Like everyone else who follows college football, LSU coach Les Miles has seen USC, Oklahoma, Florida, West Virginia, Wisconsin and other top-10 teams lose in the past two weeks.

The message should be clear right now. Miles is hoping his players get it after beating Florida 28-24 last week and rising to the top spot in both national polls.

"I don't make much of our No. 1 ranking," Miles said. "It's like being ahead at halftime. It's the end of the game and the end of the season that are important. Looking at it from our side, we have to play better."

On one hand, Miles said he is thrilled with the way the Tigers (6-0, 3-0 SEC) came back from three 10-point deficits and kept making big plays down the stretch.

"This team keeps finding ways to win. They dig deep," Miles said. "Teams who do that usually have special seasons. I hope that characteristic continues."

Miles also hopes his team will remain aware that it must continue to improve week to week, starting with the Oct. 13 game at 17th-ranked Kentucky. The Tigers beat Kentucky 49-0 at home last season but the Wildcats started putting everything together later in the season and have since won 10 of their past 12 games.

"We are playing a dangerous team at (their) home," Miles said. "Kentucky has as balanced an offense as you'll see. (Quarterback) Andre Woodson is a big-time player. He's a young man who'll play years in the NFL.

"Not anybody in our building thinks we are overwhelming favorites. We have to focus on improvement and focus on our opponent. We understand the task at hand. Last year, that night wasn't their night. They seemed to fare well against all their other opponents."

LSU must also face its most dangerous opponent: the temptation to believe it has paved its path to the national championship. Miles said when the coaches broke down the Florida film, they saw an offense that must get a lot better in the passing game and a defense that can play better than it played against Florida, especially in terms of missed tackles and broken coverages. Kicker Colt David also missed two field goals, so the Tigers still have work to do.

"I think if we keep this focus from week to week, it might serve us best," Miles said. "(Defensive end) Tyson Jackson was quoted as saying ‘At a certain point in the game, it's more about playing with a heart the size of our bodies. Not necessarily what the score is.'

"I think that is a great vision. That is a great feel. Who cares what the score or the situation of the game is. Just give everything you got."

--DT Glenn Dorsey's impact always goes beyond stats because of his ability to control the line of scrimmage and provide a foundation for the defense. Through five games, Dorsey has 30 tackles, 5.5 for loss and four sacks with two pass breakups.

--WR Early Doucet's season got off to a strong start but last week missed his fourth consecutive game because of a pulled groin muscle and his status for the Kentucky game remains very uncertain.

--OLB Ali Highsmith remains one of the most important and active players on one of the nation's best defenses. Through six games, Highsmith is second on the team with 37 tackles to go with 3.5 tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries, six pass breakups and a forced fumble.

--CB Jonathan Zenon gives defensive coordinator Bo Pelini a chance to get creative and take chances with the other nine defenders because he can leave his corners in man-to-man coverage. Zenon has 18 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and four pass breakups.

--CB Chevis Jackson is the other half of LSU's shutdown cover corners, allowing the safeties and linebackers to get more involved in the run game and the pass rush. Jackson has 19 tackles, two interceptions and eight pass breakups.

--SS Craig Steltz wasn't an official full-time starter until this season but he's been a full-time impact player for the past two seasons and another key reason for LSU's defensive success. His nose for the ball makes him a constant threat for a turnover and he has responded with four interceptions, a fumble recovery and a team-high 33 tackles.

