Lane Kiffin Talks Sam Leavitt, Offensive Line Issues & Texas A&M Matchup

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin met with reporters Monday to discuss Saturday's 32-24 loss to Ole Miss and preview the Tigers' upcoming matchup against Texas A&M.

Kiffin addressed Sam Leavitt's struggles against the Rebels, LSU's offensive line issues, the challenges of containing Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, and how the team is moving forward after its first loss of the season.

Here's a recap of Kiffin's comments from Monday's press conference:

On moving on from the emotional loss to Ole Miss:

Lane Kiffin: "I think it was a lot (of emotions). Obviously I talked about mine right after the game when I was asked, but I think that they went through a lot... I think initially was like one feeling with that happening and losing the game.

"And then like I said, I went through it yesterday watching the film and they went through it this morning watching the film, going, 'Wait, the game was right there to be won.'"

Kiffin added that he believes the players' emotions had improved since Saturday night, but watching the film Monday morning brought back some of the frustration as they saw the missed opportunities to win the game.

On what needs to improve with the offensive line:

Lane Kiffin: "Pass protection, too many breakdowns in 1-on-1 matchups."

Kiffin added that he believes the offensive line is performing well in the running game but needs to improve in pass protection.

On Sam Leavitt's struggles vs. Ole Miss:

Lane Kiffin: "When you get impacted early in the game by rush, which (Ole Miss) did a really good job with, you can't step up and throw in rhythm. It affects you. Confidence is fragile at every position, but especially at QB."

How LSU can improve in the passing game:

Lane Kiffin: "I think we've got to do a better job in our passing game of being consistent with more completions. We have a lot of incompletions, a lot of dead plays where you're not getting anything, and you're not making the defense run sideline-to-sideline when you're not completing the ball, and that's been part of it.

"So just dealing with that and getting guys' hands down and getting the ball in the throwing lanes."

On Texas A&M taking over Tiger Stadium last season, and how to prevent that from happening again:

Lane Kiffin: "By winning and getting up. That's what happens in this sport."

Kiffin pointed to Texas A&M's game this past weekend as an example of how the same thing can happen to any team. He emphasized that preventing an opposing fan base from taking over comes down to playing well and winning.

On LSU's struggles against Marcel Reed the last two seasons and the challenges of containing him.

Lane Kiffin: "This is a big test. Like you said, we've struggled here with him before. I think we lead the country in run defense, but that hasn't been against a ton of QB schemed runs. Last week was just him making stuff on his own... So that's a different set of challenges. Takes a lot of discipline."

On playing the highlights of the next opponent playing on TVs throughout the facility?

Lane Kiffin: "Just to make sure their mind is always going to the next game and not on the last one. Whether you win or lose, we do the same thing."