It’s a weird week to be in Baton Rouge.

LSU has changed coaches. It has changed staff and changed its practice patterns. Les Miles is out. Ed Orgeron is in … for now. And all anybody wants to talk about is who might be the permanent replacement.

Tom Herman? Jimbo Fisher? Lane Kiffin? Art Briles?

Lots to talk about.

And there’s one detail that gets lost in all this.

Missouri.

Yeah, there’s a game on Saturday.

So far, it appears the Tigers are no more than a prop, the “other team” in the drama that is LSU football right now.

Except Mizzou seems to be … pretty good. Like LSU, Barry Odom’s team is 2-2. And unlike LSU, these Tigers do it by scoring points, lots of points, albeit mostly in wins against inferior opponents.

So what are the keys? Let’s look.

Missouri

1. Score … early and often: That’s a captain obvious point to make. But here’s the thing. For all the talk this week of Orgeron changing the offense, until LSU proves otherwise, it’s not a very good offense when it has to be wide open in any way. And Missouri leads the SEC in total offense (569.5 ypg) and is second in scoring (44.5). If Mizzou can score early, it really puts to the test Orgeron’s pledge to spread the ball around, something we’ll believe LSU is capable of doing effectively when it starts doing it.

2. Air it out: Granted, the stats have been padded by wins over Eastern Michigan and Delaware State (a combined 140 points in those games), but Missouri quarterback Drew Lock is one of the league’s rising stars, leading the SEC with 377 passing yards per game. With cornerback Kevin Toliver out last week, LSU allowed Auburn’s Sean White  — hardly a passer as prolific as Lock — to go 19-for-26 for 234 yards. There’s opportunity here, particularly if Toliver is still ailing.

3. Have a killer instinct: No, LSU is not an outmanned underdog. But the local Tigers will be fragile in this week of change. It’s Missouri’s job to get out on the home team early and make that doubt creep in. If it allows LSU to feel good about itself early, especially in front of a Tiger Stadium crowd, it could be a long night.

LSU

1. Get focused on football: There’s been a lot going on for the LSU players, from a new coach to new staff and a new practice routine. Heck, it’s even homecoming week at LSU. Its starting quarterback, Danny Etling, is dealing with the loss of the family friend who helped recruit him to LSU, fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. As the interim coach, can Orgeron get his team locked into playing a football game against Missouri?

2. A healthy Fournette: Orgeron said he wants to spread the ball out more as opposed to relying too heavily on Leonard Fournette to carry the ball. But he didn’t want to spread the ball with Fournette not even in the lineup. Fournette has been nursing an ankle injury since August camp and aggravated it in last week’s loss to Auburn. Orgeron said his availability will be a game-day decision. Sure, LSU needs more than Fournette, but it still needs its best player to be Plan A.

3. Get to Lock: Missouri’s sophomore quarterback has thrown 162 passes and only been sacked once, which leads the SEC. Arden Key alone has 6.5 sacks for LSU, which leads the SEC. Something’s got to give. Lock obviously gets rid of the football before the rush can get to him. LSU’s task is to disrupt the rhythm of the offense so Lock has to look for receivers, giving the rush a chance to get to Lock. If Lock is allowed to deliver quick and accurate passes, he’s capable of picking LSU’s secondary apart.