Lane Kiffin built his reputation on attacking defenses, and for one night in Lexington, he forgot it. A fourth-and-1 punt late in regulation preceded a 35-34 overtime loss at Kentucky.

Since then, the Tigers have looked like the team Kiffin was hired to build. They beat Mississippi State 31-0 and Auburn 38-17, snapping an eight-game SEC road losing streak.

Auburn arrived fresh off an upset of then-No. 1 Georgia. LSU still delivered its best offensive performance of the season.

The change shows in some specific habits rather than overall confidence. LSU was one of the best offensive units in the country all season, but now that it's being aggressive, it's become one of the scariest offenses in the country.

Fourth-Down Nerves

Kiffin’s clearest sign of the shift came at Auburn, where he kept the offense on the field for a fourth-and-2 from LSU’s own 31.

“Book was fourth and one to go, fourth and two punt,” Kiffin said.

Kiffin said he told himself to “err on the side of being aggressive,” and quarterback Sam Leavitt hit tight end Trey’Dez Green on a trick play for 11 yards. That play capped a 14-play, 95-yard drive that produced a 17-3 lead.

The offense went 3-for-3 on fourth down until the depth pieces failed to convert on one late in the game. Kiffin said the first conversion mattered the most because it kept alive a drive that ended in seven points.

Compare that with the Kentucky game, where he punted on fourth-and-1 from his own 43 with a 27-24 lead and 1:46 left.

“Obviously, now I wish I would have went for it,” Kiffin admitted after the game.

Pushing the Pace

The offense has also taken control of the tempo. At Ole Miss on Sept. 19, LSU managed just 51 passing yards in the first half and trailed 24-7 at the break.

That offensive failure was due to a lack of tempo on the drives, as LSU tried to get every call exactly right, slowing down the pace.

After Kentucky, Kiffin challenged his players to finish opponents even when LSU was ahead. He also told them to play every snap against Mississippi State as if they trailed.

Leavitt said he was “pushing the tempo all day” while the Bulldogs struggled to line up. LSU spent the whole day playing at the pace it wanted, quickly at the beginning and slowing down when it needed to eat the clock later.

LSU outgained Mississippi State - which was missing its starting quarterback - 379 yards to 291 in the 31-0 win.

At Auburn, the Tigers scored on five of six first-half possessions before Kiffin slowed the tempo in the fourth quarter with reserves in the game.

That tempo control wins LSU games.

Throwing Downfield

The vertical attack predates the Kentucky loss. On fourth-and-1 from his own 43 against Texas A&M, Kiffin called a pass, and Jackson Harris scored on a 57-yard touchdown after the Aggies froze on a play-fake.

Before that, LSU had managed to figure out how to control Leavitt's legs and make him throw first and run later.

Jumping that hurdle set Leavitt up with an improved downfield presence, looking stronger and more accurate, leading to an even more aggressive approach that lets LSU's playmakers down the field make plays.

Entering the Auburn game, LSU led all of the SEC and Big Ten schools in play-action usage at 53.1%, according to Yahoo Sports. It also ranked in the top 40 in 20-yard-plus pass rate.

At Auburn, Kiffin said he felt LSU would need to throw, and Leavitt finished 32-of-45 for 387 yards. Harris caught nine passes for 178 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown on third-and-5.

Harris, a Hawaii transfer, became the top wideout after Green left the Ole Miss game hurt, and Green returned at Auburn to a strong performance where he picked up a score.

But the biggest improvement has come from Leavitt, who threw six interceptions in the first four games before cleaning up and throwing none against Mississippi State or Auburn.

Kiffin has cautioned that the Tigers remain “too high and low, too up and down.”

But LSU has a chance to find consistency and test whether the improvements hold against Alabama, Texas and Tennessee.