Lane Kiffin and LSU Football have to MAKE A STATEMENT against Texas A&M this weekend?

Like I said, we're here with Glenn West of 1-3, the Bengal Tiger. Glenn, good morning. Thank you for joining us. Guys, how are you doing today? Doing well. Appreciate you making some time for us here on this Tuesday, or this Wednesday morning. Sorry, I'm not trying to go back in time, but this past weekend is where I want to start. Your thoughts on just everything around that game in Oxford, not really just the football aspect, but from the crowd, to the antics, to the energy, and everything that we kind of witnessed between LSU and Ole Miss this past Saturday. Yeah, look, I had a great experience there this weekend, and I can only speak for myself and all that, but I thought the fan base was really welcoming at Ole Miss. I thought that they were just out there having a good time, and certainly there was a lot of excitement, I think, around this game, and I think once you got into the stadium, things changed a little bit, especially when Lane Kiffin walked onto the field, and when some of the former Ole Miss players that are now at LSU also walked onto the field, especially when you saw them walk past the student section, there was some definite booing and jeering going on there with those guys, but I think, for me personally, it was a great experience, a great college football environment, and once we actually got into the game, you could really feel the tension in the building, which it was really loud in there, it was something that we had been looking forward to for many, many months, and I didn't think it disappointed. I thought it was a really good game, obviously didn't start out the way that LSU wanted it to in that first half, they just dug themselves too big of a hole there going down 24-7 at the break, and I really think the turning point was when LSU was able to kind of cut it down to 17-7 and then allow Ole Miss to go right back down the field and take that 24-7 lead. I thought, man, that's just going to be real tough to come back from, but give LSU credit, they were able to tie it up there in the fourth quarter, but Trinidad Chambliss I think is probably on the fast track to winning the Heisman, and he made all the right plays there in that last drive of the fourth quarter, and LSU got close, but just wasn't able to punch it in, and so here we are, they're 0-1 in SEC play, and how do they respond is going to be the really big question this weekend with another tough matchup against Texas A&M. Exactly right, and I want to ask you just about the defense that you saw, really two different defenses from an LSU standpoint in the first half and the second half. What were, to you, the biggest things you saw change in halftime when they came back out in that second half and were able to force Ole Miss off the field and create turnovers and those different things against that first half where really they kind of got sliced and diced by Trinidad in that Ole Miss offense? Yeah, I mean, Kiffin kind of talked about it after the game, and kind of the conservative game plan they had going in with Chambliss, they just wanted to keep everything in front of them, and I think it kind of, you know, it led to some of those plays there where Chambliss is just such a great improviser that it doesn't matter if things are open at the very beginning, he's going to work his way in the backfield and find ways and bide time until things open up. And so, you know, LSU really got, you know, punched in the mouth there from their game plan perspective coming in, but I thought that Blake Baker adjusted really well. They were more aggressive there in the second half. I think you saw, you know, when Deshaun Spears went out, they slid Jace Thomas into that safety role. They had, you know, at one point, I think they kicked P.J. Woodland in to that slot role, and then they had Jahkeem Jackson at that other cornerback spot, and that's kind of where Jahkeem was able to get his hands on that interception from Chambliss, and they just were more aggressive in the second half. And I thought that if maybe they had been a little bit more aggressive from the start, maybe you're talking about a little bit of a different game and a different outcome. But, you know, they made the adjustments there, but look, I think that also comes down to just this guy, Chambliss, just made some amazing plays. I mean, there were just some throws and some windows that he threw the ball into that you just can't cover. And from an LSU pressure perspective, you know, they were able to get to him a little bit more in the second half. I thought in the first half, there were just some times where Chambliss was able to extend plays and where, you know, you can't really scheme up for. There was one third and five, third and six that I can recall where he got the ball at the 24-yard line, basically backpedaled to, like, the 43, and threw, like, a 25- or 26-yard throw to make a six-yard gain for a first-down conversion. I mean, he was just, you know, playing some backyard football on LSU at times, and there was just really no answers for it. So I think this was probably the most, you know, talented quarterback that LSU will face this season. Hopefully, they can learn a lot of lessons from it and be better this weekend against Marcel