Heading into Week 4, the LSU Tigers were the No. 8 ranked team in the nation. Behind a stifling defense and LSU’s usual strong running game, it seemed LSU was destined once again to compete for the SEC West title.

That is, until after Saturday night. An unranked Mississippi State marched into Tiger Stadium and throttled the Tigers for much of the game, eventually winning 34-29. And it was LSU’s quarterback position that was greatly exposed in the loss and now head coach Les Miles has an interesting predicament facing him.

LSU No. 1 QB

Players involved: Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris

Before we get into it, here’s a quick stats comparison so far this season between Jennings and Harris.

  • Anthony Jennings – 40-of-78, 723 passing yards, five TDs and one INT; 35 carries, 67 rushing yards
  • Brandon Harris – 11-of-16, 216 passing yards, three TDs and one INT; 11 carries, 72 rushing yards

Prior to the season, this was one of the more high-profile position battles after the departure of last year’s quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Jennings touted more experience than Harris, albeit not much with Jennings just a sophomore compared to Harris’ true freshman status.

Eventually, Jennings was named the starter, but under his leadership the offense hasn’t been very explosive. The Tigers rank 12 in the SEC in scoring offense, scoring just 36 points per game. They’re only ahead of Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Passing-wise, Jennings has been incredibly inconsistent in the team’s first four games.

In the season-opener against a ranked Wisconsin team, Jennings threw for two touchdowns and 239 yards, but was only 9-of-21 passing. Since then he’s yet to throw for more than 200 yards again and ranks last among starting quarterbacks in the SEC with just a 51.3 completion percentage.

This past weekend against Mississippi State was Jennings’ worst outing to date. The LSU offense managed to score only one offensive touchdown with Jennings as the starter and the sophomore quarterback completed only half of his 26 passes for 157 yards.

To make matters worse for Jennings, he suffered an injury so Les Miles took him out to get Harris some playing time and the true freshman injected some life into the LSU offense. Granted, the Mississippi State defense wasn’t exactly going 100 percent at that point in the game, but Harris scored two quick passing touchdowns in the remaining minutes of the game and generated some injury. He racked up 140 passing yard on just six completions and got the Tigers within five points of Mississippi State.

“I enjoyed Brandon Harris coming in the game,” Miles said at his weekly press conference. “I enjoyed the fact that he gave us a tremendous lift. We said to him ‘okay, make some deep throws and really use your arm. Use your feet to see us win this game.’ He did exactly that. It was a tremendous lift, and he earned some more playing time without question.”

“And he earned some more consideration at quarterback,” Miles added. “He makes a case for Brandon Harris at quarterback.”

Strong words from the LSU head coach.

Moving forward, Miles will face a tough decision. Through four games, he’s seen tangible, on-field results from Jennings. LSU’s offense has some weapons on the outside, but overall it’s not going to scare anybody with Jennings at quarterback. He’s more than capable to hand the ball off and occasionally hit a streaking Malachi Dupre or Travin Dural, but it’s doubtful Jennings can establish the passing game enough for opposing defenses to respect it.

On the other hand, Harris has looked strong in limited time. His biggest weakness is his experience. Starting a true freshman in the SEC and expecting the kind of results LSU has come to expect every season seem unrealistic and unattainable. It’s not a likely scenario against the caliber of defenses within the SEC.

But there’s undeniable energy in the offense when Harris is in the game.

“[Harris] did a great job,” Miles said about the true freshman quarterback. “He gave us every opportunity to win in the time that he was on the field. I can also tell you that we will play the guy that gives us the best opportunity at victory, and we’d like to play him in any situation.”

A decision may not be made in the coming week, but another strong performance by Harris against New Mexico State will continue to muddle the decision for Miles. Or make it that much clearer, depending on how you look at it.

“I think it will play out very positively,” Miles said of the renewed quarterback competition. “I look forward to the improvement at that position really start to finish.”