LSU’s defense has been really good so far.

Its offense has not.

But the No. 3 Tigers (3-0) figure to have a chance to sharpen both when they play FCS opponent Southeastern Louisiana (2-1) on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.

LSU is tied for 11th in the country in scoring defense (9.0 points per game) and 25th in total defense (260.3 yards per game), but ranks just 94th in total offense (345.7 ypg) and tied for 107th in scoring offense (20.0 ppg).

Head coach Brian Kelly said the disparity isn’t necessarily by design, but it is a demonstration that he is much more comfortable leaning on his defense than he was last season.

“This year, I’m playing it a little bit differently based upon the strength of our defense,” he said. “Last year we needed to score more points. Now, as we move forward, we’re going to need to do both.”

The most points the Tigers have scored in a game this season came two weeks ago in a 23-7 victory against Louisiana Tech, which opened the season by beating Southeastern Louisiana 24-0.

Kelly revealed this week that quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, generally considered a primary candidate to win the Heisman Trophy, has been limited in practice because of a “torso” injury sustained in preseason camp.

“He’s fighting through it and he’s getting better,” Kelly said. “He’s not going to be able to really shut it down until we get to the bye week (in two weeks).”

The rushing offense ranks 116th in the country and LSU has just two rushing touchdowns.

“We’ve got to be better in terms of technique,” Kelly said. “This is a big week for us in terms of developing the technique and the experience that we have and still being consistent with running the football.

“We’re developing what our identity should look like from an offensive standpoint. Trust me, that offense is going to have to score a ton of points at some time during the year, and we’re going to have to turn that loose because our defense might just not play as well as they have been playing.”

Dashawn Spears had two of the Tigers’ five interceptions and returned one 58 yards for a touchdown in a 20-10 victory over visiting Florida in the SEC opener last Saturday.

The Lions have won their last two games — beating Murray State 45-24 on the road and routing Mississippi Valley State 56-3 last week at home.

But they know once they’re done with their 50-mile bus ride to Baton Rouge, they’ll be facing a much different caliber of opponent than they are used to.

“We’re doing it for the money; I know that,” Southeastern Louisiana coach Frank Scelfo said. “But at the same time the chance for our guys to be in that setting is good.”

Scelfo said his team’s focus even after they were comfortably ahead last week was what “pleased me more than anything else.” That trait might come in handy Saturday.

“You’ve got to be who you are all the time, whether you’re way ahead or you’re way behind,” he said.

–Field Level Media

When Arkansas plays at Memphis on Saturday afternoon, Razorbacks senior quarterback Taylen Green will have more familiarity with Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium than most of the Tigers.

Green, off to a productive start for the Razorbacks (2-1), will be playing in Memphis for the third time. A majority of the Tigers, meanwhile, will be appearing in only their second game at the facility as Memphis’ roster underwent significant restocking after last season.

Through three games this season, Green has passed for 866 yards and 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions. A dual threat, he has rushed for 307 yards and two scores.

Green made his first appearance in Memphis two years ago when he was the starting quarterback for Boise State. He finished 12-of-24 passing for 200 yards and rushed for 51 yards on eight carries, but he was benched during the game that Memphis won 35-32.

Last year, Green returned to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium as the starting quarterback for the Razorbacks and enjoyed a better outcome. He led Arkansas to a 39-26 victory over Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl and earned the game’s Most Valuable Player award. He finished with 341 passing yards and two touchdowns and ran for 81 yards and a TD.

Curtailing Green’s production will be a focal point for the Tigers (3-0), who are coming off a 28-7 win last weekend at Troy while Arkansas dropped a Southeastern Conference road game vs. then-No. 17 Ole Miss, 41-35. Green became the first player in Arkansas history to throw for at least 300 yards (305) and rush for at least 100 yards (105) in the same game.

“He is very talented,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said of Green. “… He has great touch on the football. He commands their offense. He can do it all. We are going to have our hands full.”

The Tigers will counter with a dual threat of their own. Nevada transfer quarterback Brendon Lewis has been a key to the team’s strong start, along with a solid running game paced by tailback Sutton Smith. The sixth-year signalcaller passed for 213 yards and ran for 41 in the win over Troy while Smith rushed for 113 yards and two TDs.

