Unsurprisingly, LSU blew out Notre Dame 41-14 in the Sugar Bowl. It was a great win for LSU and coach Les Miles (even if it came over the most overrated program in college football). But how much credit does Miles deserve? He’s in his second season with LSU, and the bulk of his starters were recruited by his predecessor Nick Saban. Saban pulled in the #1 recruiting class in the nation in 2003 and the #2 recruiting class in 2004. He was also partly responsible for massive upgrades to LSU’s facilities, including the construction of a new academic center and a state-of-the-art football facility. When Saban bolted for the NFL, Miles inherited the program in pristine condition. As well as LSU has done this season, they would have underachieved had they done any worse. And a strong argument can be made that 11-2 without a conference championship is an underachievement, given the level of talent on this year’s team.
What makes this relevant to Michigan is that Miles is a Michigan man, and the top job at Michigan is likely to open up in the not-too-distant future. Miles played and coached at Michigan under Bo Schembechler, and with 62 year-old Lloyd Carr entering his 13th season as head coach, Miles’ name has been widely suggested as a candidate to replace Carr when he retires. But in my view, Miles hasn’t proven much at LSU, and his teams have exhibited the same flaws that have plagued Michigan recently. LSU lost to Auburn this year because they didn’t throw the ball enough and refused to abandon a clearly ineffective game plan (sound familiar?). Their 5-turnover, mistake-filled performance against Florida was nothing short of embarrassing. Last year, they blew a 21-point lead and lost at home to a Tennessee team that finished the season 5-6. They were blown out in the SEC Championship Game later that year by an underdog Georgia team with less talent and an inferior record. In Michigan-like fashion, Miles has tried to build LSU’s offense around its running game, despite having a talented quarterback and receiving corps but an unproven offensive line. LSU fans have often criticized Miles’ offense as too conservative and predictable, the same complaint Michigan fans have voiced about Carr.
Don’t get me wrong; a 22-4 record is nothing to scoff at, and LSU will likely never have a “bad” season under Miles. However, the similarity of his teams’ few yet significant shortcomings to those that have recently plagued Michigan is further proof that Michigan sorely needs a change in philosophy, not another coach from the same mold. The program went on auto-pilot when Bo Schembechler retired 16 years ago and has changed very little since then. Les Miles is another Schembechler disciple who would likely do little to infuse the new identity that Michigan football needs.
