LSU Football: Les Miles Under Immense Pressure Against Texas A&M

LSU head coach Les Miles watched his team at its worst against Arkansas. 

The Tigers were defeated 17-0 by the Razorbacks. LSU was dominated in all three phases of the game and was never competitive during any point of the contest.

LSU was lucky to have last Saturday off to rest up for its Thanksgiving contest against Texas A&M. The Aggies will be an intriguing matchup for Miles. 

The Thanksgiving tradition means everything to Texas A&M fans. The Aggies will be fired up to protect their home turf on national television.  

LSU, on the other hand, has been known to pack it in on Thanksgiving week under Miles when out of national championship contention.

The Tigers have traditionally played Arkansas this week though normally on a Friday. Though LSU won both of its last two matchups after turkey day, the performances were less than stellar. Miles squeaked by below-average Arkansas teams in 2012 and 2013. 

David Quinn/Associated Press

Miles cannot watch his team play lethargically for the second game in a row. He has no excuses, either, as Texas A&M is a favorable matchup for LSU.

Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin is 0-2 against the Tigers, as his high-powered offense has struggled to crack defensive coordinator John Chavis' unpredictable schemes. LSU's defense is better than last year's group and should have similar success against true freshman quarterback Kyle Allen. 

LSU's offense has been pitiful in recent weeks. Miles relayed bleak news regarding his offensive line this week, per Tiger Rag's Robert Stewart: 

"

Les: Expect Vadal Alexander to play this weekend. Ethan Pocic will be at center (Elliott Porter will be out). Washington at RG.

— Robert Stewart (@TigerRagRobert) November 24, 2014"

Fortunately for Miles, the Aggies have allowed over 200 rushing yards per game this season. LSU should be able to move the ball on the ground even if the passing attack continues to struggle. 

A loss for the Tigers would be understandable, though. LSU is only a slight favorite, per Odds Shark, and the Aggies are a talented group and hard to beat at home. 

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

What Miles cannot have happen, though, is his team lay an egg. A blowout loss would be a massive hit to his national perception.

Some already think Miles and the Tigers might be taking a step back. When the Tigers started the season 0-2 in conference, Braden Gall of Athlon Sports began to question LSU's positioning after the recent wave of new coaches in the SEC West: 

"

So LSU was No. 1 in the nation in 2011. Then Malzahn, Freeze, Sumlin, Bielema joined the party and now LSU could be 7th in West?

— Braden Gall (@BradenGall) October 5, 2014"

A more recent example came from syndicated radio host Dan Patrick, who asked former LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson how the team ever lost a game. Patrick asked the same question aloud to Pro Football Talk:

"

As @dpshow just walked in and said, "How did LSU ever lose a football game?"

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 24, 2014"

Former All-SEC running back Jeremy Hill posed the exact same question about last year's team:

"

I'm still trying to figure out how we lost any games last year in college

— Jeremy Hill (@JeremyHill33) November 25, 2014"

Though Miles was not directly mentioned by Patrick or Hill, how the team performs does fall on his shoulders. The immediate success of LSU rookies in the NFL this season such as Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Alfred Blue and Zach Mettenberger has put the spotlight on Miles' leadership.

Thursday's matchup not only affects Miles' perception for the future, but recruiting as well. The Tigers and Texas A&M have developed a history over competing for the same prospects. 

Sumlin mentioned the importance of Saturday, via TexAgs.com: 

"

Sumlin: [LSU] is after a couple of our top [recruits] ... and [vice-versa]. One game matters to some. Atmosphere and [winning] is key.

— TexAgs (@TexAgs) November 20, 2014 "

LSU lost out on 5-star receivers Ricky Seals-Jones (2013) and Speedy Noil (2014) to Texas A&M. The Tigers are hot after 2015 Aggies defensive tackle commit Daylon Mack, per Shea Dixon of Geaux247.com. A Miles victory would go a long way in getting Mack to Baton Rouge, which would fill a major position of need for the Tigers. 

There are so many layers to why this game is important for Miles. Though his seat is cooler than a polar bear's toenails right now, a second consecutive poor road performance to a team equal in talent would be a bad look.

An LSU loss could be devastating for Miles. If LSU falls short against the Aggies and Arkansas defeats Missouri on Friday, the Tigers would finish in an unfamiliar place in the SEC West.  

Last. 

Stats, rankings and additional information provided by cfbstats.com, ESPN.com and LSU Sports Information. Recruiting information provided by 247Sports.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter @CarterthePower.