Quick thoughts from LSU’s blowout loss to the Auburn Tigers. 

What it means: LSU needs to look to the future. The results are very clear: the Tigers cannot hang with their SEC West brethren this year. The team is too young in too many spots and too thin in others to hang with the rest of the best division in college football. One thing LSU can say is they have plenty of talent on the roster, and this is the time to let it develop. The division crown is far out of reach, but that doesn’t mean LSU can’t create some positives this season. Getting repetitions for all of the blue chippers on the roster should be a priority.

What I didn’t like: Pulling Brandon Harris. The freshmen quarterback was as bad in his first career start as Anthony Jennings was in any of his this season, going 3-of-13 for 58 yards. That line somehow looks better than it actually was, as 52 of Harris’ yards came on one pass. Giving him the hook isn’t going to help LSU though, not this year and not for the future. Jennings didn’t get it done either against Auburn, just as he couldn’t get it done against Mississippi State or even New Mexico State. Miles may have been looking for something to jump start the offense, but Jennings had already proved he’s not able to do that. Even playing in a blowout would have given Harris valuable experience. Unless his ankle injury made him unplayable or would have become worse, he should have been allowed to finish the game.

Most frustrating aspect: The inability to run the ball. After looking like they were getting in a groove last week, the offensive line’s performance proved to be a bit of fool’s gold. The team’s most disappointing unit let the Tigers down once again, failing both to open holes for the running game or keep pressure off of Harris. Despite that, the Tigers still ran the ball a whopping 36 times, 61 percent of their snaps. Miles could be seen on the sideline at one point saying that his team had to throw the ball, but they kept pounding it into the line with little or no success.

What’s next: LSU takes on another of the SEC’s disappointing teams next week when they travel to The Swamp to take on the Florida Gators. Early Saturday afternoon, Florida looked just as abysmal as LSU did in the evening, but they managed to squeak out a 10-9 win over Tennessee after their freshman backup quarterback, Treon Harris, came into the game and led two late scoring drives.