Grading the Tigers Game vs. Ole Miss

The LSU Tigers showed the college football world just how dominant they are and just why they are the No.1 team in the nation.

If you didn't have the pleasure of watching this one and just happened to catch the score, no need to do a double take. That's right, LSU defeated Ole Miss 52-3 on the road.

We know that Ole Miss is not a good football team, but this just goes to show how good this LSU team is.

Let's give this game a closer look and hand out some report card grades for the Tigers' huge one-sided win.

Quarterbacks

I assumed that Jordan Jefferson would be taking the majority of the first-team snaps from here on out, and that was spot on in this one.

Jefferson only threw seven total passes, but he completed them all for 88 total yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 26 yards on six carries.

Jarrett Lee only attempted one pass in the game, but that was completed as well for 17 yards.

As a whole, LSU quarterbacks were 8-of-8 for 105 yards and a touchdown.

It would have been nice to see more than eight total passes, but when you complete every one of them, it's pretty hard to not grade that an A.

Grade: A 

Running Backs

There are great backfields in college football with great depth.

And then a step above that, there's LSU's backfield.

This unit rushed for an eye-popping 353 yards and four touchdowns in this blowout win over Ole Miss.

The thing that continues to be so impressive about this unit is that there's not a star that's singled out in this backfield. Not one of the Tigers' backs had more than 10 carries, but they had seven different players rush for 25 or more yards in the win.

Alfred Blue led the charge with four carries for 74 yards, and Spencer Ware added 10 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown.

It really dosen't get any better than this!

Grade: A+

Wide Receivers

Not one player on this LSU receiving core had more than two catches in this game, but with a commanding lead by the end of the first quarter, they didn't need to.

Even more noticeable, they didn't have any drops and literally caught every pass that was thrown their way.

Russell Shepard had the lone touchdown catch on the team, which came on a nice 22-yard strike from Jordan Jefferson midway through the first quarter.

It would have been nice to see a few more catches, but you understand why there wern't any more.

Grade: A

O-Line

Any time a team rushes for 353 yards, it's going to catch your attention.

But as good as the running backs were in this game, none of it would have been made possible without this special offensive line paving the way.

The Tigers averaged 7.1 yards-per-carry, with third and fourth-string backs carrying the ball by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.

This unit continues to be impressive every week, and it's really turning into one of the best offensive lines in college football today.

Grade: A

D-Line

LSU's defensive line didn't have much of a challenge in this one, despite it being a late-season SEC matchup.

The Tigers' held Ole Miss to just 47 yards through the air. They did have 148 yards, but that was on 42 carries, which is just an average of 3.5 yards per carry.

The Tigers forced three turnovers in the game, and you can credit the defensive line on several of those.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

LSU's linebacking core continues to get better and better, and although they did allow 148 yards on the ground, the Rebels were forced to run nearly every time they touched the ball simply because their passing offense was so extremely ineffective. 

Holding an opponent to 3.5 yards per carry on the ground isn't amazing, but it certainly isn't bad. Especially when you don't even allow your opponent to sniff the end zone.

Pretty good, but could be better.

Grade: B

Secondary

Generally when the LSU Tigers create three turnovers, one of them being an interception, you would assume that Mo Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu were involved.

But this time, it was Ron Brooks who returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown just 28 seconds into the game and the route was on from that point.

Overall, LSU held Ole Miss receivers to just eight catches for 47 yards.

This is the best secondary in the country. Sorry Alabama, it's true.

Grade: A+ 

Special Teams

Both Drew Alleman and Brad Wing could have taken a nap in this one and probably gotten away with it.

Alleman only attempted one field goal, which he made from 29 yards out. 

Wing only attempted one punt, which was booted for 46 yards, which has become pretty standard for him in his freshman year.

In the return game, Odell Beckham broke a nice 36-yard punt return, but beyond that, not a whole lot here.

Pretty average.

Grade: C

Coaching

It's tough to hand out a grade to a head coach in a game that was well-decided by the end of the first quarter.

But Miles came in with a game plan to run the ball, and the Tigers did that to perfection.

On defense, they were aggressive and dominant on the line of scrimmage.

Now Miles' coaching will really be tested next week against the No.3-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks.

Grade: A

Intangibles

Just under 60,000 were on hand to see the No.1-ranked Tigers take on Ole Miss.

This game was expected to be one-sided, but not many saw 52-3 in the future.

Either way, LSU now has to get ready for No.3-ranked Arkansas, with the winner punching a ticket to the SEC title game and likely the BCS national title game.

Get your popcorn ready Tigers' fans!

It's gonna be a good one.

Overall Grade: A