BATON ROUGE (Interstat) — Sam Leavitt threw for 344 yards and LSU pulled away from Louisiana Tech for a 45-14 victory on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers, the home team, improved to 2-0. The Bulldogs, the visiting team, fell to 1-1. Attendance was 102,321 at Tiger Stadium. LSU scored 10 points in the first quarter, 14 in the second and 21 in the third. Louisiana Tech scored seven points in the first quarter and seven in the third.

Leavitt, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback from West Linn, Ore., completed 25 of 38 passes for 344 yards. He also ran 11 times for 22 yards, recorded one tackle and accounted for multiple touchdowns. He scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and added two more rushing touchdowns. Landen Clark, a 6-foot, 186-pound quarterback from Radford, Va., completed 2 of 3 passes for 37 yards, ran three times for 19 yards and scored on a 7-yard run. Scott Starzyk kicked field goals of 29, 25 and 23 yards. Jackson Harris caught three passes for 80 yards, and Tyree Holloway had two receptions for 37 yards.

LSU opened the scoring when Starzyk made a 29-yard field goal with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter. Leavitt then ran left for a 5-yard touchdown with 3:46 left in the opening quarter, and Starzyk added the extra point. Louisiana Tech’s Kaegan Kent missed a 54-yard field goal with 13:07 remaining in the second quarter. The Bulldogs got on the board when Jordan McRae intercepted Leavitt at the Louisiana Tech goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown with 1:53 remaining in the second quarter. Kent made the extra point. Starzyk answered with a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter. Leavitt later scored on a 9-yard run, and LSU completed a successful pass attempt on the extra-point try. Starzyk made a 23-yard field goal later in the third. Leavitt added a 5-yard touchdown run, Baker connected with Mickens for a 67-yard touchdown, and Clark scored on a 7-yard run.

Louisiana Tech quarterback Blake Baker, a 6-foot-5, 224-pound quarterback from Cypress, Texas, completed 11 of 21 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. He also had one reception for no yards. Jalen Mickens caught six passes for 101 yards and a 67-yard touchdown. Eli Finley added two receptions for 15 yards. Johnnie Thiel IV had one catch for 12 yards, Talyn Shettron had one for 6 yards, Marcus Calwise Jr. had one for 3 yards and Luke Watkins had one for 3 yards. Sergio Snider ran twice for 8 yards, and Jaden Miller carried six times for 3 yards. Lexington Matthews punted six times for 294 yards. Dedrick Latulas returned one kickoff for 32 yards and one punt for 1 yard. Kaegan Kent missed a 54-yard field goal.

Jordan McRae led Louisiana Tech’s defensive effort with 11 tackles, an interception and a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. Alonzo Jackson Jr. had 12 tackles and three sacks. Ty Jones made nine tackles. Taeden Rogers and Sam Fongang each had eight tackles. Zheric Hill recorded five tackles and an interception. Kam Franklin had three tackles and an interception. Kolbe Fields finished with five tackles and one quarterback hurry. Lane Condry added two sacks. Jadon Mayfield had four tackles. Justice Williams had one quarterback hurry. Kaleb Coleman made three tackles. Judd Rouyea, Hayden Christman and MJ Moultrie II each made multiple tackles. Cole Watson finished with three tackles. Janard Lockhardt had two tackles. Ayden Combs, Jojo Odom, David Pierro, Demario Bookhart, Jacob Bradford, Amari Butler, Will Hutchens and Donovan Rieman also contributed stops.

LSU’s defense was paced by TJ Dottery, who had nine tackles and one quarterback hurry. Whit Weeks made seven tackles. Princewill Umanmielen had five tackles and three sacks. Deuce Geralds finished with four tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Kolaj Cobbins had three tackles and one quarterback hurry. Jordan Ross added three tackles and half a sack. Tamarcus Cooley made two tackles. Jhase Thomas also appeared in the secondary for the Tigers. Jackson Harris caught three passes for 80 yards, and Tyree Holloway had two receptions for 37 yards.

Additional LSU defensive contributors included Jordan Ross, who had three tackles and half a sack, and Kolaj Cobbins, who had three tackles and one quarterback hurry. Tamarcus Cooley made two tackles. For Louisiana Tech, Kaleb Coleman had three tackles. Will Hutchens, Donovan Rieman, Jacob Bradford, Amari Butler, Demario Bookhart, David Pierro, Jojo Odom and Ayden Combs each made one tackle. Kameron Carter and Kaegan Kent also appeared in the game. Jadon Mayfield made four tackles, and Justice Williams had one quarterback hurry. Lane Condry added two sacks. MJ Moultrie II had three tackles. Kam Franklin had three tackles and an interception. Cole Watson finished with three tackles. Janard Lockhardt had two tackles. Hayden Christman and Judd Rouyea each made two tackles.

Louisiana Tech’s defense recorded five sacks, including three by Alonzo Jackson Jr. and two by Lane Condry. LSU’s defense recorded four sacks, including three by Princewill Umanmielen and one by Deuce Geralds.

LSU entered the game after a 51-10 home win over Clemson on Sept. 5. Louisiana Tech opened its season with an 80-6 home win over Northwestern State on Sept. 5. LSU’s next game is at Ole Miss on Sept. 19. Louisiana Tech’s next game is at Baylor on Sept. 19.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of LSU 37, Louisiana Tech 22. Interstat’s ELO system had projected LSU with a 97.5 percent probability to win. Louisiana Tech had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +35.5. The total score of 59 went under the over/under line of 55.5.