LSU vs. West Virginia: 5 Things we Learned From the Tigers

If LSU did not have a great case for the No.1 ranking in the country heading into this weekend, they sure do now after a dominant 47-21 win over West Virginia Saturday night.

The Tigers opened the game with a boom, building an early lead on the Mountaineers and never looking back. The win marked the third time in four games that LSU has beaten a ranked opponent, and all three have come in dominant fashion.

We expected West Virginia to try and make this game an offensive shootout and that's exactly what they did. But LSU's offense fired right back, matching the Mountaineers shot for shot and blow for blow.

There were a number of standout performances in this game, but we're going to break it down and come up with the five most important things we learned from LSU in this win.

1. Jarrett Lee Is the Real Deal

When Jordan Jefferson was suspended for his involvement in a bar fight early this year, the Tigers turned to senior Jarrett Lee, who had been shaky in his LSU career up to this point.

Lee turned in three great performances heading into Saturday's game, and now add a fourth brilliant showing to that list, and this one might have been his best yet.

Lee was brilliant against West Virginia's fast-paced defense, completing 16-of-28 passes for 180 yards. Most noticeably, he threw three touchdown passes compared to zero interceptions. 

The issue with Lee coming into this season is that he had trouble protecting the ball and making poor decisions when pressure was applied. But Lee has just one interception through four games this season and has done an exceptional job at managing the game.

In order to win a National Championship you need either an elite quarterback or a great defense.

LSU looks like they have both.

2. LSU's Defense Isn't Quite Perfect, but They Are Pretty Darn Close

It is hard to believe that West Virginia put up 533 yards against LSU's daunted defense, but it's the truth and the Tigers are going to have to fix that moving forward.

Geno Smith is a great college quarterback and he has some explosive weapons in the receiving game. Smith set school records for completions (38), attempts (65) and passing yards (463), while Travon Austin had 11 catches for 187 yards and fellow wideout Stedman Bailey caught nine balls for 115 yards.

If LSU is going to win a National Championship, they are going to have to focus more on shutting down opponents' passing game. 

But despite these huge numbers, keep in mind that the Tigers did intercept Smith on two separate occasions and caused four total turnovers in the game.

The numbers are big for West Virginia's offense, but they may also be a little deceiving. 

3. Special Teams Is Exceptional

We can say the defense won this game for LSU, but they did give up over 500 yards of offense to West Virginia.

We could say that the quarterback play won this game for LSU, but Jarrett Lee did pass for under 200 yards.

What really did make the difference in this game for LSU was the exceptional play of the Tigers' special teams unit.

For starters, freshman punter Brad Wing had six punts land inside West Virginia's 15-yard line. He averaged 49 yards on those six punts, which is beyond impressive for anyone—especially a freshman.

Mo Claiborne returned four kicks for a total of 154 yards, including an electric 99-yard kick return late in the third quarter, which broke the game open for the Tigers.

This Tigers team was phenomenal at all three aspects of the game Saturday night.

4. Les Miles Is Fearless in His Offensive Play-Calling

LSU coach Les Miles has earned the nickname the "Mad Hatter" for his unconventional play-calling.

But that name took on a whole new meaning tonight.

On a third-and-one call midway through the second quarter tonight, Miles called in his power-blocking package, making the assumption that the Tigers were all but certain to run the ball. But Miles went against conventional wisdom and shocked everyone when he called for a pass.

Jarrett Lee bombed a 52-yard touchdown strike to freshman Odell Beckham, which no one saw coming.

Except for Miles of course.

5. LSU Is the Best Team in the Country

If you didn't believe it after double-digit wins over Oregon and Mississippi State, you better believe it now after this dominant performance at West Virginia.

LSU has proved that they are the best team in college football right now, and there shouldn't be any argument about it.

Saturday night's game marked the Tigers' third win over a ranked opponent this season, all of which have come on the road and all of which have been by double digits.

Dominant defense, explosive offense and a exceptional special teams unit.

If LSU is not ranked No.1 in the country when the polls come out tomorrow, it would come as a huge surprise.