--QB Matt Flynn's strong start in his first season as the Tigers' starting QB has been sidetracked by a sore ankle that has slowed some of his burst and mobility. He's only completing 55.4 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and three interceptions but appears to be doing a better job managing the game.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton made good use of his various parts last week against Florida, with six players carrying the ball and six players catching passes. LSU's combination of tailbacks Jacob Hester, Keiland Williams and Charles Scott finished with 161 yards on 36 carries and the offensive line did its job, with no sacks and nearly 5.0 yards per carry. Crowton is also making effective use of both quarterbacks, Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux. The only thing missing is a big-time receiver, a problem that won't likely be fixed until Doucet returns from an injury.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: LSU held Florida to 162 yards below its season average but the Gators still hit the Tigers for some big plays and some runs right up the middle of the defense. LSU opponents may learn from the way Florida spread the Tigers out, forced them to play more nickel and dime defenses and be cautious with their pass rush and then hit them with the run. Even then it's not going to be easy to beat a defense that ranks first in the nation in total and passing defense, second in scoring defense and fourth against the run.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Too much is being made of these fourth-down calls. Our team wanted (to go for the first down). Our team wants to win. Sometimes, it's an unusual call. We're not just one, two, three, punt. Our players respond to that. That's our football team and we'll continue to do that. Of course, I wish we could get everything done by second down." -- LSU coach Les Miles, whose team went five-for-five with two touchdowns on fourth-down plays against Florida.

THIS WEEK'S GAME: LSU at Kentucky, Oct. 13 -- By itself, this is a potential stumbling block for LSU, simply because Kentucky has enough offensive talent to catch lightning in a bottle and hurt the Tigers. With the game coming one week after an emotional win over Florida and a rise to the top spot in both polls, the game is even more dangerous for LSU. The Tigers need to look around at all the upsets from the past two weeks and focus on the task at hand.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB Jacob Hester -- QBs Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux can be up and down, TBs Keiland Williams, Charles Scott and Richard Murphy can wander in and out of the lineup and the receivers can wait for Early Doucet to return but Hester remains the one solid fixture among LSU's skill players. Hester was at his best last week by rushing for a career-best 106 yards and scoring the game-winning touchdown against a Florida defense that was averaging 63 rushing yards allowed per game. Hester, the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, ran for 77 of those yards in the fourth quarter and carried the ball eight times on LSU's game-winning drive, Hester carried the ball eight times, including two successful fourth-down runs.

QBs Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux -- With each game, it becomes more and more evident that the coaches will continue to split the quarterback job between Flynn and Perrilloux. For now, Flynn is the better passer of the two and Perrilloux is the better runner, but Flynn can run and Perrilloux can pass, increasing LSU's offensive options.

SS Craig Steltz -- Other LSU defenders carry big reputations and rank higher on the wish lists of NFL scouts, but it's Steltz who was all over the field against Florida, making a career-high 16 total tackles, including 13 solo stops. Through six games, Steltz leads LSU with 41 tackles to go with four interceptions and two forced fumbles.

ROSTER REPORT: It can be difficult to balance two quarterbacks but LSU coach Les Miles is convinced Flynn and Perrilloux can make it work. "It is a position where we have two quality quarterbacks," Miles said. "One (Flynn), is a veteran that fully understands and can handle the offense. He can handle any number of situations, some of the exact same things that the younger quarterback (Perrilloux) can handle. First and foremost, our senior captain's ability to say ‘It's good for Ryan to play; it's good for the team.' The fact that he sees that as a team function is the right attitude. As an offensive coordinator and head coach at other places, I have had some athletic quarterbacks and I know what an advantage it is to have. Matt gives us that. You saw that on the third-and-16, he got 15 yards. That style of quarterback is an advantage. The ability to use the skills your team has is my job.

"We have some quarterbacks that can move with their feet. We have one quarterback that is getting healthy with a bad anle, so it seemed to match well."

Miles remains evasive on the status of leading receiver Early Doucet, who has missed the past four games due to a reported pulled groin muscle. Miles did say, however, that Doucet will travel to Kentucky. "I don't know to what extent, but I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll play in this next game," Miles said.

Kicker Colt Davis missed two field goals against Florida and LSU went for it on fourth down five times but Miles insisted the two situations were not related. "He's been so regular, so steady," Miles said. "He'll be fine. He'll get this thing ironed out."