Washington State has the nation's No. 1 passing offense through the first four weeks of the college football season.
That comes as no surprise, with Mike Leach's Cougars having led the sport in aerial yardage three times in the past five years.
It's the two teams next in line that causes the jaw to drop.
LSU and Alabama, who began this decade as premier ground-and-pound programs, suddenly have running games that simply complement the dazzling arms of Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa. Ed Orgeron's Tigers are averaging an eye-popping 431.8 passing yards per game, while Alabama is even more explosive than a season ago with its 371.3-yard clip.
"We're starting to see that we can do this every game to every team," Burrow said last Saturday afternoon in a news conference that followed a 66-38 shellacking of Vanderbilt in Nashville. "This is who we are as an offense, and we're going to try and score every time. I'm happy with where we are."
Burrow has every right to be extremely happy. The graduate transfer from Ohio State has completed 100 of 124 passes (80.6%) for 1,520 yards with 17 touchdowns - he had 16 touchdown tosses all of last season - and two interceptions.
LSU photo by Chris Parent / LSU senior quarterback Joe Burrow already has 17 touchdown passes this year after compiling 16 last season in 13 games.LSU has become the first Southeastern Conference program ever to score 231 points through its first four games, and its average of 57.8 points per game is 19.1 points ahead of the school record set by the 2007 national championship team.
"We're going to be aggressive," Orgeron said. "We're not slowing down."
Orgeron's fourth-ranked Tigers do not visit second-ranked Alabama until Nov. 9, but that is quickly shaping up as the most fascinating matchup of the SEC's regular season this year. Although No. 7 Auburn's 4-0 start certainly can't be discounted, the Alabama-LSU game could be the top determining factor in the SEC West race, and adding to the intrigue will be the number of points scored.
When these two teams met inside Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2011, the No. 1 Tigers topped the No. 2 Crimson Tide 9-6 in overtime. When they collided in 2016 in Baton Rouge, it was a scoreless tie entering the fourth quarter before No. 1 Alabama broke free for a 10-0 triumph.
Alabama took a huge step forward aerially last season, ranking sixth nationally with 323.6 passing yards a game. Tagovailoa has been even better this year, throwing for 1,300 yards with 17 touchdowns and no interceptions.
LSU, meanwhile, has vaulted from 66th nationally and an average of 228.5 passing yards a game.
"I don't think this is just happening in our conference. I think it's football in general," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday. "We used to have a lot more closed formations, and now everything is spread out and open. I think space play is more important than it used to be. People can now turn a 2-yard pass on an RPO (run-pass option) into a 70-yard play.
"The game has just opened up to where, horizontally and vertically, you have to cover the entire field. In the old days, it wasn't that way."
Alabama set a program record last year by averaging 7.8 yards per play. So far this season, the Crimson Tide are averaging 8.24 yards a snap.
Saban's Tide are showcasing a receiving quartet of Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle for a second consecutive season. Jeudy and Ruggs are juniors who have combined for 43 career touchdown receptions, including 10 already this season.
LSU set a school standard during a 45-38 win at Texas on Sept. 7, when three receivers gained more than 100 yards in the same game. Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson are still going strong, but Terrace Marshall suffered a broken right foot at Vanderbilt that could sideline him beyond the trip to Tuscaloosa.
Patience will have to be practiced before this year's Alabama-LSU encounter, and both teams could use the interim to improve their defenses. A week after Alabama allowed 459 yards and 23 points to South Carolina and freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski, LSU surrendered 374 yards and 38 points against the Commodores.
Orgeron was asked Saturday whether his high-octane offense scoring so fast was hurting his defense, which Saban had to address repeatedly last year.
"When they run a bubble screen and we miss a tackle, that has nothing to do with the offense," Orgeron said. "We can't make excuses."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.