"Played Small Ball": LSU Great Puts Blame on Lane Kiffin After Poor Start to Season

LSU handed Lane Kiffin a reported $91 million contract and spent roughly $40 million on its roster. Apparently, money can buy talent, but not consistency. Six games into his first season, the Tigers are 4-2, have already lost twice in SEC play, and have crashed out of the Top 10. And LSU legend Tyrann Mathieu is questioning why a coach famous for taking risks is suddenly playing it safe.

The latest embarrassment came against Kentucky. LSU led 27-24 with 1:46 remaining, but Kiffin decided to punt on fourth-and-one from his own 43. Kentucky made him pay, driving downfield for a game-tying 33-yard field goal before Kenny Minchey’s two-point conversion sealed a 35-34 overtime win. The Wildcats had pulled off an identical 35-34 escape against South Carolina a week earlier.

“When you play not to lose, you usually end up losing,” Mathieu said about LSU’s loss to Kentucky on the In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu podcast. “And I think with LSU at times, we don’t really know who they are. One week, we’re gun slinging. We willing to gamble the house. And then the next week, we’re playing sort of conservative.”

“We’re hoping for somebody else to make the play,” Mathieu added. That observation cuts straight to Kiffin’s fourth-down decision. He trusted his defense to preserve a three-point lead rather than asking his offense to gain one yard. Kentucky made him pay. And for a coach who built his reputation on aggressive football, that sudden caution is becoming an uncomfortable contradiction.

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Interestingly, Mathieu had reservations about Kiffin long before his first season in Baton Rouge. Back in November 2025, the Rebels were 10-1 and chasing a College Football Playoff berth when LSU came calling. Kiffin was LSU’s top target, but Mathieu wasn’t convinced that abandoning a playoff contender was the best way to demonstrate loyalty.

“Do we want the guy that’s kind of showing us his disloyalty?” Mathieu said, according to On3, in November 2025. “Like, do I really want that guy? I know he’s the best candidate, he’s my No. 1 candidate too, but do I want to deal with that?”

Kiffin eventually left Oxford for Baton Rouge before Ole Miss began its playoff run, leaving Pete Golding in charge. But Mathieu eventually gave him the benefit of the doubt. He later praised Kiffin for embracing the LSU community and reportedly texted him after the Louisiana Tech game to express his appreciation.

“He is saying and doing the right things to be successful,” Mathieu said, according to Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times. “I don’t think LSU will win a championship this year, but they will soon.”

But saying the right things hasn’t stopped LSU from making the wrong decisions. The Tigers showed their potential by beating then-No. 23 Texas A&M 35-6 on September 26, just a week after falling 32-24 to No. 8 Ole Miss. Yet surrendering a late lead against unranked Kentucky has only intensified scrutiny of Kiffin’s game management.

And the schedule isn’t about to get any kinder. No. 16 Mississippi State visits Baton Rouge on Saturday, followed by Auburn, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas. With two SEC losses already on the board, Kiffin has little room for another late-game mistake. For a coach who made his name by taking risks, that fourth-and-one punt might be the most expensive yard he refused to chase.

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