If you follow college athletics you’ve become quite familiar with the law of unintended consequences pervading all of the eligibility rulings, conference realignments and money pouring into revenue sharing and away from other things such as, well, sports.

What if unintended consequences had a flip side? In the case of LSU football, as the Tigers try to make a stretch run through a November gauntlet to the College Football Playoff, that just may be the case.

We will start with the knee injury to tight end Trey’Dez Green on Sept. 19 against Ole Miss that sidelined him the next four games.

At the time, it was a serious blow to the offense. But in Green’s absence, wide receiver Jackson Harris stepped into the role of quarterback Sam Leavitt’s top target.

Harris is still second in receptions to Winston Watkins (37 to 36) but is by far the LSU leader in receiving yards (634 to Watkins’ 487) and has seven receiving touchdowns. No other Tiger has more than two.

Add to that the increased role running back Dilin Jones has played in the passing game — Jones has the third-most catches with 30 — and Green’s absence was something LSU was able to survive better than expected. Now Green is back (five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown at Auburn), and now the offense is bristling with weapons.

Speaking of weapons, Leavitt’s feet have been potent ones. But he was often too eager to take off and run in early games.

Then came his hamstring injury Sept. 26 against Texas A&M. Leavitt remains mobile but has stayed in the pocket more often and let the passing game develop. He’s still a runner (eight carries for 54 yards and a score at Auburn) but it’s now much more to complement his passing game. Leavitt leads the SEC with 312.1 yards of total offense per game.

If LSU coach Lane Kiffin had it to do over, he probably would have gone for it on fourth-and-1 at the Tigers’ 43 late in regulation at Kentucky.

The decision to punt, which led to Kentucky driving for a field goal to force overtime and eventually beat LSU 35-34, clearly influenced Kiffin’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the LSU 31 at Auburn. LSU led only 10-3 at the time, and Leavitt had just thrown an interception that got overturned. But the conversion kept a 95-yard drive going that was the decisive moment in LSU’s 38-17 victory.

I expect Kiffin will continue to be bold as the season goes forward.

On defense, the injuries to Dashawn Spears and linebacker Whit Weeks have been tough for LSU to overcome. But players such as TJ Dottery (LSU’s leading tackler with 60), safety Ty Benefield and even cornerback DJ Pickett in run support, in addition to his coverage skills, have filled the gaps.

Spears (ACL) is out for the year, but there is growing speculation about when Weeks (broken fibula) may return. I think next Saturday’s Alabama game is likely too soon, but when he does he will find a more capable defense around him.

Tricks and treats

… In Louisiana, it’s impossible to think of Halloween without thinking of Billy Cannon’s epic 89-yard punt return on Oct. 31, 1959, against Ole Miss, still the most famous moment in LSU sports history.

It should be impossible to think of Cannon’s blast without thinking of the goal-line stop he and Warren Rabb (mostly Rabb) made on Ole Miss quarterback Doug Elmore with 18 seconds left, preserving LSU’s 7-3 victory. Back then, first-string players like Cannon and Rabb played a lot on offense and defense.

“If Rabb doesn’t make that tackle,” the late LSU sports information director Paul Manasseh once told me, “nobody remembers Billy Cannon.”

… The coaching carousel has begun with several high-profile firings, among them former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda at Baylor. Current LSU DC Blake Baker and first-year offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. have been reported as candidates.

I don’t know how real the possibility of Baker and Weis being considered at Baylor are, but I’m sure Kiffin is already prepared for the possibility that either or both could be gone after this season.

… Tennessee recently bragged that its crowd hit a peak noise level of 130.3 decibels Oct. 17 during the Volunteers’ 26-10 victory over Alabama. According to the school, it’s the loudest noise level officially recorded at a college football game.

ESPN/ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe said she recorded the crowd in Tiger Stadium at 129.7 decibels Sept. 5 during LSU’s 51-10 rout of Clemson.

So, the ball is back in your court, Tiger fans. Can you, in “Spinal Tap” terms, go to 11 against Alabama and/or Texas?