhile, the U-High Cubs took on the Plaquemine Green Devils as the Cubs hunted for their first win of the season. U-High QB Knox Kiffin, with his father Lane Kiffin in attendance, ushered the Cubs to a 31-21 win and looked good doing it. Kiffin made a nice throw near the end of the first quarter to Kevin Smith Jr. in the win.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt is still listed on the Tigers' injury report, but his status was upgraded from "doubtful" to "questionable" on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Leavitt was listed as "doubtful" to play against the Rebels. The Tiger quarterback has tallied 574 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as 135 yards and five more touchdowns on the ground in his two games as LSU's starting quarterback. He has also thrown four interceptions. 

Linebacker Whit Weeks and tight end Trey'Dez Green no longer have an injury status after being listed as "questionable" and "probable," respectively, on Wednesday. 

No. 7 LSU plays No. 8 Ole Miss in Oxford at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Watch the game on WBRZ. 

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BATON ROUGE - LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt practiced with the team on Thursday, according to reports from Matt Moscona of 104.5 ESPN Radio.

NEW: Sam Leavitt participated in LSU’s practice Thursday morning, sources confirm.

Back spasms kept him out of Wednesday’s workout, leading to his listing on the initial availability report.@1045espn @LASportsDotNet

— Matt Moscona (@MattMoscona) September 17, 2026

Leavitt was listed as "doubtful" on LSU's player availability list Wednesday night. Moscona reported Thursday morning that the QB did not participate in practice on Wednesday.

NEW: LSU QB Sam Leavitt did not practice Wednesday due to an undisclosed injury, multiple sources confirm.

He received treatment and will be reevaluated today.

Additionally, LB TJ Dottery was also held out of Wednesday’s practice.

Sources are hopeful both players will be…

— Matt Moscona (@MattMoscona) September 17, 2026

An update on the student-athlete availability reports are due by 7 p.m. CT on Thursday and Friday. The final report is due 90 minutes before kickoff.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU President Wade Rousse on Thursday asked that LSU students, alumni and fans "represent our university and our state with pride" ahead of LSU's hotly anticipated matchup against Ole Miss in Oxford.

Rousse encourages fans to bring "the energy that sets LSU fans apart from every other fan base in the country," but reminds them to do so respectfully.

"Remember that the person sitting next to you, whether they are wearing the same colors or cheering for the other team, deserves the same opportunity to enjoy this special tradition," the university president said. "Be a good sport. Respect your neighbors. Celebrate the Tigers!" 

His full message to fans can be read below:

No. 8 LSU faces No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WBRZ. 

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OXFORD, Miss. — Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman will appear on ESPN's College GameDay as a celebrity guest picker ahead of the LSU-Ole Miss game in Oxford this weekend. 

Freeman, best known for his roles as Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Red in "The Shawshank Redemption" and God in "Bruce Almighty," grew up in Mississippi. 

?? Morgan Freeman is the College Gameday Celebrity Guest Picker ??#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/8Ba9Kpc5bf

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 17, 2026

GameDay, which is in its 40th season, runs from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on ESPN.

No. 7 LSU plays No. 8 Ole Miss in the hotly anticipated return of Lane Kiffin to Oxford on WBRZ at 6:30 p.m. 

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BATON ROUGE - As Madison Prep quarterback Jacobe Shannon Jr. pelted U-High for four total touchdowns in the Chargers' 38-21 win over the Cubs, you wouldn't know that he's the first freshman to start at quarterback for MPA since 2018. You'd think he was a bit more seasoned.

After all, the talent speaks for itself, and it didn't take long for the youngster to show his head coach that he was his QB1.

"We had a little shoving match when one of the guys hit him late," said Madison Prep head coach Landry Williams. "When I saw the guys rally to protect him, I knew he was our guy at that point."

The guy most definitely has the talent, but what got him to starting on Friday nights so young is something else.

"I've always been bigger, faster, stronger," said Shannon. "I just always had the mentality to let no one be better than me or be better than me so I just focus on that."

No one is more aware of how young Shannon is than his head coach, but that's part of why Coach Williams is so excited about the player Shannon could become.

After all, he's seen this type of talent before back in 2018, when Zeon Chriss-Gremillion started for the Chargers his freshman season.

