It's All Les Miles' Fault

Opponents of the BCS system root for chaos. They (ok, we) root for the most possible teams having a chance to compete so that the powers that be will finally make the change to something that makes sense.

LSU took a big step toward making that possible last night in their 3OT loss to Kentucky, and you have Les Miles to thank.

Sure, they lost four starters on defense, at least for parts of the game. And they lost their starting cornerback for most of the game. That hurts. One of their running backs (Hester) was playing banged up and it showed at the end of the game. That hurts too. The mark of a good coach is the ability to make adjustments. Miles made zero, on offense or defense.

Not holding on to the lead and ending up in overtime was bad enough. The play calling made once they got there was atrocious. On defense, all they needed to do was keep Kentucky out of the end zone. Playing straight up or sending 5 (maybe 6) rushers would have done the trick. There was no reason at all to call an all out blitz in any situation in overtime. The purpose of the all out blitz (sending 7 guys, leaving only 4 to defend a very wide field) is to force a big play-turnover, sack, whatever. Usually those all out blitzes turn into big plays for the offense, just like it did for Kentucky. Pass caught, touchdown.

Once LSU got the ball, they knew they had to score a touchdown or the game was over. Four straight carries to the middle of the offensive line later and the game was over. Four straight carries by Hester, who limped through the last two. After third down, my wife looked at me and asked, "Didn’t they just run that play?" My wife's smart, and a great sports fan, but she's not a college football coach. If she knew not to run the same play again (after the first two plays had gained a total of 4 yards) why doesn't the well paid college coach know the same thing?

At this point I'm betting all of the Tigers fans are hoping the Miles-to-Michigan rumors are true. Maybe they can find an intelligent coach to replace him. Just hope they don't call on Mack Brown ...