LSU Football: Is It Possible That the Tigers Are Underrated?

LSU is the No. 1 team and they are going to play in the national championship no matter what happens this weekend in Atlanta.

That seems to be the general consensus amongst fans, writers and experts. The Tigers are the No. 1 team, so it is hard to imagine that they could be underrated, but there isn't really widespread love for the Tigers.

What am I talking about?

Where are the Heisman candidates? I know the award never shows any favoritism towards defensive players, but the Tigers are the only undefeated AQ team in the nation and sport one of the best defenses. I don't want to take away anything from Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley, Robert Griffin III or Trent Richardson, the presumed Heisman finalists, but if the question is "Who is the best player in the nation?" then Tyrann Mathieu and Morris Claiborne deserve to be in New York.

Where is the admiration for coach Les Miles, who handled an off-the-field issue with Jordan Jefferson and led the team to at least two difficult road wins and one neutral road win? Miles is always treated as a riverboat-gambling, grass-eating buffoon by the media, but that is far from the truth. Many feel that his LSU teams win in spite of him, but we know they won thanks to him this season.

Here is where the flaw in many people's logic comes in: If LSU doesn't have a good QB, no marquee running backs like a Trent Richardson and were widely unknown at the beginning of the season, then Miles must be doing something correct, right? If LSU is successful because of all their talent, then where are the postseason awards?

Additionally, Miles does not get enough credit for his QB rotation and handling the Jefferson situation. The Jefferson suspension and subsequent return had the possibility to become an off-the-field distraction and it ended up being no distraction whatsoever. He has seamlessly integrated Jefferson back into the offense, while other coaches in the past have made a mess of trying to play two quarterbacks.

LSU was ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason. If any other team in the Top 10 ran the table and were in the position that LSU is in, then their coach would be getting widespread admiration. Sometimes Miles takes gambles. Sometimes he doesn't. The fact is, he should be given the admiration as much as he is given the hate.

Finally, where is the conviction that there shouldn't even be a title game? Many of the arguments this time of the year revolve around whether Alabama should get a rematch or if Stanford or Oklahoma State should get a fresh crack at the Tigers. How about this train of thought: The Tigers shouldn't have to prove anything more.

They beat the presumed Pac-12 champions on a neutral field. They beat the favorites for the Big East on the road. They beat the No. 2 team on the road, and the No. 3 team at home. If they beat Georgia, it will be another win against a Top 15 team, against a team which has won 10 in a row, in the opposing team's home state. It rivals old schedules where teams took on all comers, and beat them all to win the title.

Are they one of the best college teams of all time? Perhaps. They may not have the future NFL talent that the 2001 Miami Hurricanes had, but they have been just as dominant over their peers as the 'Canes were. I don't care who ends up playing in the NFL off of LSU, I just care how they are doing now.

I think that this is what eventually plagues the Tigers as far as admiration goes this season. Claiborne figures to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft, but that is about it. Compare that to Alabama, who figures to have Richardson, Kirkpatrick, Barron, Upshaw and perhaps Hightower taken in the first round of the draft. Add in that many believe Nick Saban is the second coming of Vince Lombardi, while Miles has the aforementioned stigma and has earned the moniker of "the mad hatter" and it's no wonder that many think Alabama will be favored in a rematch, and actually defeat the Tigers.

The fact is, I have never seen a No. 1 team, who happens to be the only undefeated AQ team and has played a killer schedule, be more under-appreciated. Because they don't have the "stars" at the offensive skill positions, the media and others continue to take LSU lightly and not give them the full credit they deserve.

That will all change within the next month.