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Will LSU Slide Into Mediocrity or Rise Again Under Miles?

Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:11 pm
Posted by AlaTiger
America
Member since Aug 2006
21605 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:11 pm
You can say whatever you want about 58-16 and top 5 recruiting classes. At the end of the day, it is all about championships.

The last time that we were competing for an SEC Championship in mid November was 2007.

If we lose to Alabama, we will be out of the division/conference race again after the first weekend in November for the 3rd time in 3 years. If we lose to Alabama, we will have guys on the team who have never played meaningful snaps for a team competing for a championship duing the last month of football.

In comparison, in the seven seasons from 2001 to 2007, LSU won 4 SEC West titles and were 1 play removed from winning a 5th against Arkansas in 2002. They were out of the conference race in November only in 2004 and 2006, but they were still playing good football and were playing for big bowl games.

The Alabama game is the only thing that can reverse this slide. If we lose, we effectively spend the last month of the season without playing for any kind of championship. If we win, there is still hope, even though it is slim. These guys need to be playing for something when they play Ole Miss and Arkansas, or this season could completely fall apart.

People want to make a lot of excuses for Miles by pointing to his overall record. But, if he is a championship coach, he will have his team ready to play against Alabama because the entire season, and Miles' legacy is on the line. LSU is capable of beating Alabama and I think that they should. But, if we lay another egg with all of the top recruits and everything left to play for, Miles is done. There is no point in him even hanging around, in my opinion. Anyone who can't see that just isn't looking.

This is about as close to a "must win" as you can get in college football.
Posted by BT
North La
Member since Aug 2008
9766 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:12 pm to
find out in about 12 days.
Posted by The Boat
Member since Oct 2008
175891 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:12 pm to
We'll be good enough to get our hopes up after several weeks, but we'll never get over the hump.
Posted by tigerfoot
Alexandria
Member since Sep 2006
60729 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:13 pm to
Yesterday was a must win, we do not win the West....not this year.
Posted by BigShotBobert
Prairieville, LA
Member since Jul 2010
948 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:14 pm to
this post is too late as we have already slid into mediocrity
Posted by StarSaint
lafayette
Member since Nov 2006
7490 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:16 pm to
Very good post, but the sunshine pumpers will just keep pointing to 58-16.

Yes, Miles has a lot of wins, but the last two years (and maybe 3, with a L against Bama) we've been out of the championship hunt (even out of the SEC championship mix) by November.

This is a very big game for Miles in many respects.

1)A win could buy him at least a little distance from Saban's shadow

2)We can actually be in the thick of the SEC championship race heading into to Nov.

3)We might actually sneak back into the BCS championship conversation with a strong showing against bama.

It's all there for Miles if they can win this next game.
Posted by SteveLSU35
Shreveport
Member since Mar 2004
14872 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:17 pm to
We are who we thought we were
Posted by TheLoupGarou
Benton, LA
Member since Oct 2010
1252 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:18 pm to
Wow, 2007 was such a long, long time ago. Let's see...it was, wow, almost 3 years ago. Far too long to go without a natl. championship! Jeez, Louise! I'm just thankful we didn't fire Miles after the 2008 season, and then hire someone like Houston Nutt.
Posted by DandyD
Pensacola, Fl
Member since Jan 2005
1252 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:19 pm to
I am afraid Big Shot is correct. Don't like being the butt of all the jokes on TV. LSU is not use to that!
Posted by AlaTiger
America
Member since Aug 2006
21605 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:19 pm to
quote:

this post is too late as we have already slid into mediocrity


Yeah, I get what you are saying, but we are 7-1 and ranked #12. Not exactly mediocre - yet.

My point is that a loss against Alabama effectively ends any shot at a championship of any kind, and we have seen how LSU plays against Ole Miss and Arkansas when they have nothing but the Chik-Fil-A Bowl to play for. A loss to Alabama cements us into mediocrity for the forseeable future, in my opinion.

A win against Alabama puts us at 8-1 with ULM next. So, 9-1 going into the Ole Miss game. Something tells me that Auburn is going to lose to either Georgia or Ole Miss before the Alabama game. If so, LSU has a great deal to play for against Ole Miss and Arkansas, considering that Alabama could beat Auburn and LSU would win the SEC West. If all of that is still possible, LSU is NOT mediocre.

But, a loss to Alabama eliminates any possibility of that and LSU games the rest of the way become an afterthought, just like they've been the past 2 seasons. 3 years of that is definitely a trend that can't be ignored by recruits, fans, the media, or anyone else in college football.

The Alabama game is either a reprieve or the serious beginning of the end for Les Miles.
Posted by Bayou Tiger
Member since Nov 2003
3702 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:21 pm to
The program has been consistently good the past few years outside of the quarterback position. It's hard to compete in the SEC without a passing game. Therefore, since the passing game can't get any worse, and since the defense and talent level is strong, this team has nowhere to go but up (maybe in 2012?).
Posted by tigers4545
Member since Oct 2010
23 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:22 pm to
Les champions mediocrity. He manages to trip and bumble his way to a win on the shoulders of some of the best talent in football.
Posted by AlaTiger
America
Member since Aug 2006
21605 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:23 pm to
quote:

It's all there for Miles if they can win this next game.


Absolutely! That's my point. Even with the loss yesterday, it is all still there for Miles and LSU to grab. They have 2 weeks to figure out if they are going to be playing for a championship in November (with some help) or if they are done. We aren't Miss. St. and we don't get excited jockeying for mid-level bowls.

But, if we lose to Alabama, that is the kind of program that we will have become. Any claim, even in our own minds, that we are top tier, will be shattered. We will be equivalent to South Carolina and Arkansas, as painful as that sounds because 8-5, 9-4, and 7-2 with nothing to play for is what Arkansas and South Carolina fans have to look forward to.

This Alabama game is much bigger than people think. If he loses, I don't see how the wheels to replace him do not begin to turn.
Posted by TigerDean
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2005
1381 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:27 pm to
Were slip slidin away !!!

Posted by peopleschamp
Baton Rouge
Member since Feb 2006
6576 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:28 pm to
The Loup nobody is talking about a National Championship. We are talking about a West Title in a 6 team division. The last 2 years we were 5 and 3 games out of the West Title. There is still a small hope but we are likely out of the West Title this year again. Win the West and go to Atlanta and everything else takes care of itself. Keep finishing 2nd and 3rd in the West and you are not really relevant in the National landscape.
Posted by jdg91878
Do overs+Opinion poll politics =MNC
Member since Oct 2010
3742 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:39 pm to
This is a great post. Well said.
Posted by Weizenman
Reserve
Member since Oct 2007
2075 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:39 pm to
quote:

Will LSU Slide Into Mediocrity or Rise Again Under Miles?


Me thinks we have been mediocre for several years...
Posted by Africom
Stuttgart, Germany
Member since Mar 2008
1641 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:45 pm to
who else did we even interview when we hired Miles?? This was a lazy arse hire. We didn't even try to find a good coach. He has turned LSU into OK State.
Posted by ps101
Shreveport
Member since Aug 2005
2194 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:47 pm to
Mark in now BAMA ---------------------------LOSS
Posted by BigShotBobert
Prairieville, LA
Member since Jul 2010
948 posts
Posted on 10/24/10 at 8:50 pm to
quote:

who else did we even interview when we hired Miles?? This was a lazy arse hire. We didn't even try to find a good coach. He has turned LSU into OK State.



could be wrong, but i'm pretty sure we passed on petrino, which kinda makes my stomach hurt a little
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