Reed. And speaking of quarterback, we'll talk about LSU's quarterback. I just want to see, you know, just kind of get a feel for where you're at on Sam Leavitt. I know, obviously, there's the old adage that everyone's favorite player is the backup quarterback, and you're kind of witnessing that from the LSU fan base after the first three games this season. But where are you at when it comes to Sam Leavitt? Obviously, it was a rough performance Saturday night, but where do you see, and listening to Lane and Winnie yesterday talk about the starting quarterback for the Tigers, where do you stand on the Sam Leavitt front? He's got some things to work on, no doubt, but I don't think that his job security or anything like that is even being considered right now. I think, you know, for as bad as he played in the first half and for as many times as where he probably was too quick to run as opposed to trying to stay in the pocket and hit the open receiver as we saw him in that game, he also made some really great plays to get LSU back into that game as well. And so, you know, I think you got to take the good with the bad. You can't always just focus on the bad, and I know that that's the knee-jerk reaction when you lose the game and when you see some of the plays that LSU missed, some of the opportunities that they missed offensively, especially in the passing game. That's obviously the first reaction you're going to have, and it's not the wrong reaction because Leavitt's got a lot of stuff he's got to work on here. He's got to be, he's got to not have such happy feet, I think. You know, he's got to be able to, you know, avoid pressure and use his athleticism to his advantage from a passing perspective as well. And that's what I thought Shambles did really well on Saturday. You know, he was able to get out of some pressures, get out of some good pass rushes there from LSU. But he did it in a way that where he was always keeping his eyes downfield, he was always looking for that play to open up, and he was always there and ready to make the throw when it happened. And I think that that's something that Leavitt is still very much learning here in his football career. And, you know, whether or not that's something that's correctable in season, I think, is another question that you have to ask. But I think in the meantime, what he can do is just try to find some different ways to have some more poise back there. And I think that the big thing that I always come out of, you know, whenever you see a performance like that is, you know, what's the reaction from the coaching staff? And like Blaine Kiffin and Charlie Weiss and those guys are still 110 percent behind Leavitt. If they didn't think that he was the guy, I think that they would have been considering some changes by now. But I think that they clearly think he's the best option for them right now. And I don't see that changing anytime soon. And then just from the offensive line, I think, is the next place people go offensively with the struggles. And I think that there is, you know, I completely agree with you on the Leavitt front that I think Leavitt's the guy. I think both Lane and Winnie kind of confirmed that for you over the last two days when they talked about it. But I do kind of have a feeling that you might see some shakeup just the way Lane's talked about that offensive line. Where do you see maybe some of that shakeup happening and what could the offensive line look like on Saturday for the Tigers? Yeah, I would be a little hesitant to make huge, over-sweeping changes to the O-line just because I do think if there's one element of this offense that you think is working right now and that those guys have done a pretty good job on, it's been the run game. And so, you know, if you're out there and you're changing two or three positions, you know, in the course of a week, you know, that could have a backfire effect. You know, if you slightly improve the pass rush or the pass blocking, but it diminishes your run blocking ability, then, you know, what have you really gained kind of a thing. But I do think that there are some things schematically that they'll try to switch up on the offensive line. I think if there's one spot that you look at, you know, I think you got to first go to left guard. I mean, it was just a really rough game from Bowe, you know, on Saturday. And so maybe they try, you know, Dylan Harper, no, sorry, Dylan Harper, Devin Harper or Jaquan Sprinkle at that left guard spot. Maybe they slide one of those two guys in there to kind of give them a little bit of a different look. But, you know, I think, you know, Weston Davis is another name that is going to be brought up in terms of just sell. She'd make a move there. I don't think so. Like, I think that they still like what Weston can do from a run blocking perspective. I think that on the on the Dylan Jones touchdown or one of the touchdown runs that they had, you know, they ran off of the right tackle and Weston made a nice block there to get in the end zone. So I think that you maybe start small with maybe a move at left guard. And if things are still, you know, not working, then maybe you get into the McNeese week and into the Kentucky week and maybe think about some deeper changes there. But I think from an offensive line perspective, you