LSU Football: The Tigers have been the NCAA’s most impressive team
By Jason Reed
The LSU football team was on its bye week this week and without any Tiger football, we were all reminded that LSU has been immensely impressive.
Saturday was the first Saturday since August 24 that we did not have an LSU football game (that mattered) to look forward to. LSU was on its first bye week of the season.
LSU actually ended up being a victim of the bye week as the team dropped one spot in the AP College Football rankings as they are now the fifth-ranked team in the country. The Tigers were the sixth-ranked team in the coaches poll.
It really is a shame as LSU has been playing like one of the top-tier teams in the nation and if the season ended today they would not be in the college football playoff. However, none of the other top teams have slipped up yet, so I understand why the voters have not given LSU more love than they have.
That can change over time if LSU continues to rack up big wings and especially if one of the top teams in the nation lose a game that they should not lose. We won’t argue for a higher ranking (yet), but we absolutely will argue that LSU has been the most impressive school in the entire nation.
That might seem counter-intuitive as LSU was ranked sixth in the preseason poll, showing that they have had high expectations all year long. Not only have they lived up to their expectations, but they have also far surpassed them.
The first thing that we must mention has to be Joe Burrow, who has thrust himself into the Heisman conversation and is drastically improving his draft stock with every single outing.
Burrow has completed 100 of his 124 passes (80.6 percent) for 1,520 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. At this pace, which he won’t sustain with a tougher schedule ahead, Burrow is on pace for 4,560 yards and 51 touchdowns in 12 games. That is insane.
Granted, he did play some pretty bad defenses, but every great team plays bad defenses early in the year. The most important game was against ranked-Texas. Burrow thrived, LSU got the win and it only helps prove our point even further.
The only school that also has a win over a ranked opponent that is ranked in the top-six is Georgia, who defeated Notre Dame by six last week. Aside from that, everyone has been beating up lesser opposition.
Again, that is what makes LSU so impressive. The LSU football team ranks sixth in the nation in average point margin (+29). The only team ahead of them in point margin with a ranked opponent under their belt is Wisconsin, who has als been very impressive and sits in the same underrated boat as LSU.
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LSU has been really fun to watch this season and it is a shame that they have not gotten more love in the rankings. But hey, soon enough the remaining college football and analysts will realize how good LSU is.