Miles, Risk, and Ferris Bueller

Some people shy away from it, others embrace it, and still others hedge against it. Entire industries are built around it. Risk is part of our everyday lives. Do you act on your brother-in-law’s hot stock tip and invest your savings? Do you smash the 3-wood and go for the green in two, or lay up short of the water with a 7-iron? Your four-year-old desperately has to go potty and you’re on I-75 barreling through middle-of-nowhere south Georgia. Do you pull into Buddy’s Pork & Pit Stop or hold out hope for a clean rest area down the road?

Risk could play a starring role in the drama set to unfold this Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, as No. 1 LSU (8-0, 5-0 SEC) visits No. 2 Alabama (also 8-0, 5-0 SEC) in a game poised for history. CBS will televise the game across the galaxy after shuffling its schedule with ESPN for nighttime broadcast rights. Like the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, both the Tigers and Tide were off last week, only adding to the hype machine.

And a Super Bowl atmosphere certainly surrounds the game. ESPN’s College GameDay arrived early in T-town. Les Miles’s secretary fielded over 500 ticket requests; she has only 50 to give away. The price of two 50-yard-line seats has approached the cost of a full semester of in-state tuition at Alabama. You decide what’s more valuable.

Many have observed that these teams are mirror images of one another. Both feature roll-up-your-sleeves, workmanlike offenses anchored by tough offensive lines and bruising running backs. The defenses are remarkably talented and physical. Against common competition (Florida and Tennessee), LSU and Alabama dispatched both teams in similar, lopsided fashion.

That’s where risk comes into play. With the Tide and Tigers on apparent equal footing entering Saturday’s showdown, the victor may be the team that executes successfully on a calculated risk. And though he needs no inspiration for risk-taking, Les Miles would be well-served to reflect on the lessons in risk from the 1986 John Hughes classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

The film follows the exploits of Ferris Bueller, a high school senior played brilliantly by Matthew Broderick, as he games the system to play hooky and gallivant around Chicago with his girlfriend and reluctant best friend. Ferris took risks. He set up a mannequin in his bed synched to a soundtrack of a snoring, sick Ferris. He posed as his girlfriend’s father and picked her up from school in plain view of Mr. Rooney, the high school principal. Ferris’s risks paid off on his day off. (Yes, he was partly responsible for destroying Cameron’s dad’s 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California, but Cameron learned an important life lesson in the process, so Ferris gets a pass on that one.)

What can Ferris Bueller teach Les Miles and his Bayou Bengal squad as they prepare for an Alabama team at high tide? Executing a well-planned risk often reaps huge returns. Last year it was the play known as “River Left” that put Alabama away. Nick Saban knows Miles will do something risky on Saturday. Saban also must know in his heart of hearts, assuming he has one, that Miles outcoached him last year. It must be driving him mad.

Like the best things in life, football is simple. Offenses try to create space. Defenses try to restrict it. If LSU’s defense restricts the space around Alabama running backs Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy, LSU should win, period. A simple but formidable task.

Offensively, Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson should deliver the ball to a growing list of LSU playmakers. Spencer Ware. Reuben Randle. Michael Ford. Odell Beckham, Jr. Kenny Hilliard. Russell Shepard (when he’s paying attention). Alfred Blue. Yes, the Tide defense is by far the most stout LSU has faced all season, but I have confidence in this offense, which averages over 39 points per game.

Regardless of whether LSU departs the cool Tuscaloosa night air with victory in hand, we should revel in the remarkable run of the Bayou Bengals. Most of us weren’t alive the last time LSU was undefeated this deep into the season. Pause and take it in; savor the moment, if you will. As one longtime reader noted recently, we’re living in the golden age of LSU football. Our friend Ferris Bueller’s wise words are also instructive: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Prediction:

LSU 27

Alabama 21

Geaux Tigers!