LSU is figuring it out.

The Tigers began the second half of the season with a complete and resounding 48-18 victory over Auburn on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

It was as well-rounded a performance as No. 19 LSU (5-2, 4-1 SEC) has had this season. The Tigers dominated Mississippi State and edged Arkansas in the other games that are candidates for the best-rounded distinction.

But this one was different in the sense that the coaching staff is zeroing in on how to use its offensive skill players to maximum effect and the defensive coaches and players are getting in sync as the season-defining part of the schedule looms after this week’s non-conference home game against Army and the open date after that.

It’s Tell the Truth Monday, and the truth this week is the performance against Auburn demonstrated that LSU is trending toward being the team that it was expected to be when it landed at No. 5 in the AP preseason poll.

It’s not there yet, and it might not get there, but Saturday was a notable step in the right direction.

It’s true that Auburn is rebuilding under first-year head coach Hugh Freeze and is limited on offense, so even a 30-point margin of victory against this outmanned opponent can be misleading.

But it’s not the raw numbers that tell the truth about this performance. It’s the manner in which LSU accumulated those numbers – as both the offense and defense were synced together as units rather than a collection of individuals.

Other victories had been gained primarily because of the brilliance of Jayden Daniels and a couple occurred in spite of the performance of the defense.

Although Daniels was outstanding once again Saturday, the supporting cast came closer to matching his level of play.

And the defense wasn’t a hurdle that had to be overcome on the way to victory but rather was a partner to Daniels and company in crafting this wire-to-wire victory.

Let’s start with the offense.

Early in the season LSU was leaning on the passing game while the running game was finding itself, but the recent trend has been to be balanced. What was most encouraging Saturday was the effectiveness of multiple running backs.

LSU began the season with an extremely deep group of capable running backs, but struggled to find a tight, effective rotation. Recently Logan Diggs has clearly established himself as the primary ball carrier, and on Saturday John Emery Jr. looked the best he has since becoming academically eligible last month. And Josh Williams scored twice.

Diggs – and Daniels, who’s the No. 2 rusher – are going to need help as the wear and tear gets greater during the heart of the SEC schedule, and head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock now seem to have a clearer vision of how to use their depth at running back.

Depth is also showing up at wide receiver. Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. have been very productive, and Kyren Lacy emerged as the big-play receiver Saturday. Add in tight end Mason Taylor getting healthier, and Daniels has the arsenal that was envisioned during the summer.

As for the defense, it played much better Saturday, though it would be premature to assume it’s an SEC West-champion caliber defense. But the last 6 quarters have been encouraging.

Kelly gave a game ball to Harold Perkins on Saturday, and the defense’s best playmaker is playing loose and free after a slow start to the season.

The return to health of linebacker Omar Speights provided a boost Saturday. Zy Alexander and Andre Sam have brought a measure of stability at cornerback, and Sage Ryan moved from safety to bolster the group’s numbers Saturday.

One of the most notable elements to the victory was the 17-0 first-quarter blitz that put LSU in control. In Kelly’s 2 seasons, his team has been hampered by periodic poor starts, some of which were overcome and some of which were not.

The wins against Arkansas and Missouri and the loss to Ole Miss were 3 such games. Saturday was not.

Though Auburn twice got within 10 points, that wasn’t so much a case of LSU hitting a lull as it was Auburn starting to find some footing. But LSU responded each time and finished strong.

There’s a long way to go, but LSU is starting to look like a team that’s capable of finishing the season strong – if it can continue to build on the identity it showed against Auburn.

We can’t forget that it’s Tell the Truth Monday, and that requires acknowledging negatives in victory as well as positives in defeat.

The 12 penalties for 100 yards against Auburn will be problematic if repeated against a stronger opponent down the road.

But when it comes to telling the truth about short-comings, that’s not too bad.