LSU Is Back On Track

Is it wise to ever doubt LSU? Should any of us ever question to methods of Les Miles, no matter how questionable or unconventional they may seem?

Actually, I say yes. The man eats grass, for goodness sakes.

Would you believe me if I told you that this guy hasn’t had a losing season during his nine seasons at LSU? And that his worst record was an 8-5 mark in 2008?

Or that he has won at least ten games in seven of nine seasons in Baton Rouge? Including four in a row coming into the current season?

And I’d like to reiterate that this man eats grass.

Despite his quirky conversational tactics and horrendous clock mismanagement, Les Miles has put together a true powerhouse at LSU that can be rivaled by few.

So it came as a surprise to many that despite its winning method of simply overpowering opponents with physical play the past nine seasons, the Bayou Bengals started conference play with two straight losses.

Not only did they lose, they were for the most part dominated.

First, they lost in Death Valley to a Mississippi State team that was showing its first signs of national relevance in a game with a deceiving 34-29 score. LSU, down 34-10 early in the fourth quarter, almost pulled off another crazy comeback, scoring the game’s final 19 points and tossing up a desperate Hail Mary on the last play.

Then on the road against Auburn, the wheels seemed to completely come off. LSU was dominated 41-7 in a game that was never close, putting up only 280 yards while giving up 566.

34-point defeat was LSU’s worst loss under Les Miles, replacing a 51-21 loss to Florida in 2008 as his largest margin of defeat.

After seasons in a row of Les Miles reloading his squad with tough, fast, physical athletes, it seemed that LSU was finally taking a step backward.

Les Miles had been playing musical chairs at quarterback with Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris, with neither one able to consistently generate any offensive movement.

The defense was uncharacteristically soft, allowing an average of 484.6 yards (289.3 yards rushing) and 33 points per game to teams not named Sam Houston State, UL Monroe, and New Mexico State.

Through the first six weeks of the season, LSU was not the team we were all used to seeing.

They weren’t as tough, and they weren’t as physical. It didn’t seem like they could compete in an increasingly dominant SEC West.

Many were wondering if LSU would finish near the bottom of its division.

But three straight conference wins later, Les Miles, whose seat was thought to be getting warmer a couple of weeks ago, has his team right back in the thick of the SEC West race.

The biggest of those victories being the upset of then third-ranked Ole Miss at home, LSU is now back in the top 25 and on track for at least an eight or nine-win season.

A home visit from Alabama and road trips to play Arkansas and then Texas A&M are certainly not easy matchups, but they are all very winnable. And the way LSU has played the last three weeks, don’t surprised to see the Bayou Bengals sweep these final three contests.

Yes, they were dominated in two conference games, but look at where those two teams are ranked now. Going 10-2 with losses to a couple of playoff teams doesn’t look so bad, does it?

And this team is peaking at just the right time.

All of that young, inexperienced talent suddenly looks more experienced and every bit as talented as anticipated.

It took a tight game with an underwhelming Florida team to get things started, but LSU seemed to turn the corner sometime between that win and a home matchup with upstart Kentucky.

From there, LSU has looked every bit like the team it has always been under Les Miles: tough, physical, resilient.

Even with the growing pains of the passing game, LSU has every capability to win against any opponent, boasting a defense that’s fourth in the nation in scoring and 15^th in total offense.

The lesson to be learned is this: no matter how unconventional or strange Les Miles may seem, his methods work.

After the 41-7 beat down at the hands of Auburn, I really wondered if LSU would consider parting ways with the Mad Hatter at season’s end.

But that’s not really a concern at this point, it can’t be.

At every turn, just when we thought LSU was taking even a small step back, Les Miles would pull off something incredible to get his team back on track.

Never sleep on LSU. With the deep talent pool they have available to them and a recruiter like Miles, LSU will never be hurting for athletes.

And you can bet that LSU will always finish the season as strong and dangerous as ever, no matter how slow the start.