LSU Football: The Brandon Harris Era Has Finally Begun

LSU has a starting quarterback. And his name is not Brandon Harris.

That is a problem.

Sophomore Anthony Jennings got the starting nod from Les Miles against New Mexico State. To put it nicely, Jennings was putrid. He completed 40 percent of his passes, threw two interceptions and fumbled on LSU's opening drive. 

Jennings was booed off the field. 

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Harris finally got his opportunity early in the second quarter and never looked back. The true freshman played spectacularly, leading the Tigers to a touchdown in all seven of the drives he directed. 

Sure, the opposition was New Mexico State. But the difference between Jennings and Harris was monstrous. 

	Att/Comp	Total Yards	Total TDs	INTs
Anthony Jennings	2-5	20	0	2
Brandon Harris	11-14	214	5	0
Steve Kragthorpe	1-1	11	0	0

LSU Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron opened up the playbook for Harris. The Tigers moved primarily to a no-huddle offense, which turned a sluggish attack into a prolific one. Harris' ability to run and throw out of this offense kept the Aggies defense on the ropes. 

Harris has now outperformed Jennings in two straight games. He led LSU to touchdowns in the fourth quarter against Mississippi State, while Jennings struggled throughout the contest.  

Miles publicly refused to give Harris the starting quarterback job after Saturday night's game. 

"

Miles on next week's starter: "We'll go back and look at the film and communicate with our team. Not do so through the paper." #LSU

— Ross Dellenger (@DellengerAdv) September 28, 2014"

Miles is not fooling anybody. He has no choice but to start Harris in LSU's conference road opener against Auburn next week.

The team and fans alike can now see Harris is better. He played and carried himself like it.

It was evident Jennings lacked confidence. The Tigers cannot have a timid leader walking into Jordan-Hare Stadium next week. The wrong message would be sent if Miles sticks with Jennings, who has certainly not played well enough to beat an SEC-caliber team. 

Miles, above all else, wants to win. And Harris gives him the best chance of doing just that. 

Stats, rankings and additional information provided by cfbstats.com and LSU Sports Information. Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow me on Twitter @CarterthePower.