Based on comments on social media and various message boards, there was never much belief LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt wouldn’t play Saturday night against No. 8 Ole Miss.
Leavitt surprised many people when his name was listed as doubtful in the initial Student-Athlete Availability Report. But multiple reports stated that Ole Miss coaches weren’t putting much stock into the report.
“I got the text before the report went out from Lane,” Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said via The Pat McAfee Show. “Like, ‘Hey, our quarterback’s out.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, buddy, I bet he is. I’ve been around here a lot of Wednesdays with you for three and a half years.’”
Pete Golding says Lane Kiffin texted him prior to Sam Leavitt being listed as “Doubtful” on the Wednesday night availability report:
“I got a text from Lane, ‘Our quarterback is out.’
“Yeah buddy, I bet he is.”
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) September 19, 2026
Turns out that was the right approach to take. After being upgraded to questionable Thursday, Leavitt was completely removed from the report in Friday night’s updated report.
Was Leavitt actually injured or hurt? Maybe. Football is a violent sport and injuries are common, power substation nearby or not. Leavitt was reported to have missed Wednesday’s practice, which is how he ended up on the availability report.
It’ll be interesting to hear LSU coach Lane Kiffin explain how Leavitt went from doubtful (meaning a 1-in-4 chance of playing in the game) to off the report entirely.
But whatever the explanation is, we all know this was just gamesmanship. Kiffin and LSU wanted to give Ole Miss something extra to worry about. The only problem is Kiffin has a reputation and nobody believed the boy crying wolf.
However, as much as Ole Miss fans would like to see this, don’t expect the SEC to punish LSU. The penalty wouldn’t be harsh. First-time offenses are fined $25,000. A second offense would result in a $50,000 penalty and beyond that the penalty is $100,000.
Additionally, the program’s head coach could also be subject to discipline.
If the SEC did seek to punish LSU (and considering the Tigers’ attempt to bring NFL players back to college while avoiding any punishment, the SEC might actually pursue this), it would likely argue LSU violated Section 5 of the availability report policy, Duty to Act in Good Faith.
Nothing about putting Leavitt was done in good faith, but finding hard evidence of that won’t be easy and LSU may have checked enough boxes to avoid any punishment.
In the end, all this is a reminder about the lengths college football coaches go to get a winning edge. In this case, though, it was pointless.
Nobody in Oxford believes anything Kiffin says or does, including this whole Leavitt is injured bit.