just you got to get more physicality in the passing game and you got to be able to protect level a little bit more consistently. But I think that they're doing a OK job in the run game. And I think that's kind of where LSU has to bread its butter right now. And when you think about the game this past Saturday night, to me, the biggest losses weren't the actual game itself. It's Deshaun Spears and Trae Desgreen going down in those football games and both being out for the foreseeable future for the Tigers. How big are those losses on the offense and the defensive side? And how do you see LSU kind of or who do you see stepping up for the Tigers to kind of fill those holes and make it to where it's not as big of a loss as it feels right now? Well, I appreciate, you know, for just rambling over the fact that I said bread your butter instead of butter your bread. So thank you for getting straight into the next question there. But no, look, those are obviously two massive losses. And, you know, trade as thank God, you know, in terms of bad news, it's about as good news as you can get with bad news kind of a thing, you know, in terms of him not having the tear hat, not having to miss the rest of the season, it looks like he, you know, could have an opportunity to return at some point this year, we just don't know when. But you know, he's such an immeasurable loss, like, I mean, he is somebody that this passing game revolves so heavily around. And so it's going to be really tough for LSU to recreate that, you know, I think the genius of Kiffin and Weiss is really going to be tested here over the next several weeks, you know, in the meantime, with this passing game and how they can find ways to get it going a little bit better without green. But, you know, look, there's there's no replacing that guy in this offense right now. I think Zach Grace is somebody that you can throw out there from a blocking perspective and, you know, maybe throw a pass or two, you know, his direction at some point. But, you know, he's not going to make that kind of an impact from a passing game perspective. Malachi Thomas, you know, Kiffin even said it earlier this week that he's been somebody that's just had a really up and down offseason and season for LSU so far. So I'm not sure how much they trust him right now, but they might have to lean on him a little bit more here going forward and we'll see what he does with those opportunities. But, you know, I just I think you're going to have to lean into the run game offensively without green. In the meantime, I really do, you know, I think Levitt and these receivers are going to have to just continue to work together and try to find ways to operate more efficiently and more consistently over the next several weeks. But, you know, we got we got we got to see it first. Right. I mean, like there's just so many guys right now that, you know, don't have the production that I think many of what we thought could have coming into the season. It's been pretty much Winston Watkins and Eugene Wilson there. And, you know, we got to see some other guys step up. And so I'll be very curious to see that on the defensive side of the ball with the Spears loss. Obviously, you know, you hope that he can come back as soon as he can. But those ACLs, man, that's that's a rough one. And, you know, hopefully he can get back sooner than later. But I do think that at least in the secondary, you have some options there. And we saw them. We saw LSU kind of play out a lot of what they had there in that second half, whether it was having a three safety look with Jace Thomas to Marcus Cooley and Ty Benefield. You know, there were some times there where, you know, they slid P.J. Woodland into that slot, you know, slash nickel roll. And they had to team Jackson as the other cornerback opposite of D.J. Pickett. Like there are some ways in which LSU, you know, C.J. C.J. Jim Coyley played a little bit there in that star role in the first half and maybe a little bit less so in the second half. So like there are some ways that LSU can kind of overcome that loss a little bit more than I think LSU can overcome the green loss, for example. But no doubt those are two significant pieces that you would love to have in your arsenal going forward. And you're going to have to figure out the best way forward without them for for the meantime. And then from speaking of Ty Benefield, I felt like it was a rough first half on some plays by him. And then he really, really when the defense kind of shifted in the second half, you saw kind of why he fits this Blake Baker defense. What did you see from LSU's top safety this season, Ty Benefield? I thought he was great the first two weeks, just didn't have a whole lot of opportunities there in those first two games. And I thought this one was one that he was highlighted a little bit more. And, you know, there were some good plays, you know, obviously he had the pressure there that helped lead the interception. He had some some good plays there and throughout the course of the game. I think the one that kind of sticks out to me, though, is that last touchdown run that Chambliss had, you know, he was able to get to the outside and Benefield took a pretty bad angle there on that one. And Chambliss was able to score that 14 yard touchdown that ultimately