Checking in on the temperatures in Baton Rouge ahead of their road trip to Auburn this weekend.

SIZZLING

The freshmen trio. Brandon Harris is dominating the headlines around the football program right now, taking away all the attention that had been focused on Leonard Fournette from the beginning of preseason camp. Harris has certainly been remarkable, leading the Tigers to touchdowns on nine of 10 drives, stretching from when he entered the Mississippi State game to when he exited the game against New Mexico State. Fournette has quietly found his niche, saying the game is slowing down for him. He proved it with 122 yards and 2 TD against NMSU. Meanwhile, Malachi Dupre has overcome an injury-plagued camp and has scored in two straight games, looking like Harris’ favorite target.

HOT

Kendell Beckwith. The sophomore middle linebacker impressed in limited action against Mississippi State, earning him more playing time against New Mexico State. He was even better in the blowout, securing his first career interception and touchdown when he took a tipped ball to the house. While he only had 4 tackles in total against the Aggies, the Tigers run defense looked much stouter with him on the field. NMSU’s only touchdown run, a 79-yard scamper up the middle, came with Beckwith on the bench.

WARMING UP?

The run defense. Sure, it was against New Mexico State, but outside of one gaffe LSU’s run defense was air tight last week. If you remove the 79-yard run that resulted in the Aggies only score of the game, LSU limited NMSU to a paltry 2.5 yards per carry. That’s to be taken with a shaker of salt, as New Mexico is a Sun Belt Conference team with a weak rushing game, but it was an encouraging performance for the weakest part of LSU’s defense. Getting Lewis Neal some real reps at defensive tackle was a help, and getting Maquedius Bain and Greg Gilmore onto the field is a major positive. They’ll be needed against Auburn.

ON ICE

The quarterback competition. Unless Harris falls flat on his face against Auburn, he should be the undisputed starting quarterback the rest of the way. While Anthony Jennings supposedly has a greater grasp of the playbook, he hasn’t shown the aptitude for actually executing those plays. Meanwhile, the offense simply looks fired up with Harris in the game, and even if the freshman doesn’t have the same playbook mastery, his huge arm and dangerous legs make him the better fit going forward.