Sam Leavitt was upgraded from doubtful to questionable on the SEC availability report Thursday night, improving the odds that LSU’s quarterback plays Saturday at Ole Miss, The Associated Press reported.
Under SEC policy, doubtful means a player has roughly a 25 percent chance of playing. Questionable means 50 percent.
Leavitt did not practice Wednesday because of a physical issue, a person familiar with the situation told the AP on condition of anonymity, because the practice was closed to media.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Leavitt is dealing with a sore throwing shoulder. CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported he did not throw at Wednesday’s practice.
Nothing about the injury was apparent in Saturday’s 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech. Lane Kiffin did not mention Leavitt’s health at his Monday news conference.
The Arizona State transfer has run for five touchdowns and thrown for two in two games. He has completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 574 yards with four interceptions.
Leavitt missed most of spring practice in March and April while recovering from foot surgery he had at Arizona State.
Landen Clark and Husan Longstreet are the backups. Clark, an Elon transfer, has gone 7-of-10 for 109 yards and a touchdown in relief this season. Longstreet is a redshirt freshman who transferred from USC.
The doubtful tag has rarely meant much in this league. Starters were listed doubtful on the Wednesday before a game 46 times in 2025, and four of them played that Saturday.
Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula was one. He played against Oklahoma on Nov. 22 after being listed doubtful that Wednesday. Pribula is now at Virginia.
Kiffin has a history here too. Before Ole Miss played Georgia in 2024, he put as many as 26 players on the injury report. Many of them played in a 28-10 win over the second-ranked Bulldogs.
Coaches can be disciplined for using the reports deceptively or for missing deadlines. The SEC has not punished anyone since it began requiring availability reports in 2024.
Injury reporting spread through college football after the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, leaving regulation to the states.
Saturday is Kiffin’s first game back at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since he left Ole Miss for LSU last November, with the Rebels 11-1 and headed for the College Football Playoff. His LSU contract runs seven years and $91 million.
Pete Golding replaced him and finished 13-2 with a trip to the playoff semifinals.
Both teams are 2-0. LSU beat Clemson 51-10 in the opener, and Ole Miss won at Louisville 41-38 before beating Charlotte 41-9.
Ole Miss beat LSU 24-19 in Oxford last season. The Rebels have allowed 243 passing yards a game, second-worst in the SEC.
This is the first time both teams have entered the Magnolia Bowl ranked in the top 10 since 1962.
LSU is a three-point favorite. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC, and “College GameDay” broadcasts from The Grove beginning at 8 a.m. CT.