“They are really good at inside zone and inside zone read,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said. “To beat Memphis, you have to eliminate that. And they are good at that, so it’s going to be hard to do.”

–Field Level Media

Longtime rivals Miami and Florida are trending in opposite directions as they prepare to meet on Saturday night in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The No. 4-ranked Hurricanes (3-0) beat their second ranked opponent of the season last week with a 49-12 rout of then-No. 18 South Florida.

Florida (1-2) fell out of the Top 25 following back-to-back losses to South Florida and LSU and will look to avoid losing three games in a row for the first time since they dropped their final five games of the 2023 season.

Miami leads the all-time series 30-27 and has split the past four encounters, with the Hurricanes winning 41-17 in Gainesville in last season’s opener for both teams.

Florida coach Billy Napier’s seat is warming up again, though on Monday he said he felt his team was on the cusp of turning the corner after a competitive yet frustrating 20-10 loss to No. 3 LSU last week.

“If I didn’t feel good about the intangibles of the team, I think that’s probably when I would be worried,” Napier said. “But this group turned it around and showed up and competed their tail off Saturday. They’re a group that knows they’re that close.

“We’re close to being pretty dangerous, in my opinion.”

Gators quarterback DJ Lagway’s inconsistency has been part of the issue.

Lagway, who dealt with multiple injuries that limited his participation leading into the season, completed 33 of 49 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown but threw a staggering five interceptions in last week’s loss.

The turnovers negated another respectable performance by Florida’s defense, which has allowed only two touchdowns in three games and held all three opponents to 20 points or less.

“We have to keep things in perspective here, relative to how much experience he has, the offseason that he’s been through,” Napier said. “It’s important to evaluate things from that perspective, and not necessarily on one performance.”

On the flip side, Miami has had no issue replacing overall No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward at quarterback.

Georgia transfer Carson Beck has flourished in the Hurricanes’ offense, completing 79.3 percent of his passes (65 of 82) for 812 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions.

Beck threw his first two picks as a Hurricane against South Florida last week, but he passed for a season-high 340 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 28 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a big guy (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) who can flat-out run,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “He’s done that his entire career, and it adds to our offensive package. The guy is a winner, and he can hurt you in so many ways.”

Beck has also been sacked only twice as Miami’s offensive line continued to stand out last week. The Hurricanes totaled 576 total yards, including 205 rushing.

“The physicality of the game and the ability to take over the game and really impose our will, running the football, they’ve done a great job,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said.

Miami’s defense also has shown noticeable improvement after giving up 42 points in each of its final two games last season.

The Hurricanes are allowing an average of 13.0 points through three games this season. Their other win against a ranked opponent came against then-No. 6 Notre Dame, 27-24, in the season opener.

–Field Level Media

Despite a 34-14 road win over Northwestern last Saturday, Oregon fell two spots in the AP Top 25 this week.

But the sixth-ranked Ducks (3-0) will look to keep rolling when they host in-state rival Oregon State (0-3) on Saturday in Eugene.

The two longtime former Pac-10 and Pac-12 rivals have maintained their home-and-home rivalry even though the Ducks moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten and the Beavers were one of two programs (Washington State is the other) to remain in the Pac-12 after it disbanded in 2024.

Oregon has won 14 of the last 17 meetings against Oregon State and two straight in a series that dates to 1894. The Ducks lead the series 68-51 with 10 ties.

Oregon rolled to a 49-14 win at Oregon State in September 2024.

The Ducks have been impressive on both sides of the ball this season despite playing without their most experienced running back, Noah Whittington, last week at Northwestern. The speedy Whittington was dressed but stood on the sideline the entire game because of an undisclosed injury, and it was unclear Monday if he’d be able to play against Oregon State and beyond.

“We will see. If he’s ready, we’ll have him out there (against Oregon State),” Ducks coach Dan Lanning said, per SINow.com. “Ultimately I think we have a good back unit. That is something we’ve said is a strength. This is why we prepare the way we prepare, because there are a lot of guys that can be used. We’ve got a lot of guys that can play winning football. That is certainly a position that’s shown up.”

