College Football: Les Miles Must Have An Angel On His Shoulders

It would be easy to say that LSU, sitting pretty at 5-0, ranked No. 's 12 and 9 in the AP and Coaches Poll—respectively—is a good team. After all, they are undefeated, right?

However, if you've actually seen LSU play this year, you would begin to wonder how on earth they aren't 2-3—or worse—because they really aren't that good.

For one thing, their quarterback, Jordan Jefferson is atrocious. He's currently dead last in the conference in passing efficiency—dead last. Considering the fact that he plays in a conference that both Chris Relf (Mississippi State) and Larry Smith (Vanderbilt) call home, that's a pretty amazing feat.

Even more amazing, his teammate, Patrick Peterson, has more return yards (537) than he has passing yards (449).  Wrap your head around that little nugget. That means that through five games, Jefferson is averaging less than 90 yards passing—seriously? 

Tyler Russell, the BACKUP quarterback for Mississippi State, has more passing yards than Jefferson—and he's not even a starter.

On the contrary, Jefferson isn't the reason the Tigers are in the hunt, his team wins in spite of him—not because of him. Time and again, the gods of college football have granted Les Miles' crew a mulligan or a save to keep them from having to suffer on the losing end:

1.  In week one, LSU was one questionable pass interference call away from losing to a totally depleted North Carolina team. 
2. In weeks two and three, it took them until the fourth quarter to put away Vanderbilt and Mississippi State—respectively. 
3. They nearly whiffed against West Virginia in week four.
4. And, in week five, Tennessee all but had them beat if not for a last-minute penalty granting them a second chance at the 'W'.

LSU has no business being anywhere near the top 10 and, with a quarterback who throws more interceptions (6) than touchdowns (2),  and a turnover margin that edges more towards the negative (-2 and counting) than the positive, it won't be much longer before that becomes a reality.

Les Miles better enjoy this ride of good fortune while it lasts because the wheels are looking like they might be getting ready to come off.