The Tigers aren't going to make it easy on themselves or the fans all year

After the first three games of the 2022 football season, the only certainty about LSU head coach Brian Kelly’s first Tigers’ team is there’s going to be uncertainty until the last snap of the year.

And it’s not just knowing what or what might not happen game to game.

As we’ve already seen with the Tigers, it’s a first half to second half proposition, even series to series and play to play.

The same team that has been outscored by Florida State and Mississippi State by a combined 33 to 13 in the first 2½ quarters is the same team that outscored the Seminoles and Bulldogs 41-7 in the final 1½ quarters.

But know this – LSU’s defense will usually keep the Tigers within striking distance until LSU’s offense lifts off the launching pad .

So, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, a man who turns into a playmaking comet when he thinks less and reacts more, offered a simple explanation why the Tigers closed on a 31-3 scoring run Saturday for a 31-16 SEC opening win over Mississippi State in Tiger Stadium.

How does a team that falls behind 13-0, has four false start penalties on offense and punts five times and fumbles once in its first six series of the games flips a switch and scores the game’s final 21 points?

“It’s urgency and tempo and not think too much and trust what you see with your eyes,” said Daniels, who accounted for 303 of LSU’s 416 total offense with 201 passing yards and a TD and 93 rushing yards and a TD.

If you’re an opposing defense trying to get a grasp of LSU’s offense, it’s basically a snail tempo that puts itself to sleep until the Tigers’ coaching braintrust finally decides it’s time to cattle prod its offense with a quicker heartbeat.

At that point, Daniels starts running around like the fastest kld in your elementary school that you never lay a hand on, all of sudden LSU goes 75 yards in 88 seconds for its first TD against State 46 seconds before halftime and it’s game on.

“Yeah, he can scoot for sure,” Mississippi State linebacker Jett Johnson said of Daniels. “He’s a slippery guy.”

Daniels’ 8-yard TD pass to Jaray Jenkins just before the half to slice State’s halftime lead to 13-7 did wonders for LSU’s defense which kept the Tigers hanging on and hanging on and hanging on.

“Once our offense gets going,” said Tigers’ defensive end Ali Gaye, “there’s nothing you can do to stop them. As a defense, we knew we had to set the tone (to start the second half). We had to shut them and down and get them off the field.”

After MSU took a 13-0 lead with 2:14 left in the first half on quarterback Will Rogers’ 13-yard TD pass to wide receiver Rara Thomas, State’s last seven offensive series of the night ended in four punts, an interception, a failed fourth-down conversion and a field goal.

A Bulldogs’ offense that entered the game averaging 44 points and 486.5 yards after wins over 49-23 on Sept. 3 and 39-17 at Arizona last Saturday was held to 289 yards.

Rogers, who led the SEC in passing yards per game (381.5), passing touchdowns (9) and completion percentage (78.6%) was just 24 of 42 (57.1 percent) for 214 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception.

He was sacked four times and often mistimed his passes because of LSU’s pressure and confusing scheme.

“They did a really good job of showing me one thing pre-snap and doing something completely different post-snap,” Rogers said. “They moved a lot with their first seven.”

State was a 2½-point favorite prior to kickoff, basically because it had played well in its wins while LSU was disjointed early against Florida State and then beat an overmatched Southern team last weekend by 48 points.

MSU coach Mike Leach gave an honest and accurate summation of his first Tiger Stadium loss after beating LSU here two years ago in his first game guiding the Bulldogs.

“Those guys (LSU) are some of the most decorated recruits in the nation,” Leach said. “Some of them are really good and when you play somebody like that you have to be consistent.”

Strictly from a talent standpoint, LSU won the game like it was supposed to. And if you’re going off recruiting class rankings over the last decade or so, LSU has more talent than anybody else in the SEC except for Alabama and Georgia.

The Tigers’ talent in transitioning to a new coaching staff that continues to figure out personnel. Against Mississippi State, LSU started three true freshmen on offense including both tackles.

“We're still trying to learn more about each other every day,” Kelly said. “But one thing I know about this group for sure is they’re fighters. We saw that against Florida State and I knew they would fight tonight. Our guys are gritty. They were down in the game and they never questioned whether they could come back.

"We're building that kind of mindset. If they keep working hard and keep doing the things the right way, we just want to be a better team in November. If we can incrementally keep working at it, this can be a pretty good football team.”

But it’s going to be one helluva ride getting there. Hang on tight and try to keep your eyes open.