Way Too Early SEC West Football Rankings

6. LSU

Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers receiver Quantavius Leslie (1) prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

This isn’t the LSU that Alabama goes 12 rounds with and then needs a 13th tie breaker round. This isn’t the dominate LSU that wins championships. This is the LSU that storms the field after beating a Mississippi team and loses a bowl game to Notre Dame.

You might think the pressure is on Les Miles, but not this year. LSU is broke, the whole state of Louisiana is broke in fact. LSU just doesn’t have the money to show Miles the door and hire a replacement. So even if I’m right and LSU is hanging around basement don’t expect LSU to fire Les Miles.

LSU’s offense has always been a bit strange and they are in the midst of their traditional “who should play quarterback?” debate. The offense isn’t the key to the success of the Les Miles LSU Tigers though, the defense is.

LSU will be dealing with the loss of John Chavis. While it takes a couple of years for a defensive coordinator to get a team straight losing one can have an immediate effect. The defense of John Chavis has been holding the Tigers in games for years, can Kevin Steele keep the trend going?

Kevin Steele last defensive coordinator job was for the Clemson Tigers. This is the CLemson team that let West Virginia hang 70 on them. Here’s a quick review of the Clemson Tigers defenses under Kevin Steele.

John Chavis left Kevin Steele with a defense ranked in the top 10, can Kevin Steele keep it there?

LSU’s first big game will be at Mississippi State on September 12th.