The schedule says LSU's next opponent is Louisiana Tech at home on Nov. 10. The film of last week's 41-34 win at Alabama says something else.

Even though the Tigers (8-1, 5-1 SEC) won the game, moved back into the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings and took control in the SEC West race, they still committed 14 penalties for 130 yards. Some of those penalties resulted from a lack of discipline by some of LSU's most experienced players.

Cutting back on penalties will be LSU's first order of business this week.

"Here we are with three games to play in the season, and everything we want to play for is right in front of us, and we still haven't played our best football," LSU coach Les Miles said. "We'd like to put together four quarters of football; to not make mistakes and see who might be able to stand up against us."

Beating Louisiana Tech should not be an issue for LSU. The real issue is winning while continuing to improve in every area, not just in penalties. The Tigers still have Ole Miss and Arkansas left on the schedule and, most likely, a trip to the SEC championship game in Atlanta on Dec. 1.

For all the talk about playing for a national championship, the BCS national championship game isn't scheduled for Nov. 10 in Baton Rouge.

"If we improve and play well, everything that we need to play for is right in front of us," Miles said. "That's a long way away. That is something we don't want to focus on. We just have to get better and see how much better we can be against Louisiana Tech and the next opponent. We are going to want to improve."

--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 seven games, Dorsey has 46 tackles, 8.5 for loss and five sacks with three pass breakups and three quarterback hurries. He played with a sprained right knee and wore a huge brace against Alabama and even though he could often be spotted limping, he still flew around the field making plays and played a significant role in the middle of the defense, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors by recording a team-high seven tackles with one sacks, two hurries and a pass breakup.

--WR Early Doucet's season got off to a strong start but he missed four consecutive games before playing a limited role in the Kentucky game and coming back in a big way against Auburn. Despite missing so much game time, he's come back to play an important role in victories over Auburn and Alabama, and still stands second on the team with 27 receptions for 313 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

--OLB Ali Highsmith remains one of the most important and active players on one of the nation's best defenses. Highsmith is second on the team with 57 tackles to go with six tackles for loss, six 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 29 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and three pass breakups.

--CB Chevis Jackson is the other half of LSU's shutdown cover corner tandem, allowing the safeties and linebackers to get more involved in the run game and the pass rush. Opponents tend to go more at Jackson than Zenon so Jackson has better stats, with 29 tackles, four interceptions and 10 pass breakups.

--SS Craig Steltz's nose for the ball makes him a constant threat for a turnover and he has responded with four interceptions and a fumble recovery. He's also forced two fumbles and leads LSU with 63 tackles.

--QB Matt Flynn's strong start in his first season as the Tigers' starting QB was slowed by a sore ankle that often slowed his mobility and seemed to throw off his rhythm. He's been victimized by a multitude of dropped passes and he's hurt himself with interceptions, but after strong performances against Auburn and Alabama, he's completing 55.6 percent of his passes for 202.4 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: The Tigers overcame Flynn's three first-half penalties and penalty problems to produce 475 yards. They ran for only 87 yards but some of that was due to three sacks and the wide-open nature of the game in the second half. The Tigers came back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit with Flynn, Doucet and WR Demetrius Byrd all making big plays. The Tigers rank in the top four in the SEC in scoring, total and rushing offense and even though they rank sixth in the conference in passing, the performance against Alabama offered plenty of evidence of what the Tigers can do in the passing game.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The defense did its part last week by holding Alabama to 20 yards rushing on 33 carries and then turning an average third-down distance of nine yards into seven sacks and a decisive fumble recovery to set up the game-winning touchdown. The Tigers rank in the top two in the SEC in all four major stat categories. Still, the Tigers have allowed 31.24 points per game over the past four games and have "slipped" to 10th nationally in scoring defense over the past month.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's a feel coming off the field that our team is a special group of guys. They love to compete. We have to build on a little smarter component. We can't turn the ball over and be penalized. We have to control the things we can control and not give our opponents more opportunities than they deserve. This team plays hard. I like their effort. I like the fact that they feel they are going to win and (the situation) doesn't make any difference. We are going to talk about technique and talk about ways to fix it. We are going to rely on them as a team to understand the position that they are in and understand a sense of urgency." -- LSU coach Les Miles.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: WR Early Doucet -- Doucet's return from a groin injury has made a big impact on the LSU offense the past two games. Against Alabama, Doucet caught five passes for 67 yards, a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 32-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Doucet also completed a 35-yard pass to QB Matt Flynn in the first quarter.

QB Matt Flynn -- Flynn bounced back from three first-half interceptions last week and finished with a career-high 24 completions, 353 yards passing and three touchdowns. Over the past two games, Flynn has stepped up as a passer, completing 46 of 78 passes (59 percent) for 672 yards and five touchdowns. However, he's also thrown four INTs in those two games and has eight INTs to go with 11 TDs this season.

DE Kirston Pittman -- Tyson Jackson is the bigger name among LSU's two starting defensive ends, but some of that is due to the fact that Pittman missed the past two years with injuries and is just starting to come into his own. Pittman and Jackson both spent considerable time in the Alabama backfield last week and, while both players recorded two sacks, Pittman produced six tackles, three tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.

ROSTER REPORT: LSU coach Les Miles said suspended backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux will return to practice this week. Perrilloux missed practice last week and did not travel with the team to Alabama because of his role in a fight at the Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge on Oct. 26. Backup linebackers Derrick Odom and Jeremy Benton were kicked off the team due for their part in the incident while Perrilloux has been suspended. His status for the Louisiana Tech remains uncertain.

Middle linebacker Darry Beckwith had arthroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 5 and is questionable for the Nov. 10 game. Beckwith's injury isn't devastating but still needs to be addressed. He sustained a dislocated cartilage in his knee during the Alabama game but the cartilage popped back into place and he was able to keep playing. "It's really not a true surgery," Beckwith said. "They're just cleaning it out. I'm feeling really good today." Miles said it's more likely that Beckwith will return in time to play next week's game against Ole Miss.