LSU needs a victory this week.

Very badly.

The unexpected postponement of the Florida game scheduled for last Saturday means there’s no performance to evaluate for this Tell The Truth Monday.

But there’s some important truth telling that needs to happen nonetheless.

The Tigers need to beat South Carolina on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.

Very badly.

No one knew exactly what to expect from this year’s team.

The national championship run last year was a season for the ages. But 14 NFL Draft choices and several key, last-minute opt-outs in the preseason created as much uncertainty with this team as any team in the country.

A season like last season was certainly out of the question.

And a return to the Playoff seemed virtually out of the question.

But this inexperienced LSU team still has some key players back from last year’s team, some backups from last year’s team seemingly prepared to move into more prominent roles and a lot of inexperienced but potentially really good youngsters.

So there was hope for this year’s team.

Perhaps it could challenge Alabama for the SEC West title. If not, it certainly should have been in the mix to possibly be the No. 2 team in the West.

Tiger fans had to be prepared for the possibility of multiple losses, but an 8-2 or even 7-3 record against an all-SEC schedule wouldn’t be all that bad.

Certainly a trip to a bowl game – perhaps even a fairly prestigious one – seemed like a reasonable possibility, assuming there’s something resembling a normal bowl schedule awaiting at the end of this season of COVID disruptions.

But no matter how modest or lofty the expectations anyone might have had for this LSU team, they might have to be lowered.

Especially if the Tigers don’t beat the Gamecocks on Saturday.

LSU already has 2 losses after playing just 3 games. The only victory came in the only gimme on the schedule – Vanderbilt.

Missouri figured to be another gimme, but that turned into a 45-41 loss 2 weeks ago. Throw in the 44-34 loss to Mississippi State in the opener and you have a season that could easily spiral out of control – if the Tigers don’t beat the Gamecocks.

Given the way Mississippi State has played since the opener, the way Vanderbilt has played throughout and the way Missouri played prior to beating LSU, it’s safe to say this season has begun with the softest 3-game stretch of the schedule.

South Carolina has had its own issues, but it pulled together and knocked off No. 15 Auburn on Saturday. Next up for LSU is a visit to Auburn on Halloween. The loss to the Gamecocks and a poor performance at Georgia earlier have the folks in Auburn upset – but they’re still no worse the second-most disappointing set of Tigers in the SEC.

After an open date on Nov. 7, LSU hosts No. 2 Alabama, then it goes to Arkansas, which has successfully played its way off the gimme list.

Then it’s on the road again to face Texas A&M, a date with Ole Miss in the home finale and the makeup game at Florida. The move of that game to the end of the season means the Tigers finish with 3 road games in their last 4.

But first things first.

If LSU can put aside the loss to Missouri and the disruptions of last week to beat a team coming off an impressive win last week, it would be the signature accomplishment in this young season.

A 2-2 record wouldn’t be cause for a whole lot of chest thumping, but it could reduce the amount of teeth gnashing going on right now.

It would present an opportunity for a glass-half-full prognostication of how many wins are still attainable rather than a glass-is-practically-empty search for whether there is another win to be had.

College football teams and seasons can look drastically different from one week to the next and that’s even truer under these circumstances.

A win on Saturday could clear away some of those dark clouds that have been hovering ever since those goal-line failures at the end of the loss to Missouri.

But a loss on Saturday might create a total eclipse of the sun.