Is Brandon Harris ready to take on an SEC defense?

That’s the million-dollar question being asked all the way from Baton Rouge to Starkville and across the Southeastern part of the country this week.

By Saturday night, we’ll ultimately know the answer.

However, there is reason to believe that the sophomore quarterback is absolutely prepared to make his second start behind center for LSU, regardless of which opponent he’s set to line up against.

LSU canceled its season opener against McNeese State last Saturday night in Tiger Stadium due to inclement weather. Rather than postponing the contest or moving it to Sunday, the game was wiped from the schedule. Essentially, the eight plays in the opening five minutes were a wash.

Such has the set the scene for critics to go after LSU coach Les Miles for not allowing his quarterback to get a proper warm-up before vaulting into the Tigers’ SEC schedule. McNeese State would have provided Harris with a less-imposing defense than the one he’s set to face tomorrow night in Starkville, which ideally would have inflated his confidence heading into the all-important rivalry game.

You can’t reverse history, so Harris doesn’t have a first game to study up on or a confidence-booster to take into Mississippi State week. Such has been cause for concern for those questioning the sophomore, who has just one career start in his back pocket entering Saturday.

Harris drew the start against No. 5 Auburn on Oct. 4 of last season. Miles’ decision to go with the true sophomore came in the aftermath of back-to-back impressive performances against these Mississippi State Bulldogs and New Mexico State.

With his team trailing by 18 points in the fourth quarter against Mississippi State, Harris orchestrated LSU to a pair of scoring drives, throwing touchdown passes covering 31 and 30 yards to fellow freshman wide receiver Malachi Dupre, and doing so within a span of 28 seconds. Harris’ Hail Mary pass in the waning seconds of the game was intercepted, but he finished the game 6-of-9 for 140 yards and, more importantly, provided a spark to the Tigers offense.

Anthony Jennings got the nod the following week against New Mexico State, but was pulled from the game in favor of Harris, who led LSU on scoring drives in each of his first seven series behind center. Harris finished the game 11-of-14 for 178 yards and three touchdowns in a convincing 63-7 win, which was enough to draw the favor of Miles, who opted to start Harris the following week against Auburn.

With the pressure on, Harris, the seventh LSU true freshman quarterback to start a game, could not handle the moment.

In the midst of a 41-7 thrashing, Harris completed only three of his 14 pass attempts for 58 yards. Harris engineered one scoring drive in nine attempts, seven of which resulted in LSU punts. Miles removed Harris late in the third quarter, though he did not receive better results from Jennings.

Harris’ first start against Auburn in 2014 was forgettable. That’s not up for debate. But it was Harris’ first career start against then the fifth-ranked team in the country at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and in no way, shape of form does it mean he’s ill-prepared to take on Mississippi State Saturday in what is basically LSU’s season opener.

The last time Harris started a game for LSU was 11 months ago. As a true freshman, perhaps Harris didn’t have the ability to digest the situation as well as he can now. A year older, a year more experienced and a year of preparation can make the world of difference.

Last week in the weather delay, Harris stayed fresh. He reviewed offensive coordinator Cam Cameron’s playcall sheet for an hour. He threw passes with receivers Travis Dural and John Diarse and even watched Mississippi State play against Southern Miss on TV.

Those are the tactics of a mature, more focused quarterback. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point.

Harris’ renewed approach to the game has been evident for a month since earning the starting job over Jennings. With better habits, Harris said the game slowed down for him. He stopped overthinking and realized how to put his team in a position to win.

Miles said the different between the freshman version of Harris and the one that showed up at fall camp was “night and day.”

Factor in a renewed confidence with a better work ethic and improved understanding of the game, and that is enough to prove Harris is ready for LSU’s opener against Mississippi State. Last year, he displayed all of the physical tools to orchestrate this offense and have success against this Bulldogs defense. His hiccup against Auburn was a cause for concern, but that’s a problem easily corrected by better practices leading up to the game.

Whether it’s McNeese State or Mississippi State, Harris now knows how to approach each game. He’s LSU’s unquestioned starting quarterback and he should be ready to play like it.