"It's the same thing, some of the same qualities," said Williams. "It's not a real challenge to trust him, because I've been through this before, and I liked the results at the end. If he [Shannon] plays up to that kind of standard, I don't have a problem with it."

While at Madison Prep, Chriss-Gremillion led the Chargers to the 2020 3A state title.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt was listed as "doubtful" on the SEC's midweek injury report, just days before the Tigers' highly anticipated matchup against Ole Miss. 

Leavitt has tallied 574 yards and two touchdowns in the air, plus 135 rushing yards and five more touchdowns in his two games as LSU's starting quarterback. He has also thrown four interceptions. 

Other notable names on the Tigers' injury report were linebacker TJ Dottery, listed as "questionable," and linebacker Whit Weeks, listed as "probable." 

No. 7 LSU plays No. 8 Ole Miss in Oxford at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Watch the game on WBRZ. 

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NEW YORK — The NFL declared two athletes who were previously committed to play at LSU ineligible to return to the league in the 2026 season after also being deemed ineligible to return to college football, as reported by Tom Pelissero. 

According to Pelissero, the league sent a memo out to teams on Wednesday clarifying that Zxavian Harris and Dae'Quan Wright could not play in the NFL this year because they "returned to college and participated with their college football team after the opening of NFL training camp."

Harris and Wright were two of several athletes who filed a lawsuit in Baton Rouge against the NCAA and Southeastern Conference seeking a fifth year of college eligibility. Both were previously affiliated with NFL teams during the offseason — Harris spent time with the New Orleans Saints, and Wright with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. 

The two planned to play for LSU if a Baton Rouge judge issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA and SEC, which he did. However, LSU opted not to roster them after the SEC filed a federal lawsuit against LSU and Louisiana leaders, and later threatened the founding member school with expulsion from the conference. 

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BATON ROUGE — LSU women's basketball player Sylvia Fowles will become the second female athlete in school history to have a statue on campus, the university announced Wednesday. 

Fowles will join four other former players—Bob Pettit, Shaquille O’Neil, Pete Maravich and Seimone Augustus—outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. 

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Fowles said in a prepared statement. “It is such a privilege and an honor, and I don't take this recognition from LSU lightly. It says a lot to be recognized for all my hard work, and I wouldn’t appreciate it the way that I do if I didn't accomplish it on LSU’s campus. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.”

In 2017, she became the 12th LSU athlete to have their jersey retired. She was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025, was a two-time All-America center at LSU, and she led the Tigers to four consecutive Final Four appearances from 2005 through 2008. She was the 2008 National Defensive Player of the Year and the SEC Player of the Year, and she earned All-SEC honors in each of her final three seasons. 

Fowles is also a three-time Olympic gold medalist, helping lead Team USA to titles in 2008 at Beijing, in 2012 at London, in 2016 at Rio and in 2020 at Tokyo. 

“Sylvia Fowles is one of the greatest players, not only at LSU, but in the history of our game,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said in a news release. “This honor is something that is extremely well-earned. She is one of the most significant ambassadors that this university has and what she did for this program and LSU deserves to be recognized permanently. I am proud that we can honor Sylvia with a statue on campus, giving our fans a lasting symbol that celebrates her remarkable legacy.”

Fowles graduated in 2009 and established school career records for rebounds (1,570), blocked shots (321), free throws made (494) and free throws attempted. She was the first-round draft choice of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky in 2008. 

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BATON ROUGE - As LSU prepares to take on Ole Miss in one of the most highly anticipated games of the season, many staff members and players on either team are very familiar with the other.

When Lane Kiffin took the head coaching job at LSU, nearly his entire offensive staff came with him from Ole Miss. In fact, 26 staff members from coaches to support staff all took jobs at LSU. 

Additionally, four players turned from Rebels to Tigers in the offseason and are having productive seasons so far for LSU.

On the flip side, just a few former LSU staff members and players made the switch to Ole Miss. General manager Austin Thomas and running backs coach Frank Wilson now serve the same position for the Rebels. Running back JT Lindsey and offensive lineman Carius Curne transferred from LSU to Ole Miss.

When it comes to game planning for this matchup, Kiffin thinks the familiar faces on the opposite sideline may give the advantage to Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding.

