Overall: 5-1 and ranked #12. About where I expected them to be at this point. Acceptable, but not great. This team needs to keep making progress and getting better. Hardest part of the season still to come.

Coaching:

HC: O has done s decent job this year. The Emsminger decision is still open for debate, but I mostly like to so far. O's in-game decision making has been questionable some times (examples include not challenging and not going for it in the FL game) and pretty good sometimes (example: outstanding clock management in Auburn game). The best thing about O so far is his willingness to admit mistakes and recognize weaknesses and DO SOMETHING about them. Miles simply wouldn't do that. O sees the problems, owns them publicly, and takes steps to fix them.

Offensive coaching: Emsminger has done a pretty good job considering the experience level he had to deal with. The progression of Burrow is very nice. The play calling is more open than ever at LSU. And I see them making adjustments. I think Cregg has done an outstanding job managing the O line and coaching the young guys.

Defensive coaching: I have not been as happy with the defensive coaching as I would like. The lack of a pass rush is disturbing. I think Aranda has been out-schemed a few times this year (example: the repeated success of the opinion in the FL game). Some of it is youth and inexperience (same example - Baskerville) but the defensive coaching is not up to Aranda's standard. He is definitely a great coach - so I expect it to get better. I also wonder if the loss of Jenkins as the D line genius is affecting them - the technique of the D line is not right. Nagging injuries (ie, ankles) could be some of the issue. We must get the pass rush fixed or the rest of the season is going to really tough!

Offense:

QB: What a great find Burrow was! He's been better than expected and absolutely worth the two wins some people said he was going to be worth. He'll be even better next year! I also think that keeping him safe and not playing Brennan is a great idea. Red shirt Brennan and give him 2 years of eligibility after Burrow leaves. If he's good enough to be in close competition with Burrow until the very end, then I think our QB situation is pretty good for a few years to come. Need to recruit top talent at QB for after these two.

RB: We definitely lack big-time talent here. But both Brossette and CEH are serviceable SEC backs - they do their jobs both running and pass blocking - but neither is really a game breaker and it would be nice to have that to complement the better passing game we now have. Hopefully Curry flourishes soon and the incoming freshmen RBs bring that spark.

OL: Best job of the season so far. With some really difficult injuries and suspensions, this unit has held together pretty well. FL game was tough, but much of that was technical mistakes and blown assignments that can be fixed. Our OL has won a large percentage of the man-on-man battles in the SEC. The young guys are playing well and getting experience. I see leg and arm strength and good depth.

DL: Most mysterious part of the season so far. What was expected to be the strength of the team has been lacking in my opinion. Stout against the runs inside the tackles - as always, but no pass rush and failure to seal the edge has been bad. The loss of Chaisson obviously hurt, but I am surprised by the lack of push up the middle. That middle push could make our outside rushers more successful. What's worst is that it seems to be a lack of technique - playing too high with squared shoulders, etc. Maybe O needs to get back down there and coach them up a bit.

LBs: What can you say? DW is simply a beast. He deserves all the accolades. He is all over the field. And Phillips looked really good also. We need the outside guys to step it up a bit, but overall, this is some of the best LB play I have ever seen at LSU.

DBs: Acceptable so far, but not spectacular - with the exception of Delpit, who is on an all-American pace so far. I think a better pass rush would help the DBs out a lot. Fulton and Williams are both top-SEC caliber. I hope they step it up here in the second half of the season.

Special Teams: Another outstanding part of the season so far. Atkins was a great get - how long have we all been saying "can't we find a guy who can kick it out of the end zone?" And Cole Tracy - wow! He and Burrow and Fehoko and Lewis are testaments to what I said about O - he identified problems and found solutions. Von Rosenberg is on an all-SEC pace. We need better production from the return game though. A game-breaker returner would be nice. Doesn't LSU always have one of those?

That's my assessment so far. Feel free to respond ....