AUBURN, ALABAMA - OCTOBER 24: Jordan Ross #29 of the LSU Tigers in action against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images) ZachNunez Mon, October 26, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC · 5 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After eight weeks, we probably do not need to make the NHL "Three Stars of the Week" comparison anymore, so here is how David Billiot Jr. and I snake-drafted our Stripes of the Week for our podcast, Geaux Deep Dive, for Week 8. After such a dominating win, it was difficult to pick just three players each this week.
Three Stripes: Sam Leavitt (Zach), Jackson Harris (David)
On a bad hamstring, Sam Leavitt, for the second week in a row, earns three stripes. The back-to-back honors were enough to push him one stripe ahead of Deuce Geralds for the season lead heading into the bye week. It is deserved. Over the past two weeks, Leavitt has completed 63 of his 83 pass attempts for 676 yards and seven touchdowns while carrying the ball 12 times for 65 yards and a touchdown. Over the course of the season, it has kind of been a tale of two tendencies for Leavitt. Early in the season, it felt like he was looking to run too much. Then he hurt his hamstring and was forced to stay and become more of a pocket passer. This week, even with the injury, we saw the most complete version (despite one nearly costly decision) of Sam Leavitt, going 32-of-45 for 387 yards and three touchdowns in the air, with eight carries for 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The important thing for Leavitt now is to keep up the elite play and rest that hamstring during the bye week.
To continue with the theme of fast risers up the Stripes standings, Jackson Harris elevates his two stripes from last week to three this week thanks to his nine catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns. 178 yards is the highest mark by an LSU receiver since Malik Nabers' 239 yards in 2023 Week 3 at Mississippi State. With defenses starting to focus more on Winston Watkins Jr. after his performances to start the season, along with Trey'Dez Green going down with an injury, Harris has thrust his name into the conversation for one of the best wide receivers in the SEC.
Two Stripes: Jordan Ross (David), PJ Woodland (Zach)
Jordan Ross earned stripes for the second week in a row as well, and he arguably could have been in the three-stripe slot once again. Ross recorded four total tackles and two sacks, along with one pass deflection. The conversation around how good this LSU pass rush has been this season primarily focused on Princewill Umanmielen and Deuce Geralds, but after Princewill missed the majority of the game against Mississippi State, Ross stepped up. With Princewill having returned, the two formed a wrecking crew against Auburn, with three of the team's seven sacks. If both EDGE rushers can stay healthy and perform as they did at Auburn, opposing defenses will have more than their hands full.
This pick could have gone to either PJ Woodland or DJ Pickett, and it probably should have gone to Pickett, but week after week Woodland continues to impress me with his hustle and grit. For a corner, leading the team in tackles without giving up any big plays shows a ton of grit and hustle. Woodland had nine total tackles, seven of which were solo, and one pass broken up. As the rest of the team continues to improve each week, so too does the cornerback duo of Woodland and Pickett.
One Stripe: Trey'Dez Green (Zach), Davhon Keys (David)
It would have been easy for Trey'Dez Green to just sit out until after the bye week and return for Alabama. It would have been just as easy for him to return this week, play minimal snaps, and just run as a decoy. Green took the gritty route and played the majority of the meaningful snaps in this game coming off the injury. Green, according to Lane Kiffin, only came out because Auburn kept trying to hip-drop tackle him late in the game. That grit from Green came in the form of five catches for 50 yards and one touchdown. Green coming back, with Jackson Harris emerging as an elite option, is going to cause nightmares for defensive coordinators trying to decide who they should key in on between Green, Harris and Watkins. Even if you do find a way to cover those three, LSU still has an abundance of talent they can look to after those guys to make defenses pay. The point is, while the offense was successful without Green, he just adds another dynamic weapon to the SEC's top offense.
In games like this, we tend to look deep to find players who may not always be at the forefront of everyone's mind to give them some deserved recognition. We did not have to look far this week. Davhon Keys breaks into the stripes list with seven tackles and a sack. It has been a bit of a winding road since he replaced the injured Whit Weeks, but Keys keeps learning and blossoming into a better player as the season goes on. With Weeks' return on the horizon, Keys may see less playing time, but at the very least, Kiffin and Blake Baker know they can count on Keys to make some plays when he is called on.
Dilin Jones: 24 carries, 94 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 catches, 27 yards Aliou Bah: Second-highest-graded offensive lineman by PFF DJ Pickett: 2 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes broken up TJ Dottery: 6 tackles, 1 sack Princewill Umanmielen: 5 tackles, 1 sack
Source: Sports
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