Les Miles = Sausage

I've learned something watching Les Miles and LSU for the last 9 years: With Miles, you have to approach a football game and season like a good sausage - look only at the end product, not what it looked like as it was being made.

Every year and every game, he does things that make any knowledgeable football fan cringe. But despite all his buffoonery, his teams win a lot! His record over the last 9 seasons is phenomenal. He's had unbelievable success in the only stat that matters, the W-L line. He has LSU squarely in the very upper echelon of college football.

You can't concentrate on what he does in-game -- you have to look at the end result and the games/seasons as a whole.

For example, this year they lost 11 starters to the NFL and - even though playing in the toughest division of the toughest conference and having one of the toughest schedules in the country - won 10 games (yet again) and a major bowl game.

For example, in this game, he played a tough team with a great defense and had to do it with a 19-year-old true freshman QB and missing his best defensive player. But they got the W.

So, with Miles, you just can't watch the sausage being made. You have to appreciate what it tastes like after the creation process.