LSU's Miles stirs up a fuss
Les Miles opened his mouth and out popped a controversy.
Unintentionally livening up college football's dog days of summer, the Louisiana State coach recently took a spirited swipe at the vaunted Southern California program, basically saying the Trojans are overrated and that they fatten up on a weak conference.
Mostly, though, he was preaching the Southeastern gospel that the SEC is head and shoulders above everyone else in his sport.
"I would like nothing better than to play USC for the title,'' Miles told a pro-LSU gathering in New Orleans last week. "I can tell you this: They have a much easier road to travel. They're going to play real knockdown drag-outs with UCLA and Washington, Cal-Berkeley, Stanford — some real juggernauts there.
"They're going to end up, it would be my guess, in some position that if they win a big game or two, they'll end up in the title game. They've got it good out there. I would like that path for us. I think the SEC provides much stiffer competition.''
Southern Cal is the consensus preseason No. 1 team in publications, while LSU is in the top five. This season's national championship game will be played at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
Miles didn't just pick on the Pac-10.
"The Big 12 is a conference that might have two pretty good teams, maybe four,'' he said. "I think the Pac-10 may have one or two really good ones. The ACC certainly, arguably, has some quality teams. But I don't think there's any conference out there that has as many quality teams as ours.''
Miles said if the NCAA ever went to a playoff, "There'd probably be at least four SEC teams in the top eight.''
Miles has been lampooned by columnists, bloggers and fans in most parts of the country, but lauded in SEC country.
"What he's really doing,'' Stewart Mandel of SI.com wrote, "is he's covering his butt. Miles' comments were one big excuse-in-the-making. He knows the experts are projecting a USC-LSU matchup. He knows his fans are foaming at the mouth for just such an outcome. And he's trying to diffuse those expectations — and temper the possible letdown — by saying, 'Hey, I'd love to play USC, too, but if they get there and we don't, it's because we had to play Florida while they got to play Stanford.' "
USC coach Pete Carroll has let Miles off the hook, more or less.
"He's really taking a shot at all the other schools we play,'' Carroll said. "Maybe the comments should come from the coaches at the other schools, including Charlie (Weis) at Notre Dame. He didn't slam us. He slammed all the other schools we play.
"We don't have anything to apologize for. We're not worried. We take care of our own business.''
LSU fans are still steamed that they had to share the 2003 national title with USC.
The fires were further stoked early this year when USC swooped into New Orleans, and with the help of Reggie Bush, plucked blue-chip running back Joe McKnight away from the Bayou Bengals, who thought they had him.
Southern Cal is 59-6 over the last five seasons. Only Ohio State and Texas are in that atmosphere, each at 55-9. LSU is 52-13.
Miles would point out if his Tigers played in the Pac-10, they might be at least 59-6 over that span. But what he's dodging is that USC plays all-comers in its nonconference schedule, starting with Notre Dame every year.
This season Southern Cal plays Notre Dame, Nebraska and Idaho outside the Pac-10, and only the Idaho game will be in Los Angeles.
LSU plays Middle Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Tulane and Louisiana Tech — all at home.
"I will never be a guy who rips a coach for speaking his mind,'' Matt Hayes of The Sporting News wrote. "I'm a fan of Miles: what he has accomplished at LSU in just two seasons shouldn't be overlooked. But he just gave his team a big, fat blanket statement to back up for the remainder of the season.''
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