LSU Football: Tigers Are Legitimate National Championship Contenders

The LSU Tigers' daunting defense has gone from good to great so quickly that we haven’t really had time to sit back and take a look at how great this defense really is.

After three games, and a dominant 19-6 victory over SEC foe Mississippi State last week, you should have no doubt: This defense is indeed great.

The Tigers are 3-0. That might not sound too impressive to teams like Oklahoma, Alabama and Wisconsin, all of which also remain unbeaten, but keep in mind that none of those three teams have gotten to this point the way LSU has.

The Tigers opened the season against arguably the best offense in America, and held Oregon to just 27 points. They followed with a 49-3 thumping of Northwestern State in which they held the Demons to under 100-yards of total offense. Then, just when you began to get the feeling that this defense could be something special, the Tigers' proved your intuitions were spot on with a 19-6 shellacking of Mississippi State.

All three games have been dominant defensive performances. All three games have been double-digit victories.

It can be easy to think that this defensive dominance will come to an end at some point this season. In fact, the Tigers were 3-0 after their first three games last season as well, holding opponents to an average of 11 points per game. But Oregon was not included in that early season schedule last year. This defense did not go up against Heisman hopefuls LaMichael James and Darron Thomas last year.

With the departure of their top cornerback, Patrick Peterson, their top linebacker, Kelvin Sheppard and their top defensive lineman, Drake Nevis, many thought that the Tigers' defense could get off to a slow start this season. But this unit has been anything but "slow."

In three games, LSU has held its opponents to an average of 207.6 total yards per game. The Tigers' held both LaMichael James and Vick Ballard, two of the top running backs in the country, to under 55-yards rushing. In between, the Tigers' held Northwestern State to -4 yards on 27 rushing attempts. Yes, that's right, you don't need to rub your glasses and clear your eyes, it was really -4 yards.

LSU will face another challenging test this weekend when they travel to West Virginia to take on the No. 16 ranked Mountaineers.

West Virginia has averaged 42 points per game in its first three games this season, including an impressive 37-31 road victory over Maryland this past weekend.

But don't expect to see 42 points in this game. Not with LSU's defense on the other side of the ball.

This is a defense that has proven they are ready for any test, road or home, Pac-12, Big East or SEC. This is a defense that is past being on the verge of greatness; they are great right now and will continue to be so as they make their quest towards the National Title game.

Three down, 10 to go.

If the old saying of "defense wins championships" really does hold true, than this year's LSU team looks to be well on its way.