Any positivity associated with LSU football coming from outside of the program garners the rat poison label from Lane Kiffin.
Humility is not something you can bottle up and drink whenever necessary, but the No. 8 Tigers were supplied with a strong dose of such following Saturday night's sloppy 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech ahead of next weekend's showdown at No. 9 Ole Miss.
The final margin was not indicative of play from the Tigers, who struggled in the red zone, suffered four turnovers, failed to get consistent push along its offensive line and were penalized 10 times.
This was a one-possession game midway through the third quarter, a "C-" performance for a team that looked borderline invincible last time out during their Week 1 demolition of Clemson.
"I think it's a reality check," LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt said after throwing three interceptions. "Such a high like last weekend, it's difficult. You try to really hone in and focus on things to get better at, but because it was so explosive and entertaining, it's hard to find those little details.
"After finding those details, we're going to come back and really hone in on those things and go to work."
Leavitt's ill-timed throw near the goal line late in the second quarter was returned 100 yards for a touchdown as LSU clung to a 13-7 halftime lead as a 35.5-point favorite.
In the opener, LSU pushed out front of Clemson 31-3 at halftime.
"Maybe it's what we needed," Kiffin said of his offense, before mentioning that sluggish play could help coaches "get their attention."
Anchored by the top-ranked portal class this cycle as a projected College Football Playoff team this season, the Tigers can use their magnified walk-through against Louisiana Tech as a reminder of sorts that performances like that during SEC play will end in a different result.
Kiffin's not panicking after his team's series of correctable mistakes.
"We're winning by 31 points and we're really upset," Kiffin said. "We've got a good standard going."
LSU QB Sam Leavitt took a while to get going vs. Louisiana Tech. Getty Images Wake-up call for LSU before war with Ole Miss
LSU's entire offseason ahead of Kiffin's first campaign has been barreling toward this Week 3 conference opener against his former program. Unbeaten and ranked inside the top 15, the Rebels hold aspirations of returning to the CFP, knowing this early barometer test is pivotal.
The Tigers shouldn't have any issues gearing up for this one after last week's victory kickstarted the hype machine and shifted attention away from simple execution against an inferior opponent. This was a valuable teaching point for all parties after LSU lacked urgency and appeared to have spent too much time reading its own press clippings coming out of the opener.
It's an early reminder for a championship-caliber team that praise can disappear quickly.
"We definitely need to practice a little better, be more efficient and practice harder," Leavitt said. "It's funny because a game like last week, you'd think coming into the week everybody's going to get lackadaisical, but I actually think we didn't do that. I thought we put our heads down and went to work.
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"Obviously got to keep going and games like this are going to happen, so it's good to see."
Rebels have early defensive issues
After two games, Ole Miss coach Pete Golding hasn't yet found a secondary rotation he's comfortable with this season. He said after Saturday's 41-9 win over Charlotte that the Rebels will continue rotating players — many of which are first-year transfers — until they figure out the guys who are most sound in coverage and understanding their respective assignments.
Ole Miss surrendered 38 points and 469 total yards in the season-opening win over Louisville before allowing 322 total yards against the 49ers, much of that total coming in the fourth quarter.
"We gave up 12 explosive plays last week for 340 yards. It's hard to beat anybody that way, and to beat a Top 25 team doing that, you're flirting with things," Golding said Saturday night. "I thought we minimized them a little bit. I was super disappointed in the same play recurring. You feel like you get on the sideline and emphasize it after it was something you emphasized all week.
"The attention to detail, the eye control and the fact that it was multiple people is the problem. We have to learn from other guys' mistakes. When we see it on tape and correct it, we have to be able to fix it."
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