LSU outcoached by Miles

Don’t be surprised if the IRS pays a visit to LSU Head Coach Les Miles sometime this off season. The Tigers leader on the field makes a lot of money, as one of the highest salary paid state workers in Louisiana as coach of the Tigers football program at Louisiana State University. His 3.75 million dollar annual salary most likely includes endorsements, radio and television shows and public appearances. As a matter of fact had his Tigers beat Alabama in the BCS Championship game last night, the “mad hatter” as he’s known, would have been due a one million dollar raise according to a clause in his lucrative contract. Now the coach has never been accused of not paying his taxes, that’s not why he could be receiving a visit from Uncle Sam. What he did do however is receive free money over the past 37 days. You see, back on December 3rd, Miles’ Tigers beat Georgia, 42-10 in the SEC Championship game. So from December the 4th until last night’s kickoff versus Alabama with the national championship on the line, Miles had time to prepare his team for their rematch with the Crimson Tide.

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So 37 days to get ready for a team the Tigers had already beaten once. What Miles is guilty of is taking unearned wages because there is no way in the world he prepared his team the right way after they received an embarrassing whipping at the Louisiana Superdome 21-0 losing the BCS title game. Talk about stealing money from the university? The LSU offense ended up with 92 total yards in the entire game! We’re talking 60 minutes of football. They crossed the mid-field line just once on the night while recording five first downs on the evening. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw for just 53 yards with one interception and was held to 15 yards rushing on 14 carries. No disrespect to Alabama’s stout defense but how could an offense with so many big time athletes fail to move the ball into Crimson Tide territory for three quarters of the game? Here’s how, because they were not properly prepared to the adjustments Nick Saban would make on defense with Alabama. The Tigers once again tried to run the option because it worked in the first meeting, their 9-6 overtime win in Tuscaloosa on November 5th. Well it didn’t work at all on Monday Night. The Crimson Tide’s blitz package also gave Jefferson no time to set his feet or let his receivers get far downfield. Alabama’s linebackers also stayed at home to make sure there were no running lanes for the fleet-footed quarterback.

On the other sideline, Saban was full of adjustments for the rematch. Quarterback AJ McCarron threw the ball numerous times on first down unlike the first game, in route to 23 completions for 234 yards with no interceptions. In the first game he completed just 16 of 28 throws with a pick. Why did this work? Adjustments Saban made, enabling his quarterback to make plays when the LSU defense was least expecting him to throw the football. Heisman finalist Trent Richardson, who the Tigers expected to receive a heavy dose of on Monday, carried the ball 23 times for 89 yards in the first meeting. In the Championship game, 20 carries for 96 yards with 34 coming on one of his final runs of the night the lone touchdown of the game. Nick Saban completely changed his game plan from the first meeting, keeping the LSU defense on its heels. It’s called coaching and preparation. How bad was LSU’s performance? The 21-0 defeat was the first time in college football history an undefeated or untied team was shutout in a championship game. Afterwards in his post-game comments Miles said he told his team he didn’t see this coming and he wishes there was something he could have done. There certainly was something he could have done and that was coached him team properly after the SEC Championship game for the upcoming biggest game of the season. There is also something he still can do for the state of Louisiana, Louisiana State University and Tiger fans all across the country. Give back the last 37 days of his salary because he certainly did not earn a penny of it. That was evident with the final scoreboard at the Superdome on Monday night. After all we all know how the IRS feels about receiving free money.

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(NC)Game on! ....Finally

If you're looking for long runs, sweet spirals traveling 40 yards before dropping into the arms of a wide receiver, or big numbers in the scoring column, the BCS Championship Game between LSU and Alabama might not be the game for you.

If you recall, the last time these two got together last November, the Tigers needed overtime to beat the Crimson Tide 9-6 in an overtime game that featured zero touchdowns.

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Top ranked LSU (13-0) and No. 2 Alabama (12-1) are evenly matched, both with stellar defenses, making this a hard game to pick. But like a croupier (the roulette host) in Vegas once told me, "stay with whatever color is hot. If black has won five straight times, don't bet against it until you land on red." I don't bet on sports, but I am a firm believer in patterns. I haven't seen LSU lose, therefor I'm not going against them. No chance.

In college hoops, sometimes we see conference rivals meet up for a third time in either their conference tournament or the NCAA tournament after one team swept the other in regular season play. The pundits always say, "it's really hard to win that third straight game." Does that same principle apply to college football but in regards to the second game? I guess we'll find out on Monday.

A more tangible reason for taking the Tigers Monday night is the fact that they beat both Oregon and West Virginia in the regular season. Both of those Top 25 teams have high-powered offenses which were on full display in the Rose and Orange bowls, respectively. In fact, LSU beat eight Top 25 teams this season, and only three of those wins came at home in Baton Rouge.

That leads me to yet another reason to pick LSU. The title game is being played at the Superdome in New Orleans, just a stone's throw from LSU's campus. While an equal number of tickets were sold to both schools (allegedly) and Tuscaloosa is only about 300 miles away, one could assume this will be more of a Tigers home game than a neutral site.

Okay, now to the nitty gritty; LSU ranks 12th in scoring offense with Alabama not far behind, ranked 17th in the nation. It was worth mentioning, but we all know that defense is the name of the game for these two teams. Alabama is ranked No. 1 in every defensive category, allowing only 8.83 points and 191.25 yards per game. That is ridiculous and hard for me to comprehend, especially playing against offensive linemen upward of 300 pounds in the SEC week in and week out.

But there's a catch, of course. The LSU defense is no slouch either, surrendering just 10.54 points and 252 yards per game. The Tigers counter Alabama's two big linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw with their top-notch corners, Morris Claiborne and Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu, better known as the Honey Badger. And I'll tell ya something about Mathieu, he certainly isn't intimidated by Alabama's star running back and fellow Heisman finalist Trent Richardson, nor does he give a s%^! about the Crimson Tide's cool-as-a-cucumber quarterback AJ McCarron, who in his first year as starter, has done a damn good job.

Like McCarron, Mathieu is a sophomore who has managed to make his presence felt in a big way. Only 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Mathieu leads the LSU defense with 71 tackles, 11 forced fumbles and two interceptions. With two punts returned for touchdowns, I fully expect Alabama's special teams to try its best to stop Mathieu, but as we've seen with Devin Hester in the NFL, sometimes teams fall victim to the Bears return man despite their attempts to not kick to him. In a game where little offense is anticipated, I think a special teams play could be the deciding factor.
The kicking game is what decided the first meeting between LSU and Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and it just might be the difference maker again in New Orleans. Alabama missed FOUR field goal attempts which clearly cost them the game back in November. No football team ever wants a game to come down to a field goal (just ask Andrew Luck and Stanford… yikes), but those guys are on the team for a reason. Sometimes that's the way it is and hopefully, your guy has the leg (and the stones) to get it done.
As far as coaching is concerned, both Nick Saban and Les Miles are top-notch, championship-winning coaches, despite having two completely different styles and personalities. Both teams are in great hands when it comes to their respective head coaches.
While the LSU and Alabama players and coaches have said that they enjoyed the first meeting and thought it was great football because of the strong defense played by both teams, I would urge somebody, ANYBODY to score a touchdown in the rematch. I love defense as much as the next guy, but it wouldn't hurt either team to find the endzone once or twice. The Superdome should be full of electricity, regardless of offensive production and with all of the marbles at stake, I can't wait to watch LSU and Alabama go at it for the championship.

That said, can we please get a playoff in college football? Thanks!
- by Jackie Pepper