was the game winner. And so I think Ty would be the first to tell you there's a lot that he wants to improve upon. When looking back at that film, I think, you know, this is a lot of learning lessons that LSU's defense can take away in totality from this last game. And so I'll be very curious to see how they come out this weekend, because, you know, look, Marcel Reed is not going to beat you with his arm. He can beat you with his legs. And he's shown that the last two years. And I do think that the way that this LSU defense has improved has been in the run game so far. And so, you know, I think there's there's some reason to have some hope and some faith that, you know, Reed won't do this to him again with his legs. But you got to go out there and you got to prove it on Saturday. And then speaking of Saturday, how big of a game is this for LSU in just the Lane Kiffin era? I mean, a year ago, LSU loses their first game to Ole Miss. Then you see the spiral that transpired after the fact that they start 4-0. They lose the first game and then they only win three more games from then on out with ugly wins over bad South Carolina, Arkansas and Western Kentucky teams. And it kind of obviously led to the firing of your head coach and the new regime you have now. You've now suffered your first loss of the Lane Kiffin era. And, you know, when you talk about where coaches earn their money, a lot of it is how can you get your team to respond to adversity and bounce back from it? This is the first opportunity for Lane Kiffin at LSU. How big is it this weekend to take care of business in Tiger Stadium, get some revenge for the A&M game last year and keep your season alive really against the Aggies? This is a massively important game. I mean, if you just think about where we were and thought process coming into the season, if you were to leave September with two losses, that would be such a deflating, disappointing start to this new era here. So they've really got to they've got to they've got to they've got to win this game. Like this is, you know, this is the game, whichever team starts 0-2 in SEC play this year in between A&M and LSU, that's going to be a massively disappointing season for both of those teams, because, you know, it's it's you know, you have zero room for error here going forward if you lose this game on Saturday night. So they're at a they're at a crossroads for this season. And, you know, I don't think, you know, when you look at it big picture for the Lane Kiffin era, like it would be a huge disappointment to come out with two straight losses in conference play. But, you know, it's it's you got your guy like this is the guy that they feel long term is the guy that's going to help lead them back to a national championship. And so, you know, yes, it would be very deflating and disappointing to kind of start the new era off this way. But, you know, you're hoping you're going to have a longer lease here to have greater success in future years. And so we'll see kind of what happens there. But I think that LSU on paper, this matchup is a favorable one for them. I think if they're able to slow Marcel Reed down, then that that really helps their chances because that's, I think, the one guy that can kill them and hurt them in this game from a defensive perspective. And then offensively, I don't know what to expect, to be honest with you. Like, I think that Kiffin and Weiss are going to have some real work to do here over the next couple of weeks to prove that they can get this offense a little bit more consistent and and using every bit of their creative geniuses to do that in the process. So I'm excited to see it, though. I'm excited to see kind of what happens there with the offense and just kind of how they adjust without trade as and where maybe they lean in, what maybe they lean into a little bit more. I think you're going to probably have to lean heavily into the run game going forward here. And I'll be interested to see kind of what that looks like. And we kind of did this, this, I guess, mental exercise this morning when we're thinking about this season, it just I started to think about the twenty twenty two season, the first year of Brian Kelly and think about some of the similarities. And of course, there were differences between this this year, one of Lane Kiffin versus year one of Brian Kelly. But there are similarities. And I was thinking back to, you know, LSU started off two and one like LSU is right now and trying to think of where my mindset was then. But then I really started to think about after the Tennessee game when LSU was four and two and kind of the season's over because it's the 14 playoff and you can't get in with two losses and the quarterback play had been subpar up to that point. You just weren't feeling good about where LSU was. And then you see what that season turned into. Does that not kind of, you know, I guess the lesson to be learned is as much as it you know, you may feel how you feel right now about that game on Saturday. There is so much football left to be played and so much can change within one season. Absolutely. I mean, if LSU goes out this weekend and wins by, you know, 10, 14 points and goes into that McNeese game and, you know, you can kind of lick your wounds a little bit more, try to have some more time to