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by Spencer Hall • Nov 21, 2009 7:38 PM EST
Ole Miss just beat LSU 25-23, and we have one request after watching this: may Les Miles of LSU and Houston Nutt of Ole Miss be allowed them to coach in the same division for the rest of eternity. After the usual lunacy of an Ole Miss/LSU game--key trick plays, hard hitting, and gifted speedsters like Dexter McCluster flying all over the field--the coda of the game came down to your usual crazy-ass collection of risky coaching decisions and improbable chaos, the twin hallmarks of both Houston Nutt and Les Miles' careers.
After getting within two with 1:26 left, LSU had to go for two to tie. Why? Because Houston Nutt, possessed by the spirit of a mad antebellum-era riverboat Faro player, had already gone for two in the first half and missed it. LSU got a pass interference call on the first attempt, but then decided to pass from their own one, a failed attempt leaving them two points behind with 1:23 left and a long-shot onside attempt awaiting them.
A long-shot, of course, is what Les Miles calls "a retirement investment strategy." Thanks to Ole Miss failing to understand that they could touch a ball after ten yards without penalty, Brandon LaFell recovered the onside. Have no doubt: this was the worst onside kick coverage you will ever see. LaFell ran past Rebel kick teamers like a dog at a picnic stealing a pork chop off a grill.
Then, as if we aren't far enough out on that long limb of absurdity: with his team Les Miles, on 4th and 26, had his quarterback throw short of the endzone with something like ten seconds or so on the clock. (The AP box score still doesn't have the yardage and clock down as of writing.) The catch is made with one second on the clock, and instead of running the field goal unit onto the field, LSU's Jordan Jefferson lines up and spikes the ball to completely explode LSU's last chance at a victory.
If you watched this astonishing flaunting of logic, common sense, and football strategy, may God have mercy on your soul. And if you are Tracy Wolfson, you may have a sexual harassment suit on your hands, because Houston Nutt gets awfully affectionate after a win, something you found out the hard way today.
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Comments
Go to Michigan, Les
How unprepared can a coach be? Rich Rodriguez will be gone from Michigan at the end of this season. Please, Blue, call Les Miles and make him an offer he can’t refuse. Miles is a Big 10 coach, not an SEC coach.
by Tigerrock on Nov 21, 2009 7:51 PM EST reply actions
I think it should be Ole Miss failed to understand it could touch an onside kick prior to ten yards
Ole Miss looked like they were waiting for it to go ten yards themselves. Not jump on it prior to ten yards like every other hands team in the nation is taught.
by Nick Kroes on Nov 21, 2009 7:54 PM EST reply actions
I have not seen anything quite like that in a long time.
Andy Reid approves of Miles’ endgame strategy, though.
Twitter: @scrappled
"When it’s third-and-10, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time" - Max McGee
by Run Up The Score on Nov 21, 2009 7:56 PM EST reply actions
Throwing the game?
Forget about the field-goal team; try for a touchdown instead of spiking the ball with one second left!
by alibiartist on Nov 21, 2009 8:16 PM EST reply actions
Why?
A FG wins. I just don’t understand what the hell Miles was thinking. Or if he was thinking at all.
by Tracer Bullet on Nov 21, 2009 11:19 PM EST up reply actions
I think you're missing the point
The FG wasn’t an option while they were setting up for the snap, it was already a lost cause, but they could have potentially run a play instead of effectively taking a knee to lose the game.
BSD
by Kevin HD on Nov 22, 2009 9:06 AM EST up reply actions
They were screwed either way.
You have no idea how much time is really on the clock. It just says :01, but there could be a full second, or there could be a tenth of a second left. Either way, it would be nearly impossible to hear the ref whistle the ball in play, grab the ball, and snap it.
The bigger travesty is wasting 19 seconds deciding whether or not to call a timeout.
by untexan on Nov 22, 2009 1:17 AM EST reply actions
The Mississippi Meltdown
I think he lost it on 1st and 10 on UM32. If the tigers run two up the hash marks they set up a field goal try. Plus, they had two timeouts.
Honest resrult. LSU had nothing going for it in the second half until the last two minutes. The oneside kick was a tough play for us, I think; clearly, LSU left it late against the better team and had to loose.
Hotty Toddy!
by victory drive on Nov 22, 2009 11:27 AM EST reply actions
Spencer said:
I don’t need no mercy. Any Ole Miss victory over LSU, no matter how sloppy it may be, is worth it.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Nov 22, 2009 12:21 PM EST reply actions
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