Today I learned from our esteemed visitors that in 2018:
The following schools had a better run defense than LSU: Southern Miss, San Diego State, Marshall, Charlotte, Army, Northern Illinois, Air Force, UAB, North Texas, Appalachian State, Troy, Wyoming, Fresno State, and Ohio (not State).
The following schools had a better pass defense than LSU: Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Tulsa, Southern Miss, Arkansas State, UAB, Temple, Army, Fresno State, Akron, Louisiana Tech (!), Florida International, Buffalo, Wyoming, UTEP.
The following schools had a better overall defense than LSU: Southern Miss, Appalachian State, Army, UAB, Fresno State, Wyoming, San Diego State, Charlotte.
I know this is true because I went to the NCAA website and it says it right there in their stats rankings. LSU was below those teams in yardage allowed per game in those categories.