BATON ROUGE — LSU should have slept in Sunday. After a late night, impressive 45-16 win over Ole Miss at Tiger Stadium Saturday, it will be miles before the Tigers can sleep on the upcoming formidable four on its schedule, which is likely the most difficult in the nation.
►The No. 5 Tigers (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) will play Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC), which received poll votes Sunday, for the second consecutive season in Gainesville, Florida, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS. The Gators held off No. 19 Mississippi State, 13-6, Saturday night in Starkville, Mississippi.
►Then, on Oct. 13, LSU will host No. 2 Georgia (5-0, 3-0 SEC), which beat Tennessee, 38-12, on Saturday. LSU and Georgia will play in Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2008, and it could be top five match-up. That was the case when No. 3 LSU beat No. 5 Georgia, 34-13, in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6, 2003, to propel the Tigers into the BCS national championship game that they won, 21-14, over Oklahoma in New Orleans.
►On Oct. 20, LSU will host Mississippi State (3-2, 0-2 SEC), which fell out of the rankings Sunday with the 13-6 loss to Florida as its offense appears to be moving laterally as a shell of what it was under former coach Dan Mullen, who upwardly mobilized to Florida.
►After an open week, LSU will host No. 1 Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) on Nov. 3 in what could be another top five match-up, or a top two or top three duel, if the Tigers win out to be 8-0 entering the Alabama game to the Crimson Tide's expected 8-0. Alabama beat Louisiana, 56-14, on Saturday.
So far, LSU is 2-0 against the polls, having beaten No. 8 Miami, 33-17, in the season opener and No. 7 Auburn on the road two weeks ago, 22-21.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron says he does not focus on the polls, though.
"I don't pay attention to the rankings. I don't. I really don't," he said. "We don't pay attention to it if they say we're high or we're low. That doesn't matter. That's not going to win a football game for us. It's about the way you play and the type of mindset. We have to remain hungry. We have to remain humble, focus on our task at hand, and I think we're going to do that."
If LSU is to survive or win out over the upcoming span, its statistically low ranked offense will have to keep playing as it did against Ole Miss, which surrendered 573 yards to the Tigers. But the Rebels (3-2, 0-2 SEC) did come in as the worst defense in the SEC and one of the worst in the nation.
"We need to be more explosive," Orgeron said. "We're going to need to score more points. We're going to need to be more efficient."
A key could be the offensive line's health. By the time LSU plays Georgia, it could have starting left guard Garrett Brumfield back from a knee injury. It finally got starting right tackle Adrian Magee back for the Ole Miss game after he missed every game since injuring his leg in the season opener. Magee started at left tackle as regular starting left tackle Saahdiq Charles (leg) dressed out for Ole Miss, but did not play.
"Everything comes down to protection," Orgeron said.
In the midst of the offensive line injuries and the indefinite suspension of arrested right guard Ed Ingram before the season, LSU has found depth by necessity, such as true freshman Chasen Hines at left guard, sophomore Austin Deculus at right tackle and junior transfer Badara Traore at left tackle. Then on Saturday, sophomore Donavaughn Campbell started at left guard over Hines.
"I mean, I've pretty much ran the ball behind every offensive lineman who's on the team," tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire said.
"A lot of new guys have stepped up and played well on the line," tailback Nick Brossette said. "I'm just excited to play with them each and every day. That's a hard position. I can only imagine what they go through. You put any of them in, and they'll be ready to go. They're out there battling to open up holes for me."
Quarterback Joe Burrow, meanwhile, played the game of his life Saturday, completing 18 of 25 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, including a 65-yard score to wide receiver Justin Jefferson, while rushing nine times for 96 yards with a 35-yard touchdown.
"We still haven't played a complete game," Burrow said as the Tigers only scored seven points in the third quarter. "But we're getting better."
LSU's wide receivers have gradually improved, particularly the sophomore Jefferson and juniors Dee Anderson and Stephen Sullivan. There was much preseason talk of true freshmen Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. and transfer Jonathan Giles taking over the position, but that has not happened. Jefferson has stolen the show. He caught five passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns Saturday and leads the Tigers on the season with 18 receptions for 204 yards.
"We have known that our wide receivers are incredible players since they got here," tight end Foster Moreau said. "It was just a matter of schematics and trying to get them on the field. They all seem to be playing well and clicking."
That will have to happen throughout the offense for LSU to be able to withstand Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State and Alabama. Entering the Ole Miss game, LSU was last in the SEC and 106th in the nation in total offense, second to last in the SEC and 105th in the nation in passing offense and 11th in the SEC and 66th in the nation in scoring.
"The future's bright for this whole offense," said Brossette, who has been among the leading rushers in the SEC all season. He was fourth entering the Ole Miss game with 409 yards on 83 carries and gained 72 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown.
"We are just a young offense," Edwards-Helaire said. "We're going to continue to learn and grow. There were a lot of question marks this off-season in terms of who was going to be what and in which role. That's beginning to happen. Our offense is beginning to mesh. Every week, we're getting better. We'll find out soon how good we are when we play some of the teams later in our schedule."