"I think this is a really unusual thing to talk about the familiarity with offensive players, but there's so much familiarity. You know, when when I worked for (Nick) Saban, I think after I left, it benefited me as the coordinator on the opposite side of the head coach much more. It benefited him and me. We went to go play, like when we first played COVID year, whatever, and it's 60 to 50 because I had listened for three years to all the things he would teach us that he didn't like, you know, and then we end up using. So I think in this way, you know, this benefits them more than us in the ocean way because Pete (Golding) sat there and for many years we're together and hear me say what we don't like to play against because as a head coach on that side of the ball, Saban and I are much more going to tell them what we should play things that causes problems than the coordinators would tell the head coach if that makes sense, so there's just a lot of fill up in their area that's probably never happened before. We'll play the next year, and half the coaches are split, and they're the coaches of the previous place, and the players," Kiffin said.

No. 7 LSU will face No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Oxford. The game will be televised on WBRZ.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson met with the media on Wednesday to talk about the 2027 LSU roster and preview what he is expecting as the Tigers start fall practice soon.

LSU is ramping up with workouts now, but will start their 45-day practice window on Oct. 8. They will have four exhibition games this fall against other teams.

LSU will face Samford in Biloxi, Miss. on Oct. 31 at 3 p.m., followed by a second game on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. The Tigers will host Troy on Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium. They will finish their scrimmages when they host Southeastern on Nov. 13.

Johnson said improving player durability was a big focus after last season, especially for pitchers. Strength coach Chris Martin worked closely with returning players in the weight room.

Pitchers Cooper Moore, William Schmidt and Casan Evans all return this season and are hoping to stay healthy after injuries plagued the starting pitching rotation last season. Moore had elbow surgery in May and will not pitch in the fall, but Johnson said the missed time should not set him back for the season. Schmidt and Evans also worked on conditioning and pitching development.

Freshman Lucas Nawrocki will play as a two-way player, with a set schedule to manage his pitching and hitting workload. Johnson said, "He is a two-way player. That is not up for debate. It will not change over three years here."

The No. 1 transfer in this year's class, Bino Watters, impressed Johnson with his work ethic and hitting ability. Johnson said the staff is helping him reach another level.

Logan Schmidt, a top high school left-handed pitcher, chose LSU over going pro. Johnson said Schmidt will not pitch in games or scrimmages until Nov. 1 as part of a planned break after his high school season.

Cade Kurland also chose LSU over turning professional and made a hitting adjustment over the summer that Johnson liked.

Malachi Washington, known as a center fielder, is moving to the infield to add versatility.

Johnson said both catchers, Omar Serna Jr. and Cade Arrambide, need to improve defensively and be available for every game.

The team will honor late LSU coach Skip Bertman with a patch featuring the number 15 on their jerseys, possibly beyond this season.

Johnson wants all 39 players to participate in each fall scrimmage ahead of the 2027 season.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive end Princewill Umanmielen was served court papers in front of the Tigers' football facility related to Ole Miss' lawsuit against him, ESPN reports.

Umanmielen was served the papers on Tuesday, days before No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss are set to clash in Oxford on Saturday. According to court records in the Circuit Court of Lafayette County in Oxford, Mississippi, Umanmielen was served with the plaintiff's first set of interrogatories, requests for production of documents and requests for admission.

NEWS: LSU defensive end Princewill Umanmielen was served with court papers Tuesday related to the Ole Miss' lawsuit against him, according to court records. Umanmielen received the papers in the parking lot outside the LSU football facility on Tuesday, per ESPN sources.…

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 16, 2026

The lawsuit, filed in July, alleges that Umanmielen and offensive lineman Devin Harper had not paid their buyout for approximately six months. Now, the school has taken action against the players. The civil complaints against the players include seeking nearly $1 million between them—$550,000 from Umanmielen and $400,000 from Harper.

Both suits are complaints of a breach of contract concerning the transfers of both players to LSU.

Ole Miss officials accuse Umanmielen of signing a revenue-sharing contract to return to the Rebels on Jan. 3; he entered the transfer portal Jan. 20 and signed with LSU the next day. Harper signed a deal to remain at Ole Miss on Jan. 6 and entered the transfer portal just over a week later, signing with the Tigers on Jan. 16.

