Last year at this time, there was similar optimism. LSU got off to a 3-0 start. It hammered Miami and rallied to knock off Auburn, both highly ranked at the time.

But this is different. The Tigers aren’t winning merely with superior talent. They aren’t just overpowering opponents. They aren’t relying on their ground game or a suffocating defense.

They have joined the nation’s premier programs in style of play — by opening up the offense, turning to a no-huddle spread attack that accentuates their athletes.

The Tigers were able to beat a top-10 caliber opponent on the road despite allowing 530 yards of offense Saturday night. And a lot of that credit should go straight to coach Ed Orgeron. In his second full season, LSU won 10 games and defeated Central Florida in the Fiesta Bowl. He didn’t have to make changes.

But Orgeron also knew he wasn’t going to win big with the status quo. He brought in Saints assistant coach Joe Brady as his passing game coordinator, knowing the Tigers’ traditional run-first system was outdated and needed a forward thinker like the 29-year-old Brady.

So far, LSU has looked very different. It has scored 100 points in two wins, including Saturday’s 45-38 win at Texas. Joe Burrow has already thrown nine touchdown passes, seven fewer than he produced all last year. He became the first LSU quarterback to throw for 400 yards since Rohan Davey in the 2002 Sugar Bowl.

In two wins, LSU has thrown 78 times and run 62, after running 176 more times than it threw in 2018. The Tigers’ 55 points in Week 1 against Georgia Southern was their most in an opener since 2000. They last scored that many points in regulation in 2015.

More than the current results, the change will only bolster future recruiting. Playmakers want to know they will be properly utilized. Quarterbacks want to be able to play like they did in high school. Recruits see what wins, how Oklahoma, Clemson and Alabama pile up points.

It remains uncertain if this will continue. LSU needs to get better defensively. It still will be a sizeable underdog against Alabama. But it also should be more equipped than it has been in recent years, when it has scored a combined 10 points in the past three meetings.

It sure has looked far more explosive from an offensive standpoint, a group more capable of making noise in November. This all began with Orgeron not keeping the status quo.

It’s bound to pay off — either now or in the future. Or maybe both.

Volun-tears

At least they have Rick Barnes’ contending basketball team in Knoxville. The football team isn’t exactly a source of pride these days, with Tennessee off to its first 0-2 start since 1988 after choking away a 10-point halftime lead to BYU on the heels of its embarrassing home loss to Georgia State. The Volunteers have lost 16 of their past 22 games, and after hosting Chattanooga next week, they meet Florida and Georgia so 1-4 is almost certain. With Jeremy Pruitt off to a 5-9 start, Greg Schiano, the former Rutgers and Buccaneers coach run out of town before he could even get started, isn’t looking so bad now, Tennessee fans.

Agg-rivating defense

Clemson topping Texas A&M at home wasn’t the surprise. The Tigers’ defense, however, limiting the Aggies to 289 total yards was. That unit was supposed to be a work in progress, after losing the entire defensive line to the NFL, but it kept A&M out of the end zone until six seconds remained in the one-sided contest, showing talent can sometimes make up for lack of experience. This group, naturally, will only get better as it beats up on the overmatched ACC.

Top 10

1. Clemson (2-0) (Last week: 1)

The Tigers passed an early test, manhandling Texas A&M, 24-10. The ACC schedule won’t be nearly as challenging.



2. Alabama (2-0) (2)

The spread was 55 and Alabama nearly covered it, mauling New Mexico State, 62-10. Practices are tougher for the Crimson Tide.



3. Georgia (2-0) (3)

So far, Georgia is averaging 296 yards rushing and allowing just 69.5. The Bulldogs game plan is simple: Maul you.

4. Ohio State (2-0) (4)

Get to know the name Chase Young. Already with three sacks, he’s one of the best defensive players in the country.

5. LSU (2-0) (5)

The Tigers now own the season’s most impressive victory: A road win at Texas. They should be 5-0 entering an Oct. 12 showdown with Florida.



6. Oklahoma (2-0) (6)

The Sooners have scored 119 points in two blowouts and now get to face crumbling UCLA at the Rose Bowl. This is what Chip Kelly’s teams used to look like.

7. Auburn (2-0) (8)

Auburn was sluggish, but it still backed up that big season-opening win against Oregon with another victory over Tulane.

8. Texas (1-1) (7)

Credit Texas for getting off the mat down 20-7 at halftime. But you don’t beat good teams allowing 573 yards of offense in your backyard.



9. Notre Dame (1-0) (NR)

The Irish had a bye this week, and then another dress rehearsal against New Mexico, before this season gets real with a trip to Georgia.

10. Michigan (2-0) (9)

The Wolverines deserved to lose. Army just didn’t have the talent to make up for a costly red-zone turnover, but Michigan won’t survive Wisconsin in two weeks with this kind of performance.

Dropped out: Washington (1-1)

Heisman Watch

(in alphabetical order)



QB Joe Burrow, LSU

LSU’s new offensive system has made Burrow look like a different quarterback. He’s already thrown for nine touchdown passes — including four and 471 yards through the air in Saturday’s win at Texas — after tossing 16 all of last year.

QB Justin Fields, Ohio State

In two weeks, Fields has missed on 12 passing attempts and scored nine touchdowns. So much for taking time for him to find a rhythm.



QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

Three more touchdown passes and 259 yards through the air for Hurts, who couldn’t have scripted a better start to his lone season in Norman.



QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

This looked more like the Lawrence of last year: 24-of-35 passing for 268 yards and a touchdown and interception in an impressive win over Texas A&M.

QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Maybe one Saturday, Tagovailoa will see the fourth quarter. But don’t expect it to be Saturday against middling South Carolina.