The LSU Tigers are headed to Oxford this weekend for one of the most highly anticipated regular season games as Lane Kiffin makes his return to Ole Miss.

On Wednesday evening, the game that already has reached fever pitch hype took another twist — both teams came out with their injury reports.

The Tigers listed starting quarterback Sam Leavitt — who was sensational in LSU’s opener against Clemson — as doubtful to play after missing practice.

Reports surrounding Leavitt indicate a sore throwing shoulder after being held out all together on Wednesday.

NEW: LSU QB Sam Leavitt is dealing with a sore throwing shoulder and has been limited in practice, @PeteNakos reports. https://t.co/zAFk7kTJ9X https://t.co/nJ9DmYikZC pic.twitter.com/s0GX8pdlA5

— On3 (@On3) September 17, 2026

Notably, both On3 ‘s Pete Nakos and ESPN’s Pete Thamel — the two most in-the-know insiders in the sport — revealed on Thursday that the Ole Miss coaching staff believes this is gamesmanship from Kiffin and Leavitt is not actually doubtful to take the field on Saturday night.

No one on the Ole Miss staff is convinced LSU QB Sam Leavitt’s appearance as “doubtful” on the injury report is sincere and he’ll miss the game on Saturday, per sources. https://t.co/iIv6qiYK7q

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 17, 2026

Whether that’s the case or not remains to be seen, but with the Tigers already facing the massive challenge of going into the most hostile environment college football may have to offer, doing it without their starting quarterback would make it even harder.

With another injury report set to come out on Thursday night, it will be fascinating to see whether or not Leavitt is still listed as doubtful.

Tampering with the report and giving false information is against the rules and could result in fines if it could be proven, but as Kiffin has shown since the moment he stepped foot in Baton Rouge, the rules don’t always apply anymore.