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BATON ROUGE — A Louisiana appellate court has sided with several athletes fighting for a fifth year of college sports eligibility, reaffirming a decision made in a Baton Rouge court earlier in September.

The First Court of Appeals' decision, issued Monday, denies the SEC and Commissioner Greg Sankey's request to suspend the preliminary injunction that allowed the athletes to keep their fifth year of eligibility. 

"An order or judgment relating to a preliminary injunction shall not be suspended during the pendency of an appeal unless the court in its discretion so orders," the decision says. "Relators have not shown an abuse of that discretion by the district court."

On Sept. 3, 19th JDC Judge William Jorden ruled in favor of the players, paving the way for the athletes to play in their fifth year of eligibility.

WBRZ spoke to a sports law expert at Southern University's Law Center about the court process in the case.

"Now, they have the right to be able to play. Now, it's up to a team, a college team, to allow them to play," Southern University Law Professor Rahim Smith said.

Despite being granted the ability to roster multiple players who participated in NFL activities, including Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Blake Cotton, none of these players were placed on LSU's roster. 

Before LSU's 105-player roster was set for the season, the SEC, which filed a lawsuit against LSU, considered removing the Tigers from the conference over the dispute. LSU has since set its roster without the contested players and tensions between the conference and Louisiana's flagship university have since cooled.

The First Circuit's decision only applies to the preliminary injunction, the civil case itself must still play out in court which could take weeks or months. In the meantime, the SEC could appeal this latest action at the Louisiana Supreme Court.

"They could seek some time of supervisory writ at the Supreme Court level, but at the appellate court level, they said they were not going to be able to do so," Smith said.

Ryan Downtown, an attorney representing Wright and Harris, shared his approval of the First Circuit's decision, writing in a statement:

"We are pleased the First Circuit confirmed the Trial Judge's finding that the NCAA's refusal to grant the Class of 2022 a fifth year of eligibility - just like all athletes before and after them - likely violated the NCAA's own bylaws. We look forward to seeing our clients compete this season."

Smith added that the results of the fifth-year eligibility lawsuit could ultimately shape the future of college athletics.

"There have been professional athletes that have returned to college in basketball. How do we look at other sports as well? Are we treating them all the same? They're going to have to have some type of uniformity," he said.

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BATON ROUGE — Southern University head football coach Marshall Faulk says the team is focused on moving forward after a loss to Houston and preparing for its upcoming game against Louisiana Christian.

The Jags are going into their matchup against the Louisiana Christian Wildcats with a 1-2 record. The game kicks off in A.W. Mumford Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SWAC TV.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Faulk said he pulled players from media availability to help them look ahead rather than dwell on the previous game, when the team suffered a 77-6 loss against the Houston Cougars.

"My job right now is to get them to look forward and not allow one game to define them," Faulk said.

WATCH FAULK'S NEWS CONFERENCE: 

Louisiana Christian is a team Faulk described as well coached and cohesive, noting that they do not have standout players.
On the Houston loss, Faulk was straightforward about where the team stands.

"We're not good enough for that many things to go wrong for us to still be in the ball game," he said. "We're not there yet."

Discipline and avoiding self-inflicted mistakes are the main areas the team needs to clean up heading into the next game, he said. Penalties like false starts and holding have been a recurring issue early in games.

When it comes to leadership, Faulk said he is waiting for players to step up on their own during games.

"Good teams are led by the coaches," Faulk said. "Great teams are led by the players."

He said accountability is showing up at practice but needs to carry over once games begin.

On the injury front, running back Champ Davis is dealing with a grade two AC sprain and is expected to sit out this week. Running back Armariyan Asberry has an ankle injury with imaging being done to determine the severity, and defensive end Kai Brown has a shoulder injury as well.

Rather than showing the full film from the Houston game, Faulk said he pulled specific clips centered on effort. He believes there are lessons to be learned in each game, no matter the outcome.

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BATON ROUGE - It was probably a moot point once he captured the PBA World Championship, but EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, was named last week to receive the 2026 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award, marking his fifth career and fourth consecutive Player of the Year honor.

Tackett is now one of four players in PBA history to win the award at least five times joining Jason Belmonte (7), Walter Ray Williams Jr. (7) and East Anthony (6).

