LSU Football: Are the Tigers Legitimate SEC West Contenders?

Two games don't make a college football season, but it gives us a chance to spot trends and identify contenders from pretenders.

So with a pair of road victories under their belt, is LSU a real threat to win the SEC West?

Judging from the first two weeks, the answer is no.

The Tigers defense is clearly good enough to compete with Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Mississippi St. (who they play on Saturday in LSU's home opener).

However, the offense continues to be inconsistent, particularly quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

This year's Tigers defense is fast, aggressive, and talented. Despite only having four seniors among the starting lineup, it is starting to resemble the 2007 unit that guided LSU to a BCS title.

The Tigers defense leads the FBS in sacks with 10 (DT Drake Nevis accounts for 3.5). They rank in the top five against the run, allowing only 1.4 yards per rush. When All-American CB Patrick Peterson hasn't been sidelined by cramps, the pass defense has been solid to very good.

The defense will keep LSU in games when they play tougher competition, but will the offense do their part?

Jefferson was downright pathetic against Vanderbilt in LSU's 27-3 win last Saturday. If it is possible, he looks more uncomfortable in the pocket now then he did last year.

Particularly early in LSU's first two games, Jefferson tended to overthrow his receivers, which is a sign of a quarterback who is overly anxious and needs to settle down. He often doesn't look like a decisive leader who the team can rally around.

His apprehensiveness is spreading to the rest of the Tigers offense: The unit has lost four of eight fumbled balls this season. The red zone offense has been mediocre, only scoring four of seven possessions (two TDs and two FGs), with two turnovers inside the opponent's 20.

LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton has said it takes him a couple of series to figure out how to exploit matchups in LSU's favor.

Why? Shouldn't he be doing that during the six days between games?

He can get away with that against the depleted Tar Heels and over-matched Commodores, but that won't work against the Crimson Tide, Razorbacks, and Tigers of Auburn.

As LSU head coach Les Miles said of his offense after the Vanderbilt win, "No one is ready to say we jump the moon. We really have to improve because we face better opponents as we move forward."

The good news for Miles is that the offensive line began to dominate the line scrimmage and produce a rushing attack with Stevan Ridley in the second half against Vanderbilt.

LSU needs to sustain more drives to give their defense a rest and wear down opponents. So far, the Tigers offense has mostly consisted of long Russell Shepard touchdown runs and three-and-out drives.

There are already people calling for Jarrett Lee to replace Jefferson, after one 16-yard completion versus Vanderbilt. While I strongly suspect Lee will get more snaps if Jefferson continues his early game struggles, Miles will stick with Jefferson as his starter.

Remember, this is the same Lee who threw seven interceptions returned for touchdowns when he was the starter during the 2008 season.

The bottom line is LSU will not pose a threat to Alabama's reign in the SEC West until the Tigers offense can play as consistent and physical as its defense.

Right now, they are not even close to doing that.