When the Tigers took the field Saturday, everything seemed a little flat.
The offense struggled to move the ball. The defense got roughed up. Silly mistakes and mental lapses popped up time and time again. The showing was eerily similar to that in the Wisconsin, Auburn and Mississippi State games.
The team turned it around after the midway point, scoring five touchdowns after halftime. And if you’re an LSU fan, you hope the Southern Miss game is foreshadowing the rest of the season.
Before the coaching change from Les Miles to interim coach Ed Orgeron, LSU’s offense struggled. The Tigers averaged 191.8 yards on the ground, 147.8 yards through the air and scored 21 points per game. Their performances, even the one against Jacksonville State, were flat.
But with Coach O came some new life. In the two games since he took the helm, the Tigers have averaged around 300 yards rushing, 246 passing yards and 43.5 points per game. Sure, Missouri and Southern Miss aren’t exactly great standards, but the improvement is difficult to deny.
But will the improvement be enough? The Tigers are moving into the meat of their schedule. With the remaining schedule consisting of No. 23 Ole Miss, No. 1 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas, No. 15 Florida and No. 6 Texas A&M, LSU’s offense will have to raise the bar.
All of this begins with Ole Miss at 8 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
“I’m sure that Ole Miss is going to be ready to play,” Orgeron said after the Southern Miss game. “It’s going to be a classic battle.”

By the numbers

LSU’s offense

• Total offense: 67th
• Scoring offense: 68th
• Pass offense: 105th (180.5 yards allowed per game)
• Rush offense: 24th (228.0 yards allowed per game)

LSU’s defense

• Total defense: 13th
• Scoring defense: 4th
• Pass defense: 44th (208.3 yards allowed per game)
• Rush defense: 11th (103.7 yards allowed per game)

Ole Miss

• Total defense: 104th
• Scoring defense: 87th
• Pass defense: 74th (233.2 yards allowed per game)
• Rush defense: 104th (212.8 yards allowed per game)

The Rebels have the potential to burn LSU. While LSU is fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense with as few as six allowed touchdowns all season, Ole Miss is in the top 20 for passing offense and scoring offense. It may be ridiculous to expect LSU will continue its streak of not allowing multiple touchdowns in a game into next week.

Alabama

• Total defense: 5th
• Scoring defense: 8th
• Pass defense: 46th (210.1 yards allowed per game)
• Rush defense: 1st (63.9 yards allowed per game)

My take: Not going to happen.
Expect to see something similar to last season’s game. LSU will struggle to establish the run and will not be able to develop its play action game. If that happens, junior quarterback Danny Etling and the receivers are not going to get anything going and LSU’s offense will be sludge against No. 1 Alabama, again.

@ Arkansas

• Total defense: 64th
• Scoring defense: 69th
• Pass defense: 61st (223 yards allowed per game)
• Rush defense: 80th (175.9 yards allowed per game)

LSU’s secondary should be able to give the Razorbacks’ junior quarterback Austin Allen trouble, though he will find ways to move the ball downfield. The Tiger defense should be able to limit Arkansas’ scoring, which should allow LSU’s offense to go full nose to the grindstone — that ground-and-pound style we all know and love.

Florida

• Total defense: 3rd
• Scoring defense: 2nd
• Pass defense: 2nd (132.8 yards allowed per game)
• Rush defense: 19th (119.7 yards allowed per game)

The gameplan for LSU’s upcoming scheduled game against the Gators will be similar to that against Alabama, but there is a little more hope in this matchup.
LSU might be able to get more going against Florida’s softer run defense, which could put Etling in more favorable situations. If LSU’s offensive line is healthy, the running backs should be able to find enough room to keep LSU in the game.

@ Texas A&M

• Total defense: 98th
• Scoring defense: 22nd
• Pass defense: 109th (278.2 yards allowed per game)
• Rush defense: 68th (159.3 yards allowed per game)

Even more so than the potent Aggie offense, Kyle Field will give LSU some trouble. The TAMU defense is lackluster, but its offense has the ability to turn the game into a shootout. As good as LSU’s receivers are, and as much as Etling has improved, Kyle Field might still prove to be too much to handle for an offense prone to making silly mistakes.