re: Mel Kiper

probably you newb

let's break this down like a fraction; a couple of things have to be considered:
1. past performance
lafell had one good year, one bad year, this year will tell the nation for certain who lafell is
2. the opponents
we're playing four top SEC teams this year, SEC=defense, the defense's job is to make the other opponent look bad and crush them, that's their goal.

these, among other things, factor into rankings

ETA: LSU players can up their stock over the season.