Consider college football legend Nick Saban among the non-believers regarding quarterback Sam Leavitt's status ahead of this weekend's huge game. Saturday night brings a showdown in Oxford, Mississippi, as head coach Lane Kiffin returns with his new team, the LSU Tigers, to face his former team, the Ole Miss Rebels. However, Leavitt was listed as "doubtful" earlier this week and upgraded to "questionable" within the past day, per ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Saban didn't hesitate to reveal his thoughts on the matter, saying he "100%" expects Leavitt to play in Saturday's game. The former Alabama head coach spoke about the situation on Friday's "The Pat McAfee Show," suggesting that Kiffin was using some mental warfare to mess with the Rebels' defensive players. More news: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney Stunned by His Surprising College Coach Ranking "If I was a betting man I would say there's absolutely nothing wrong with Sam Leavitt," Saban said.
"I would be actually psychologically telling the [Ole Miss] defensive players that this doesn't matter. Sam Leavitt's gonna play; he's gonna be the best; we gotta stop him." "Don't lose your edge because you think he's not gonna play and then he shows up and it's a downer," he said. It's unclear what injury Leavitt has, as he didn't appear to be in any pain or suffer any reported injuries during LSU's win over Louisiana Tech last weekend.
So this very well could be a strategic tactic that Kiffin is using. There should be an update on Friday night, or 90 minutes before kickoff, about whether Leavitt is playing or will be out for this huge game in Oxford. Leavitt, a junior transfer from Arizona State, currently has 574 passing yards and two touchdown passes, with four interceptions.
Kiffin is facing his former defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, who was promoted to head coach upon Kiffin's move to LSU. LSU has Elon transfer Landen Clark as their backup if Leavitt doesn't play. However, according to Saban, everyone, including others in the SEC will "move on" with LSU's injury report once it gets updated and Leavitt is playing.
The No. 7 LSU Tigers face the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. More news: Ryan Day Sends Clear Message on Ohio State After Stunning Loss to Texas For more about college football, head over to Newsweek Sports.
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