Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers cruised past McNeese State 63-14 on Saturday. However, a halftime comment from Kiffin about wide receiver Winston "Winnie" Watkins quickly split college football fans.
During an interview with the SEC Network, Kiffin was asked about the Tigers' performance after they had a 35-0 lead. Instead of simply discussing the team's dominant first half, the LSU coach specifically pointed to Watkins' mistakes.
"One player, Winnie Watkins, drops two touchdowns," Kiffin said. "Put a freshman in behind him, and he went and scored two touchdowns, so that was good to see."
Some fans viewed Kiffin's comments as blunt coaching, while others felt the coach went too far by singling out one of his players during a nationally televised interview.
One fan compared Kiffin's approach to former Alabama coach Nick Saban, writing, "trying too hard to be Saban lol."
Another wrote, "Saban 2.0."
Another wrote, "To me, that was a dig!"
But some felt Kiffin could have handled the situation differently.
"Hey Lane, maybe you don't need to name drop the player as you head into the half… you could just talk to him in the locker room like a real leader," one fan wrote.
Another fan wrote, "It's what Kiffin actually said that stung. He said Winnie dropped 2 TD passes so we put a freshman in and let him score."
However, others defended Kiffin's decision to call out the mistakes.
"Y'all mad he told the truth? #truthhurts," one commenter wrote.
Another fan wrote: "Coach ain't playing."
One fan described Kiffin's approach as "definitely brutally honest."
Watkins, who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss to LSU, had been one of the Tigers' more consistent receivers entering the matchup. His two missed opportunities stood out, even as LSU controlled the game from start to finish.
While the debate surrounding Watkins' drops continued, LSU had little trouble playing against McNeese. The Tigers finished with 730 total yards, the second-highest single-game total in program history.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt completed 18 of 23 passes for 176 yards , three touchdowns and one interception, while Harlem Berry rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown. Stacy Gage also scored two touchdowns on just six carries while rushing for 110 yards .
LSU's defense held McNeese to 196 total yards and forced the Cowboys to convert only one of 12 third-down attempts.
The Tigers improved to 4-1 and will now return to SEC play with their next matchup against Kentucky
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