Leavitt Gives Ole Miss Two Problems

Sam Leavitt spent three days travelling from doubtful to questionable to absent from LSU’s injury report. College football has produced less elaborate journeys across entire conferences.

Now Pete Golding gets the problem he was preparing for anyway. The Ole Miss coach has singled out Leavitt’s ability to escape the pocket and become an explosive runner. LSU’s quarterback has already rushed for 135 yards and five touchdowns, turning broken structure into part of the offense rather than an emergency procedure.

Golding wants the game played somewhere less adventurous: inside the pocket. That is where Saturday becomes interesting. Leavitt has also thrown four interceptions in two games.

Bookmaker Sportsbook opening line: LSU -3 at -103, Ole Miss +3 at -113. The total opened at 58.5 points, over -112 and under -104. LSU are -158 on the moneyline, with Ole Miss +141. My lean is Ole Miss +3 at -113.

Ole Miss Has Chosen Its Poison

Golding’s preparation has been unusually specific. He praised Leavitt’s arm and ability to extend plays, but what surprised him was the quarterback’s speed once he decides to run. His preferred response is to make Leavitt operate as a pocket passer.

There is a rather obvious catch. Leavitt threw for 344 yards against Louisiana Tech last week. He also threw three first-half interceptions.

Containment therefore creates a fascinating exchange. Ole Miss can reduce the rushing threat that has already produced five touchdowns, but doing so invites Leavitt to attack a secondary that will be without Victor Lincoln Jr. and has Cedrick Beavers listed doubtful.

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Four Interceptions Follow Him to Oxford

LSU’s offense has produced explosive numbers without becoming particularly tidy. Leavitt has completed 41 of 66 passes for 574 yards through two games. The four interceptions sit alongside only two passing touchdowns, though his legs have repeatedly fixed the math.

Oxford offers a less forgiving place for another round of self-correction. Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles anchors the interior of a defense Golding knows intimately, while Leavitt’s movement changes the geometry outside it. If Ole Miss keeps rush lanes disciplined rather than simply chasing the quarterback, LSU’s possessions can run longer and depend more on Leavitt making consecutive clean decisions.

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Chambliss Makes Three Feel Larger

The other quarterback supplies the reason three points matter. Trinidad Chambliss has thrown for 561 yards through two games and has a passing touchdown in 15 consecutive appearances. Against LSU last season, he threw for 314 yards and added 71 rushing yards.

Kiffin’s assessment this week was revealing: Chambliss “doesn’t make many mistakes.” That contrasts rather inconveniently with LSU’s four interceptions.

Ole Miss can also place Kewan Lacy beside him. Lacy has scored a rushing touchdown in 11 consecutive games, and the leg issue that interrupted his opener against Louisville has not placed him on the current availability report. Backup Makhi Frazier is probable.

LSU may still possess the greater explosive ceiling, particularly if Leavitt’s midweek issue proves irrelevant. The risk to the wager is straightforward: Ole Miss’ depleted secondary gives him opportunities to turn one missed assignment into seven points.

But LSU -3 asks Leavitt to produce those explosives while protecting the ball against a defense specifically preparing to keep him in the pocket.

Ole Miss has Chambliss, Lacy, home field, and three points. Kiffin gets the reunion. Golding gets the number.

Betting lean: Ole Miss +3 at -113.

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