LSU fans have never been the patient type. One of my fondest memories in my time in the media was while I was a spotter for Troy Radio and we came to Baton Rouge to take on LSU. The notorious impatience of the Tiger fans showed itself quickly, as booing began on the third play of the game when LSU found itself in a third and nine situation.

That impatience hasn&8217;t been without good reason over the years. For many, many years, folks in my neck of the woods talked about LSU&8217;s penchant for having a great season, only to fall back to the pack the next one. Consistency was something the program had been lacking for years.

This is a big part of the reason the last few seasons have been special. When Nick Saban came on in 2000, things changed for the Tigers in a big way very quickly. The recruiting of Saban&8217;s staff put an incredible amount of talent on the LSU campus, and now Les Miles and his staff have inherited it. Miles entirely controls how successful this program can be from this point forward.

After attending media days this past weekend, it&8217;s obvious to me that expressing his thoughts to the media might not be Miles&8217; strong-point, but it&8217;s hard to look at and listen to the players and not think they are well-prepared to hit the field this season.

This is an incredibly strong team, and it would not surprise me to see them in Tempe, Ariz. for the BCS Championship Game this January. However, there are plenty of question marks.

The offensive line has to replace several starters, and Miles and Fisher talked a good game but seemed plenty concerned about the line&8217;s ability to perform against a SEC schedule. Even with three capable quarterbacks, you have to be able to protect them to get anything done.

Speaking of the quarterbacks, we all know quarterback controversies can tear a team apart. Just in the SEC in this decade it has happened at Alabama and Tennessee, and I&8217;m sure there have been plenty at other schools that have been a headache for the coaches and fans.

The quarterbacks all seemed comfortable with each other, the coaches seemed comfortable with the current situation and the players didn&8217;t have anything negative to say, so hopefully it won&8217;t throw a wrench into LSU&8217;s postseason plans.

As far as I can see it, there&8217;s no reason to believe Miles and the gang won&8217;t roll through the home schedule. However, the schedule-maker is going to need to be fired this year. LSU has four road games on its schedule, and they somehow wound up being the four toughest trips in the SEC in Auburn, Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas.

As I said, there&8217;s pretty much nothing standing in the way of a perfect home record, but there&8217;s no way the Tigers get through all four of those road trips unscathed.

My final prediction: 10-2, most likely with a berth in the Capital One Bowl.

Tim Cottrell is the sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by phone at 601-445-3632 or by e-mail at

tim.cottrell@natchezdemocrat.com

.