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For the second straight week, LSU walked off the field with an SEC victory in hand and a trophy left on the field.
The No. 1 Tigers (11-0, 7-0) walked past the golden boot Saturday after a 56-20 defeat of Arkansas (2-9, 0-7) the same way they had the magnolia trophy in Oxford, Miss., seven days earlier.
And the newly affirmed winners of the SEC West, securing a Dec. 7 conference championship date with No. 4 Georgia (10-1, 7-1) with the win, brushed aside that metaphorical crown the same way.
With bigger prizes in mind.
"Business as usual," senior quarterback Joe Burrow said. "It was never our goal this year to win the West. We've got more goals ahead of us."
Asked further, he added: "We expected this. We expected this coming into the year. If we weren't 11-0 right now, we'd be disappointed. So I think that's a testament to the hard work, but we've got more ahead of us."
LSU shouldered criticism — particularly for its second-half defense — after this past week's 58-37 victory at Ole Miss (4-7, 2-5).
Some came from fans and media. Some came from within.
But after a game the Tigers led by at least 11 for the final 46 minutes, that criticism was clearly a byproduct of higher standards and aspirations.
"That's just the mindset we came with since January," junior center Lloyd Cushenberry III said. "We knew we had the talent, and it was just time to go out and keep proving it."
The defense cut the numbers of both yards and points allowed in half Saturday from the Rebels' 614 and 38, respectively, to the Razorbacks' 304 and 20.
LSU scored 49 straight points, including forcing five three-and-outs, to build a 56-6 lead before a pair of late Arkansas touchdowns.
The progress was important, but just another small step on the bigger path.
"There was gonna be not too much of a celebration to beat Arkansas," coach Ed Orgeron said. "They hadn't beaten anybody in a long time. So we were supposed to win that football game, and on to Texas A&M.
"I don't feel like we've accomplished what we want to accomplish yet. And next week we're gonna talk about that."
The 36-point margin was the Tigers' largest against an SEC opponent thus far this season, surpassing a 66-38 run through Vanderbilt (3-8, 1-6) on Sept. 21.
"I don't think this is a statement win," Orgeron said. "We're 11-0. We're proud of that. But our focus is gonna be on 12-0 and beating Texas A&M, and that's it."
The Tigers return to the SEC championship game for the first time since 2011.
That team won the conference with a 42-10 rout of Georgia to improve to 13-0 before stumbling against Alabama in the national title game.
This year's team continues to focus itself on a different ending.
And, to a man Saturday, Orgeron and his players said the other trinkets along the way mean little if the bigger mission isn't accomplished.
"Our goal wasn't to bring the magnolia trophy home," junior safety JaCoby Stevens said. "Our goal was not to bring the golden boot home. Although it's an honor and it's a big deal to our fans, we want to bring the crystal ball home. That's what we want to do. And we're not gonna be satisfied until we do it."