The Ducks displayed their depth at the position against Northwestern, with one touchdown run apiece for running backs Jayden Limar, Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill Jr.

Whittington and Limar scored touchdowns against Oregon State in last season’s meeting. Against Northwestern last Saturday, Oregon’s defense had two interceptions.

Winless Oregon State has had only one fairly close game, a 36-27 home loss to Fresno State in Week 2. Beavers quarterback Maalik Murphy, a transfer from Duke, has six touchdown passes this season, one fewer than the Beavers’ total TD passes for all of last season.

The Beavers have gone five straight games with a 100-yard receiver, and 14 players have caught at least one pass this season, three more than all of 2024.

Murphy’s 896 passing yards are the most by a Beavers quarterback over the first three games of a season since Sean Mannion’s 903 in 2014.

Beavers coach Trent Bray, a former Oregon State player, has had to answer questions about being on the hot seat.

“We’ve got good players,” Bray told OregonLive.com. “I feel confident about our players and what they can do. And I feel confident in our coaches to get them ready to play and go out there and execute. That’s really what it’s going to be about, our guys playing fast and executing the scheme and what we’re trying to do.”

–Field Level Media

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel wasn’t interested in looking at what went wrong during his team’s loss to rival Georgia last week.

As a matter of fact, Heupel was quick to turn the page as his 15th-ranked Volunteers (2-1) prepare to host UAB (2-1) on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“At the end of the day, in this game, you have to constantly move forward, and you have to take advantage of every day,” Heupel said Monday, two days after his team’s 44-41 overtime loss to the Bulldogs.

“You can’t look in the rear-view mirror. You have to look out the windshield and keep driving forward.”

Saturday’s contest will pit a Volunteers team that ranks sixth nationally in average total yards per game (568.7) against 40th-ranked UAB (451.7).

The teams’ respective quarterbacks also are airing it out, with Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar ranking 10th nationally in passing yards (906) and UAB’s Jalen Kitna 12th at 892.

Aguilar accounted for five touchdowns — a career-high-tying four passing, one rushing — vs. the Bulldogs. He completed all 14 pass attempts in the first quarter and finished 24-of-36 passing for 371 yards, with two interceptions.

Chris Brazzell II reeled in career-high totals in receiving yards (177) and touchdowns (three) for Tennessee. A 72-yard touchdown reception by Brazzell in the first quarter was the longest of his career and was the second scoring strike of at least 70 yards in the past three weeks by Aguilar.

Brazzell leads the Volunteers in catches (20), receiving yards (364) and receiving touchdowns (five).

“I think attention to detail has been a huge part of his success,” Heupel said. “Understanding coverage, understanding his role in the scheme, playing with great fundamentals and technique. He’s playing really confident, going up and attacking the football. He did a great job on Saturday, and he has the first couple of weeks, too.”

Braylon Staley enjoyed a career day against Georgia with nine catches for 97 yards. He also scored his second touchdown of the season.

The Volunteers hope to see the return of Stanford transfer Jaxson Moi on Saturday. The defensive tackle is deemed to be day-to-day by Heupel as he works his way back from an upper-body injury suffered in Tennessee’s season-opening 45-26 victory over Syracuse on Aug. 30.

UAB, meanwhile, bounced back from its first loss of the season by scoring all of its points in the first half in a 31-28 victory over Akron last Saturday.

Jalen Kitna threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns for the Blazers, and Solomon Beebe earned American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors after totaling 190 all-purpose yards and 154 kickoff return yards.

UAB coach Trent Dilfer stressed the benefit of playing a Power 4 opponent this week.

“I think as a team, it is a great opportunity to go and show up and dress for success, so to speak. Make everything you do, how you act, how you compete, how you think, how you respond, making plays, show up and let your light shine,” Dilfer said on Monday.

“Not to be cheesy, but be somebody that somebody who has never watched UAB football watches the game, and they are like, ‘Dang, that offense can really go,’ (or) ‘Man, that defense plays hard,’ (or) ‘Man, they are really good on special teams.’ People take notice of what you have worked so hard to build.”

–Field Level Media