Sometimes it is not about how you start the race, but how you finish it. Midway through the college football season, it seems as though the LSU Tigers would be a great example of that theory. Quarterback woes, coaching changes, and injuries could’ve set the Tigers on a path to failure, however, the exact opposite happened. Everything’s coming together at a perfect time for the Tigers. However, their biggest test is yet to come. After their bye week, Alabama comes to town.

After the firing of Les Miles and the hiring of Ed Orgeron, the Tigers are 3-0. In the last those three games, “The Tigers have 1,608 yards and 125 points” according to Andrew Lopez of NOLA.com. In this new offense, the Tigers got their coveted running back from injury; Leonard Fournette. In LSU’s rout of Ole Miss this past weekend, Fournette had 284 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns.  He surpassed LSU’s single-game rushing record of 250 yards. With that being said, one telling stat according to David Ching of ESPN.com “Fournette’s 284 yards tie Alabama’s Bobby Humphrey for 10th all time, and his 17.8 yards per carry against the Rebels ranks second behind only the 19.6 LSU’s Harvey Williams posted in 10 carries against Rice in 1987.”

With things clicking on the offensive end, the defense also stepped up to help ensure a victory against Ole Miss. The Rebels running game was slowed down considerably as the Tigers contained them to only 116 rushing yards despite having the same amount of rushing attempts as the Tigers, 36. It’s worth noting that the Tigers rushed for almost three times as much (311).

This was a redemption game for interim head coach Ed Orgeron, and this victory may have landed him this job permanently. One thing for sure is that the Tigers have moved up in rankings to No.19, and they will have a week of rest. Now the question is, how will this Tigers team perform against, arguably the best team in college football, the Alabama Crimson Tide? If the Tigers can keep this momentum going it should be a great SEC match-up.

Joshua Vinson

Wizards/Carolina Panthers Beat Writer-- at Fox Sports/WHAP

This season is my 5th year covering the NBA. I specialize in feature stories and exclusives are what I do best. During the NFL season, I'm now covering the Carolina Panthers. This is my second year covering the NFL. Feel free to connect with me. I live by the following quote:

"A journalist who doesn't value deeply an audience's loyalty should be in another line of work." --- Peter Jennings