THE LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE

October 7, 2010

“Today… I consider myself… the luckiest man… on the face of the earth.” Those are the immortal words of “the Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig. 71 years after he made that proclamation at Yankee Stadium, there is a nary a sports fan that doesn’t know that famous quote.

In 2010, there is no question who holds the title of “luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Well, okay the guy in Missouri that won the lottery twice in six months had it temporarily. However, the title is now back with its rightful owner… LSU Head Coach Les Miles.

I have never seen anyone in any walk of life watch from afar as the disaster they created morphs into a masterpiece. If Les Miles was a point guard, his game-winning alley-oop pass would be so errant that it would bank in for a three pointer. If Les Miles was a chef, he would add the wrong ingredients to his main dish and wind up with an entrée fit for a king.

Let’s look at his “accomplishments.” In 2007, having started the season as the #2 team in the country, the Tigers lost in triple overtime at Kentucky. The following week, trailing 24-23 to Auburn and with time running out, LSU threw for the end zone rather than try the potential game-winning 39-yard field goal. WR Demetrius Byrd made a sliding catch with one second left to win the game. If the pass is deflected at all by the defensive back (who had great coverage), the clock runs out.

After that great escape, the Tigers climbed back up the polls over the next four weeks to claim the top spot. Then, in their regular season finale, they lost in double overtime on their home field to Arkansas. The dream of a national championship was surely dashed with two losses. But wait. Not when Les it’s better to be lucky than good Miles is around. Kansas, Missouri and West Virginia all lost in a span of eight days to let LSU slide back into the BCS Championship Game.

LSU faced Ohio State after edging a 3-loss Tennessee team in the SEC Championship Game. The second best team in the SEC that year was Georgia. The Bulldogs were ranked in the top five, but they had lost to the Vols early in the year and were edged out on a tiebreaker for the SEC East crown. So, Les Miles and the Bayou Bengals never faced the second best team in their own league. Oh, and did I mention that the BCS Title Game that year was played in New Orleans?

Last season was the first sign that the tide was starting to turn. In a late November game against Mississippi, LSU trailed 25-23. With under a minute to play and out of time outs, LSU wasted 17 seconds arguing on the sideline over what play to call. They finally threw a long pass that miraculously was caught at the Ole Miss 6 yard line with one second remaining. Rather than run the field goal unit onto the field, LSU tried to line up and spike the ball. The clock ran out, and with it (I thought) the lucky streak of Les Miles. Then I watched the debacle that occurred last Saturday between LSU and Tennessee. Oh, how wrong I was.

The Vols are still in the process of rebuilding their once proud program. Already 2-2 with a league loss, a Tennessee road win over the tenth ranked LSU Tigers would have been a great step forward for Derek Dooley and his staff. It looked like he had that win as LSU let 30 seconds run off the clock while they sprinted personnel on and off the field on the wrong end of a 14-10 score. In all the chaos, LSU did line up and snap the ball… right past QB Jordan Jefferson. The Vols had held! Jubilation on the visitor’s sideline. Thrown headsets and helmets for the home team. But, the Les Miles lucky streak was not over yet. Tennessee had too many players on the field. In fact, they had 13. LSU would punch it in for the win on their untimed down to win 16-14.

The luckiest man on the face of the earth had won again. He managed to win a game he should have lost. He pulled out a last second win while managing the clock so poorly that Andy Reid could be heard saying, “What the hell are they doing?” Congratulations, Les on another dramatic win. Enjoy it. Sooner or later your luck will run out. Ever hear the saying, “What goes around, comes around?” You are due some big heartbreaks one day soon.

Games of the Week:

Alabama @ South Carolina – I know LSU is playing Florida. I’ve seen both teams. That one is not going to very entertaining. Expect a bunch of punts and a lot more mistakes. I predicted this game to be an SEC Championship Game preview. That may be tough now that the Gamecocks have a loss, but they can still get there if they win out after this game. The ‘Ol Ball Coach is starting junior QB Stephen Garcia despite pulling him in the 4^th quarter against Auburn. SC will need a huge night from their defense after allowing Auburn to run for 334 yards. Bama is coming off their scare in Arkansas and an emotional win over Florida. It’s hard to get up again and again. I think Bama’s ground game is the difference, but don’t be surprised if Carolina keeps this close all the way to the end.

Michigan State @ Michigan –These two both enter the game undefeated for the first time since 1999. Michigan QB Denard Robinson leads the nation in rushing and needs only 95 yards to rush for 1,000 on the season. He has put up absurd numbers. The question is how long can Michigan’s defense get away with allowing similar numbers. MSU Coach Mark Dantonio will coach from the press box after suffering a mild heart attack and a blood clot in his leg within the last two weeks. MSU is the better team. Robinson is the best player. I’ll take the many over the one.

Florida State @ Maimi –For at least a decade, this was the game of the year in college football. It may have lost some luster, but the intensity of this game can be felt in every bone shattering hit. Each team dropped a high profile non-conference game, but both teams have bounced back since. Expect points to be at a premium with both teams allowing the fewest yards per game in the ACC. The last nine meetings have been decided by an average of four points. With Bobby Bowden gone, I expect FSU to win when the Canes miss a last minute FG wide right.