LSU beat up on McNeese on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium, posting a lopsided 63-14 win that was one-sided from the start.

But despite a historic offensive performance and a suffocating defensive performance, head coach Lane Kiffin spent much of his night seeing things he didn't like.

It's the mindset LSU fans asked for at this time last year, after its previous head coach called them spoiled for wanting to see improvements after an SEC win. The McNeese game - and how Kiffin handled it - is the clearest sign yet that Kiffin has brought Nick Saban's mindset back to Baton Rouge.

Dropping the Ball

Kiffin was asked at halftime if he was satisfied as he headed to the locker room with a 35-0 lead. He didn't answer directly, but he did give a clear answer.

His answer singled out receiver Winston Watkins Jr., who had dropped two would-be touchdown passes before the half. He said he was "obviously disappointed" in the drops and pointed out quickly that a freshman went in behind Watkins and scored two touchdowns of his own.

Both drops came on deep throws where Watkins had done the hard work and gotten behind McNeese's defense. The second was immediately followed, two plays later, by a Sam Leavitt interception, which ended the only one of LSU's first eight drives that didn't produce a touchdown.

The freshman was Corey Barber Jr., who had four catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns by the break. Kiffin was seen talking with Watkins on the sideline after the second drop, and Watkins did not return to the game before halftime.

it wasn't all because of the drops, but in a blowout with the recent injury concerns, those drops surely ended his night a touch earlier than it would've if he had two touchdowns instead.

A Blowout Kiffin Refused to Coast Through

Kiffin made another statement right as the second half started, when the officials asked if he wanted a running clock in the third and fourth quarters. He said no and called a timeout right after McNeese's kickoff, with LSU leading 35-0.

He let the kickoff fly down the field, and he immediately called a timeout and gave his team a fiery speech.

Harlem Berry, who had returned that kickoff to the LSU 19, said Kiffin's message was that the Tigers weren't going to let the Cowboys out the door.

Kiffin told reporters he doesn't believe in shortening games, and he told his team that their play and physicality decide when the game is over.

He wanted the message to reach beyond one opponent. He told his players to set a standard no matter which unit is on the field, so that LSU becomes the kind of team others don't want to schedule.

The Tigers backed it up by gaining 384 of their 731 yards after this moment on the way to setting program records with 101 offensive plays and 39 first downs.

Reminiscent of the Glory Days

LSU's win moved it to 4-1 overall, with a stretch of seven straight conference games ahead, starting Saturday at Kentucky. Kiffin said the goal against McNeese was to build a lead and then evaluate players, because injuries will force depth onto the field.

The depth saw the field, including LSU's second, third and even the fourth-string quarterbacks.

Kiffin held every single depth piece to the same standard at 63-14 with the fourth string that he does, losing in a major SEC game.

This is not new for Kiffin, who said in April that he has taken on Saban's obsession with winning. He admitted that his assistants get annoyed with him the way he once annoyed Saban, because he is never pleased.

Saban was famous for staying unsatisfied even after big wins, which makes Kiffin's halftime complaint about two drops in a 35-0 game look like the same instinct. Something LSU has missed for a handful of seasons now.

This moment is obviously Saban's process, which treats every game and every rep as the only one that matters. Kiffin brought the point home when he said LSU has to take every game seriously, and his program even put up a list of 10 FCS upsets to prove the point.

That standard applies to everyone, not only the stars. Saban drilled every player to dominate the man in front of him, and Kiffin has said playing time at LSU doesn't depend on star ratings or contracts.

The result is great for LSU, but the signs of the program's current state are even more important.

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