re: Am I the only one who's not convinced this D is elite?

Well, you shouldn't be convinced that ANYBODY is elite at this point, as no one has really played a very difficult schedule yet. So, sure, every single unit of every single team in the nation is open to serious doubts due to schedule effects.

That said, the early indications for LSU are pretty darn good. Sure, ULM and SHSU stink, but they also shut both of them out. As in, zero points. Which is hard to do in back to back games, even against outmatched tomato cans. LSU allowed less than 100 yards to ULM last weekend, which is just absurd. They had been averaging 443 yds/game, to put the number is perspective.

I don't think anyone should be convinced of anything after three weeks, primarily against rent-a-wins. But the indications are pretty strong for LSU.