Tackett also became the first player to be named Player of the Year in four consecutive seasons.

He won the PBA World Championship in each of those seasons, becoming the first player in PBA history to win a title event in four consecutive years.

The 34-year-old received 85.46% of votes among PBA members and media.

Brandon Bonta, Patrick Dombrowski, Graham Fach, Alex Horton, Marshall Kent, Boog Krol, Spencer Robarge, Anthony Simonsen, and Zach Wilkins also earned nominations for the 2026 Player of the Year award. Bonta, Dombrowski, and Wilkins each received at least 3% of votes.

Tackett led the PBA Tour in every statistical measure except titles. He lapped the field with 32,335 points and $324,075 earnings and set a new PBA Tour single-season average record at 229.79 across 438 games.

His average during the past two seasons — 229.37 in 2024 and 228.60 in 2025 — also rank third and fifth, respectively, all time.

Tackett led the tour with 10 top-five finishes, 13 top-10 finishes, and 17 cashes in 18 title events. He finished runner-up in two major championships — PBA Players Championship and USBC Masters — earning the top seed and losing the title match of each.

While it was a year in which first-year and first-time finalists won events most of the year, somewhere in the TV finals was Tackett, knocking on the door for titles. His effort in the PBA Championship in an over-the-air televised event was such that his fourth consecutive year to win the World Title made everything else just a little outside what was necessary to capture the award.

2031 Open Championship To Vegas

Well, a window that USBC Executive Chad Murphy said had closed for Baton Rouge to get another host year for the USBC Open Championship has been made official with the announcement that Las Vegas would be the site for the 2031 Opening Championships as the event returns to the South Point Bowling Plaza, which is already on pace to post record-setting numbers for the tournament venue next year.

The 2027 event currently has more than 12,000 teams registered to compete, which puts the tournament in position to be the largest in USBC’s partnership with South Point. Next year’s trip to Las Vegas also is trending toward the largest team count at the Open Championships since 2011 which means it would top Baton Rouge’s team count in 2012 and 2025.

It would also mean that we are back in the same situation that has become prominent for the Open Championship in that other than in 2028 in Greenville, South Carolina, the Open Championship will be held in Nevada in 2027, 2029, 2030 and 2031 with the latter two in Las Vegas.

There are open spots in 2034 and 2037 if Baton Rouge is interested once the proposed renovation of the Raising Canes River Center is supposedly completed. So, we’ll see what happens downtown and what interest the two groups have in each other when the next decade rolls around.

That’s it this week.

Back with you next Monday.

                        Until then, good luck and good bowling,

                                                                                Kent Lowe

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BATON ROUGE — The SEC has issued a new kickoff time ahead of LSU's matchup against Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 26. 

The matchup against No. 9 Texas A&M will take place at 6:30 in Death Valley and will be broadcast on ABC.

On Monday, Kiffin spoke about his preparation for his return to Ole Miss on Saturday following the Tigers' 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech. 

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Lane Kiffin figures that if the attention of the college football world is going to be primarily on him this week, he might as well use that to his advantage.

WATCH KIFFIN'S NEWS CONFERENCE HERE:

Emotions are bound to run as high as ever in Mississippi's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday evening, when the No. 8 Rebels (2-0) host the coach who spurned them late last season and now has No. 7 LSU (2-0) off to a strong start.

“I guess there’s real safety issues and stuff. So, there’s people that have a plan for that. It is what it is,” Kiffin said. “But I told the players today, man, like, ‘You don’t have anything to worry about as far as, like, attention on you all week. There’s just going to be so much attention, hatred — everything — on me.’”

“Really, the pressure is on them,” Kiffin continued, alluding to Ole Miss' appearance in last year's national semifinals, and the fact that quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy — both viewed as 2026 Heisman Trophy candidates — are back with the Rebels.

“We won seven games last year; they won 13,” Kiffin said. “They return two Heisman candidates. How often does that ever happen in the same backfield?”

It's rare, but Kiffin knew of at least once instance. That was back in 2005, when he was an assistant under Pete Carroll at Southern California. The Trojans had Matt Leinart at QB and Reggie Bush at running back.

