LSU lived up to the hype in its season opener on Saturday.

The Tigers were ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll mostly because of their 10-3 finish last season, but also because of significant changes.

New passing game coordinator Joe Brady was expected to diversify the offense.

The defense was expected to be even better than it was during a good, but injury-hampered season last year.

Freshman defensive back Derek Stingley Jr. was expected to ignite a moribund punt return game.

Check, check and check.

And more.

LSU was dominant from start to finish in Saturday’s 55-3 rout of Georgia Southern in Tiger Stadium.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Joe Burrow was decisive and efficient in operating Brady’s scheme while the Tigers also met head coach Ed Orgeron’s desire for balance between the run and the pass.

Burrow had more passing touchdowns (five) than incompletions (four). He was 23-for-27 for 278 yards, then moved aside for Myles Brennan to take some snaps with the Tigers way ahead.

The defense smothered the Eagles, forcing a pair of three-and-outs before forcing and recovering a fumble.

Stingley nearly matched the Tigers’ season total of 99 punt return yards last season in the first quarter alone.

Now, Georgia Southern is far from the best gauge we’ll get from the Tigers. In fact next week’s game at No. 10 Texas will be a whole different ball game.

Probably.

Georgia Southern won the toss and satisfied the home crowd by deferring their option and thereby deferring no longer the unveiling of Brady’s scheme and Burrow’s ability to operate it.

The fans were rewarded as Burrow guided LSU to a lickety-split touchdown though a holding penalty wiped out Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s touchdown run. That merely delayed the seemingly inevitable as Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

Speaking of Chase, the expected improvement among the young receivers also became a reality as fellow sophomore Terrace Marshall Jr. made three touchdown catches during the Tigers’ race to a 42-3 halftime lead.

The stable of running backs was on display as Edwards-Helaire, senior Lanard Fournette and freshmen John Emery Jr. and Tyrion Davis-Price also got early touches. Emery was the fourth runner to get a crack at the Eagles defense, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he moved up in the pecking order in time for the game against the Longhorns.

By halftime, Burrow already had tied a school record with five touchdown passes.

By the second half Orgeron and his staff were taking a look at backups and letting starters get rested for next Saturday’s game against Texas.

One week from now, the impressions of the Tigers could be much different.

They won’t have the size advantage on the lines of scrimmage against the Longhorns that they had against Georgia Southern.

They won’t the have the speed and athleticism advantage that they had.

They won’t have the element of surprise to the same degree because Brady showed a lot of what his scheme is all about, though certainly he didn’t show everything.

And LSU won’t have thomefield advantage next week either.

So the impression that the Tigers made in Week 1 could be altered significantly by what happens in Week 2.

But one thing will not change. LSU couldn’t have made a better first impression.