figure some stuff out, then, you know, you can you can the thing that I've learned in covering college football over the years is that it's never as bad as it seems when you lose a game and it's never as good as you seems when you win a game. And, you know, I think for for LSU right now, you know, the the the the the thing that they just can't let happen is to let last week ripple into this week. And that's going to be a major mental test for this group, for these players, because, you know, I think that those guys came into this year with this Ole Miss game for some for some as a as one that they had circled and red and blue Sharpie. And so they needed to. So coming off of that, you know, emotional game, they have to, you know, find a way to pick themselves up quickly here and get this one against the Aggies. But, you know, I think, you know, to your point, Noah, like there's just there's there's there is so much football left to be played here that this thing can still, you know, this isn't this isn't the end of the season by losing this last game. But it can be if you let it ripple in and let it let it fester here into this week's performance. And, you know, if you're all of a sudden sitting here at the end of September, oh, and two in conference play, you have a really, really, really long haul to try to rectify that and get back on track, because I just the way that the schedule is set up, I'm not sure that it's attainable. And this weekend versus Texas A&M, a top 25 matchup of the utmost importance, like we said, what is, in your opinion, if LSU does this one thing right there, then they take care of business and they win in Death Valley on Saturday night. What is that one thing to you? I think it comes down to two things, to be honest with you. I think it comes down to slowing Marcel Reid down on defense from from a run game perspective and with his legs, if you make him beat you with his arm, I don't think he's going to beat you with his arm, but he can beat you with his legs. And then offensively, it's going to be finishing drives in the red zone like they've been. If you look at the numbers, they've been pretty good in terms of scoring when they get into the red zone. But there's been a lot of field goals. There's been some turnovers. There's been opportunities where where they've missed, you know, scoring touchdowns in the red zone. And that's something that historically Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weiss have been very good at over their over their careers offensively. And so finishing with touchdowns in the red zone is going to be critical when you get those opportunities offensively. And I think those are probably two of the big points here that if LSU is able to do that, that they walk away with a win on Saturday night. Last one I've got for you. What do you expect from an atmosphere standpoint on Saturday after the first loss of the Kiffin era? Obviously, it's a sold out crowd, but do you expect it to be obviously it's lost a little bit of his luster this game because it's not a top 10 matchup, but it's a Saturday night in Death Valley. What do you expect from the LSU fan base this weekend? Yeah, I would. I would think that the fan base is very much dialed into this game. If nothing else, then just for rectifying what happened last year, I mean, like last year, A&M took over the stadium and that is not a great feeling when you're a fan base like LSU and in that historic venue like Tiger Stadium, when another team comes in there and basically steals your lunch and is cheering while doing it in the fourth quarter with nobody there except for their fans. So I think LSU is going to have something to prove on the field. And I think the fan base is going to have something to prove in the stands as well. And so I would expect it to be a packed house. I would expect them to be loud and proud and trying to get this team back in the win column because yeah, you can be frustrated with how last week went, but it's the same thing for the fan base. Like if you let that fester into this week as well and it's not as good of a crowd or it's a crowd that is quick to turn on the team or something, then that is not what you want to see. And so I think it's going to be a big weekend all around for LSU and for the fans. But I do think it's going to be one that LSU is very much capable of winning and the fans are going to have a great time. Well, Glenn, we appreciate you make some time for us as always. What do you all have coming up and going on over with the Bengal Tiger on three? Yeah, we're very much into our week to week process here with the game. We got our fact or fiction piece up this morning with, you know, basically looking at five statements and opinions that we've seen over the since LSU's loss and kind of giving our deeper thoughts on, you know, what's what's true and what's not true about this season and about this team going forward. But we've got a lot of great stuff coming over here. But I appreciate you guys always have me on as always. And let's do it again soon. Sounds good. We'll talk to you again soon. Thank you again for make some time. Thanks, guys. There he is. Glenn West, one of the best in the business over there with the Bengal Tiger on three. Appreciate him. Always make some time for us. All the great insight.