LSU wins, gets more Miles as coach

“I want to make it very clear that Les Miles is our football coach and will continue to be our football coach”.

Throughout it all, Les Miles stood tall and proud; and emerged as an even more-respected and beloved man than he was before, when it all was said and done – and for that, he deserves our praise and adulation.

However, after the A&M game, Miles did not seem as interested in making major offensive changes – not with sophomore running back Leonard Fournette returning to the backfield in 2016.

“It has been hard, not just with (speculation about) coach Miles, but with us having lost the last three games”, Fournette said.

LSU’s ensuing possession stalled at its 30-yard line, but a roughing-the-punter penalty against the Aggies allowed the Tigers to keep the football.

“The guy that delivers our body blows was Leonard Fournette”, Miles said. LSU could have had a nine-victory regular season if not for lightning canceling the season-opener against heavy underdog McNeese State. LSU Board of Supervisors member Stanley Jacobs, the vice-chairman of the athletic committee, became the first LSU official to publicly back Miles as Alleva and others have been silent about Miles’ future since stories of his demise were leaked out shortly after the Tigers fell to 7-2 on November 14 with a 31-14 loss to unranked Arkansas.

The Tigers won in true Miles fashion. Did LSU leak all the recent rumors about Miles in an attempt to undermine public support and make firing him easier, only for it to backfire spectacularly?

Punter Jamie Keehn has been inconsistent for much of the season – he’s 72nd nationally in punting average (40.9) after ranking 10th a year ago (44.9) – and while place-kicker Trent Domingue was rock solid for most of the fall, he has missed four of his past seven field goal tries.

During the “Tiger Walk”, from the team busses to the stadium, Miles was greeted like a hero as he waved to the crowd, at times pausing and turning around as if to soak it all in. Two rushes for 13 yards by Fournette put the ball at the Aggies’ 15, but Harris missed two passes, bringing on Domingue.

Texas A&M returner Christian Kirk fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Donte Jackson recovered for LSU at the Aggie 20.

Miles has sent mixed messages about the need to overhaul LSU’s offensive approach. He said LSU President F. King Alexander informed him first, followed by Alleva. The Tigers rank 25th in total defense and 45th in scoring defense. “We needed it. We wanted it, and we got it. Coach Miles deserved it. We love him to death”. As a team, we prayed together, trying to find answers, why it happened like that. He coached most of the Tigers’ defensive starters a year ago. “Do we want to consider change?” LSU’s kick and punt coverage units have been particularly atrocious.