This weekend is a critical juncture across the SEC landscape, with three match ups pitting top-15 teams against each other in the West and three more divisional games in the East. LSU, of course, is half of one of those marquee games, traveling to Auburn to take on the No. 5 Tigers of the Plains.

LSU is at as much of a crossroad as any team in the conference this weekend. As always, they have the talent on hand nearly across the board, but they lack experience in critical positions, quarterback among them. If LSU falters and finishes below preseason expectations this year, it wouldn’t be a shocker, although it certainly wouldn’t make fans across Louisiana happy.

Will the fans direct their ire toward Les Miles? More importantly, should they?

During Miles’ tenure, LSU has been churning out NFL talent, but 2013 and 2014 took that to another level. The Tigers had 18 players drafted in total the last two years, only five fewer than they did from 2009-12. While Miles’ expert recruiting has kept the coffers full in Baton Rouge, many of those players simply lack the game experience to be ready.

Most glaringly, that showed in Anthony Jennings. The sophomore started two games last season in Zach Mettenberger’s absence, and began the season as the Tigers’ signal caller, with the idea that his knowledge of the playbook after a year in the program gave the Tigers the best chance to win. That proved untrue, when Jennings played like someone who couldn’t handle the moment. Miles’ insistence on sticking with Jennings might have cost LSU a win against Mississippi State, as the offense sputtered until Brandon Harris entered the game in the final minutes.

You can point to Miles’ stubbornness as the reason for that failure, sending Jennings out to line up under center in power formations that simply weren’t working, and for his insistence on starting the next game, last week’s tilt against New Mexico State, in a similar manner. It wasn’t until things got ugly — four-turnovers-in-the-first-quarter ugly — that Miles made a change, brining in Harris and spreading out the offense. Contrary to the popular opinion on Miles’ steadfastness, the coach did adapt, as he has in the past. It wasn’t more than a decade ago that Miles came in and the Tigers were slinging the ball all over the field, before evolving into a power running team when the talent on hand called for it.

Now that Miles has again showed a willingness to change when called for, has he bought himself more patience this season? The way LSU’s run defense has played, it’s conceivable that several teams in the SEC, starting with Auburn this weekend and followed by Arkansas and Alabama, could trample them on the ground and send them to a subpar (for LSU) season, potentially 4-4 or worse in the conference.

Miles has turned the team over to the future, especially on offense, giving the bulk of reps to freshmen at quarterback and running back, while two freshmen receivers run with the first team. Ultimately, this team was going anywhere without at least a competent offense. After giving the more veteran player a chance, Miles is now rolling with the options that give him the best chance right now. There’s a real possibility, though, that LSU goes nowhere this year as they build for next and beyond.

If LSU does take off under Harris, Miles deserves the credit for handing him the keys. If they fail, it’s only fair that he shares in the blame, mainly for not making a change sooner.