The LSU Tigers had their early bye this past weekend, which came at a perfect time after their first loss of the season.

This week, they are preparing for a stout South Carolina Gamecocks squad. The Tigers will certainly be favored in this matchup, but they cannot repeat the same mistakes they have made so far if they want to get back into the win column.

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media on Monday after the bye week and had the opportunity to set some expectations for his team following their loss.

"What we're looking for is a complete game. We have not played a complete game [yet]," said Kelly on the offense, defense and special teams not complementing each other. 

The offense usually only starts to work in the second half of games. By that time, the defense has been on the field so much that they are worn out and struggle to make stops. 

The last three drives of the loss to the Ole Miss Rebels each took at least 11 plays. The Tigers only got the ball once in the fourth quarter, because the Rebels were able to draw out their drives to last almost 10 minutes in total.

LSU actually put up points on each of their last three drives, but they couldn't catch up to Ole Miss.

This is what Kelly hopes to avoid in the future, which is fairly obvious, but it's still important that he acknowledges the need to show self-awareness about what's not working with this team ahead of their matchup with the Gamecocks.

"We just need to play a complete game where our offense complements our defense and special teams," said Kelly. "We've worked hard on that. Our players have committed to that, and now we'll get an opportunity to show ourselves against a really good South Carolina team."

Where that will really start is with the play of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Kelly has put a lot of pressure on this weekend's performance after multiple instances of saying Nussmeier will be back to full health after the bye week.

If the offense comes out and lays an egg in the first half again, the doubters around the passer will only continue to rise.

There are little to no doubts about the Tigers defense at this point of the year. They are a good group that will get stops, as long as they aren't completely gassed.

All eyes will be on that offense to start against the Gamecocks. The defense has earned the benefit of doubt, their counterparts have not.