Trap Game or Tune-Up? Sizing up Kentucky on LSU's Football Schedule

Will the Kentucky Wildcats serve as a big midseason test or tune up game for the LSU Tigers in the 2026 season?

Louisiana State Tigers linebacker Tylen Singleton (46) reacts during the second half against the Houston Cougars at NRG Stadium. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The LSU Tigers have high expectations for the 2026 season. After multiple seasons of failing to reach the College Football Playoff and not living up to the expectations that were expected of the program, a change needed to happen.

Enter Lane Liffin, one of the most polarizing characters in the sport, now at the helm of the Tigers after exiting his last program in only a fashion he could. Now, in Baton Rouge, he is expected to meet those expectations with only one offseason under his belt, and in the toughest conference in the country.

The first half of the schedule is brutal for Kiffin and the Tigers, and the midweek point is a week six matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats, who underwent regime change in their own right. With two different coaching staffs, are the Wildcats a potential trap game for the Tigers?

Will the Tigers Be Tested or Trapped?

Louisiana State Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin looks on prior to the game against the Houston Cougars at NRG Stadium. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

In today's age of college football, roster reconstruction after each season is more pertinent than ever, and it's rare to even find a school that has 95 percent or more of the same players from the year before. The Tigers, with Kiffin at the helm, will have the luxury of attracting elite transfer portal talent, which is exactly what they did in the offseason.

With quarterback Sam Leavitt running the high-octane offense that Kiffin has become known for, and a revamped receiving room that features multiple new faces, an explosive offense seems to be in the cards for the Tigers in 2026.

The Wildcats, in contrast, have offensive guru Will Stein on their sideline in his first year as the head coach. and multiple new faces along the offensive line. The rest of the roster is comprised of many of the same players from the 2025 season, but with new schemes in the year on both sides of the ball, there is no guarantee they will be successful.

Add to that the fact that this is a road game for the Tigers, and it won't be easy to land a key win in Lexington, but the Tigers have more talent than the Wildcats. Stein and his team won't be rollovers either, and the Tigers will have to earn the win. Overlooking them could turn it into a trap game, but that shouldn't happen this upcoming year.

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