Instant Analysis - Nov. 21
Ole Miss 25 ... LSU 23
Pete
Fiutak
In answer to the question of which team might be the third best team in the SEC, the answer after the LSU-Ole Miss game might be neither, even though Ole Miss has all but sewn up the third spot in the bowl pecking order. This wasn’t a clash of two titanic heavyweights slugging it out. This wasn’t a battle of two good defenses that wouldn’t let the other connect on the knockout punch. This was a big bag of mediocrity between two teams that aren’t anywhere near as good as their preseason hype.
There are some sensational talents on each side, but from a no-big-deal game from Jevan Snead, to a the doorknob dumb time management issues from Les Miles and his coaching staff, to the lack of Tiger rushing punch, to the Ole Miss struggles in the red zone, this was a terrific game between two extremely average teams. And these two are likely going to be the No. 3 and No. 4 representatives in the bowl picture.
It’s not like the rest of the SEC, outside of the big two, is ripping it up. Arkansas is close, and LSU had better be far more productive on offense, and far tighter on pass defense than it was this week, to beat the Hogs and solidify a big-time bowl bid. For Ole Miss, as poor as it played at times against the Tigers, this has now earned it the right to call itself No. 3 among SEC teams, meaning all the rocky parts in the first half of the season don’t really matter. A win over Mississippi State would mean 9-3, which isn’t the epic season many Rebels were hoping for, but it’s 9-3.
It’ll be interesting to see what these two do in the bowls. These are tremendously talented and athletic teams, but they haven’t quite played up to their potential. There’s still time to do it.
Richard
Cirminiello
And exhale.
In an otherwise disappointing season that’s failed to meet expectations , Ole Miss absolutely had to have this game against LSU, a rival it’s struggled against for many years. If not for some awful time management by the Tigers and head coach Les Miles in the waning seconds, it might not have happened. Spiking the ball with one second left on the clock and trailing by two deep in enemy territory? Who devised that play from the Bengal sideline? You either line up the placekicker or take one last shot in the end zone, but not even getting a crack at the win was one of the worst finishes to a game since Cal QB Kevin Riley ran out the clock in a 31-28 loss to Oregon State two years ago.
Anyway, don’t expect any apologies from the Rebels, which outplayed the Tigers throughout and generally got another great effort from one of the nation’s most underrated defenses. While the dream of a BCS bowl game ended weeks ago, Ole Miss can still wind up in a quality event, like the Cotton Bowl or Capital One Bowl, which is a nifty recovery from Houston Nutt following a slow start.
Matt Zemek
1) Les Miles. Game management. The two will never get along.
How much more evidence do LSU fans need before they realize (the ones with their blinders on, anyway; some have seen the light ever since that Monday night game against Tennessee in 2005…) that their coach should hire somebody to handle the last two minutes of regulation time? Let it be said once more: Miles is really, really good in most aspects of coaching: Recruiting, motivation, public relations, leadership, off-field mentoring, hiring good assistants, and more. But as a game manager, Miles is THE WORST of the nation’s FBS coaches, and it’s not even close.
In light of today’s events, can we now agree that Miles stumbled upon blind and dumb luck against Auburn two years ago? Anyone who still thinks The Hat was “brilliantly bold” or “shrewdly aggressive” in that game can no longer stand on solid intellectual ground. Miles – a good man and a fine coach – has outed himself (again) as college football’s most abysmal game manager.
2) If you want to make a joke about this game – and it was indeed high comedy in the final minutes – don’t you dare make a joke about Bill Belichick. The New England Patriot boss made a calculation (and moreover, one that emergent football analysts have backed up with probability assessments and incisive thinking), but even if you disagree with the decision, it was thought-out and carefully considered.