By mentioning Chambliss and Lacy, Kiffin was in a sense touting his own legacy at Ole Miss, where he coached for the previous five years. And Kiffin seemed to wish that instead of spewing vitriol at him, Mississippi fans would reflect more on how much better off their program was when he left than when he arrived. Similarly, Kiffin mentioned that he was the one who sought out and hired his Ole Miss successor, Pete Golding, as defensive coordinator in 2023.

“There’s not always a winner and a loser,” Kiffin said while referring to his decision to leave for LSU last Nov. 30, when the Rebels were about to enter the College Football Playoff.

Kiffin pointed out that Saturday's Magnolia Bowl between LSU and Ole Miss will be the first since 1962 to take place when both teams were ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll.

“That says to me it’s the most relevant matchup of these two teams in 64 years,” Kiffin said. “So, I think that’s a really neat thing that we were able to be part of building a program (in Mississippi) that Pete's doing a great job of continuing it as a top-10 program.

“When we got there, they had won four games (in 2019). And when we got here eight months ago, (the Tigers) were 7-6,” Kiffin said. “So, I think it’s a really good thing that I think a lot of people could look at it and say, ’Hey, both sides are doing really well, and both sides won.'”

There can be only one winner this weekend, and Kiffin acknowledged the novelty of participating in a matchup featuring “one team that you built and now a new team that you're building — probably a really unusual situation that way.”

And Kiffin figures paranoia is running high within each program because of how much each staff knows about the other.

“I’m sure both places are already worried about leaks within the building getting game plans out,” Kiffin said, perhaps in reference to recent revelations that Ole Miss conducted a sweep of its facility for recording devices after Kiffin left Oxford.

“I know, obviously, a lot's going to be made about me,” Kiffin said. “But this is about the players being prepared really well and playing really well. I'm not going to tackle anybody. I'm not going to throw any touchdowns.”

No, he won't. But he'll have plenty to do with what happens on the field, and off, during a game that will be widely watched and long remembered.

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BATON ROUGE - Despite Lane Kiffin's LSU football winning in week two 45-14 against Louisiana Tech, the mood was somewhat toned down following the win, certainly when compared to the highs the Tigers and their fanbase enjoyed following their week one rout of Clemson.

The LSU offense struggled for much of the game, with four turnovers in the first half. Three of those were interceptions thrown by Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt.

"One of them I do think was just a missed throw, but I do think I was trying to force a lot, especially in the red zone; we were just struggling a little bit," said Leavitt postgame. "I felt like I had to put it on my shoulders, and it just hurt us."

Kiffin said postgame that Leaviit needs to do a better job of protecting the ball. Leavitt has four interceptions through two games this season.

With such a big game on the schedule in week three-at Ole Miss in primetime on Saturday night-perhaps a somewhat frustrating game against a Sun Belt team wasn't the worst thing that could've happened to the Tigers before heading into Oxford, Miss.

"Maybe it was perfect for us," said Kiffin. "If we play good on offense and the game is 70-7 or something, then we don't have [the players'] attention. Maybe it's what we needed."

Heading into their week three matchup, the Tigers and Rebels are both ranked in the top ten in the AP Poll.

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DETROIT - The New Orleans Saints went from trailing 21-0 at hostile Ford Field to an overtime two-point attempt for a chance to win the game.

Kellen Moore's gamble fell just short, with Tyler Shough unable to connect with Bryce Lance in the end zone.

After throwing his second interception of the game at the start of the third quarter and losing a fumble on the very next drive, Tyler Shough led four straight scoring drives for the Saints. New Orleans even had a chance to win the game as time expired in regulation, but Daniel Carlson's 62-yard field goal attempt was wide right.

With the Saints losing in week one, every team in the NFC South is 0-1 to start the season. Week two brings another stiff opponent for New Orleans, as they head to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU climbed to No. 7 in the AP Poll heading into a Week Three matchup against Ole Miss.

The Tigers rose from No. 8 following their 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech in Death Valley. 

The full AP Poll rankings can be found below: 

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Indiana
5. Miami
6. Ohio State
7. LSU
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas A&M
10. Alabama
11. BYU
12. USC
13. Texas Tech
14. Penn State
15. Tennessee
16. SMU
17. Utah
18. Iowa
19. Michigan
20. Missouri
21. Oregon
22. Houston
23. Louisville
24. Oklahoma
25. Virginia

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