LSU Football: Dominance of Mississippi State Put Tigers on Championship Level

If you haven't noticed, LSU is really good.

The arrest and suspension of quarterback Jordan Jefferson put a question mark over the Tigers. But now we're three games into the season, and that's clearly not hurting LSU.

The Tigers are ranked No. 3 in both polls. Until Oklahoma or Alabama drop a game, LSU shouldn't be any higher. But if they keep playing this way, there is no doubt that they will be in the National Championship Game this year.

Incidentally, the last two times that LSU has played in that game, it's been at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Guess where the National Championship Game is going to be held this year?

Now, we know that LSU will have a tough schedule. I am not neglecting how tough the SEC is. We'll get to that in a second. But let's take a look at what their defense has done before we delve into that schedule.

On Thursday night, LSU beat Mississippi State 19-6. Let's take a look at Mississippi State's offensive output since a 10-7 win against Florida in October of 2010.

10/23/10 UAB	29-24 win
10/30/10 Kentucky	27-14 win
11/13/10 Alabama	30-10 loss
11/20/10 Arkansas	38-31 loss
11/27/10 Mississippi	31-23 win
1/1/11 Michigan	52-14 win
9/1/11 Memphis	59-14 win
9/10/11 Auburn	41-34 loss

With the exception of a loss to Alabama, Mississippi State's offense has been a machine for most of the last two years. Still, LSU held them to a measly six points at home.

Bulldogs' quarterback Chris Relf threw for only 96 yards, while running for 10. Vick Ballard had 38 yards on the ground.

These aren't bad players, they just hit a wall in the LSU defense.

LSU also held Oregon to 27 points in the opening game of the 2011 season. That may not sound great, but Oregon frequently scores upwards of 50 points per game. All things considered, 27 is not a bad showing.

The schedule is tough from here on out. Not including a potential SEC Championship Game, LSU has five games against ranked opponents. Three of those games are at home.

One of the games that's not at home is a November 5 showdown against Alabama. Right now, it looks like that game will decide the SEC West title. The winner could very well end up in the National Championship Game.

The schedule isn't easy from here on out. There are a lot of pitfalls that wouldn't even be tremendous upsets.

But LSU is playing well enough to run the table. Auburn did it in 2010 and Alabama did it in 2009. It's tough, but with a defense like LSU has, it's not impossible. I would even say that it's likely.