An 8-5 season would be no big deal for most college football programs but for the LSU Tigers it is a full blown crisis and a call to reevaluate their program. Its recent lack of progress under head coach Les Miles could be traced back to the Tigers’ 21-0 loss to Alabama in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game. They then went 10-3 in the two seasons that followed before this year’s ugly campaign in which they failed to post double-digit wins for the first time since 2009. With the recent departure of defensive coordinator John Chavis and an offense that was downright putrid, Miles is facing the most critical offseason since his arrival at Baton Rouge in 2005.
Fed Up
Chavis bolted LSU for SEC West Division rival Texas A&M based in large part to his fatigue with having to have his defense regularly cover for LSU’s inept offense. This past season Chavis’ unit ranked first overall in the SEC for total defense, eighth overall in the nation for total defense, and fifth in the nation for scoring defense.
However, LSU ranked 80th in the nation for total offense, 76th for scoring offense, and a pathetic 116th for passing offense this year. Chavis’ defense has been consistently among the best in the country and finished no lower than 15th overall for the past four seasons. Upon arriving at Texas A&M for his introductory press conference, Chavis seemed to be taking a parting shot at LSU when he said that he was “excited to play with a great offense.”
Although Chavis has a high personal regard for Miles, the combination of LSU’s poor offense and Texas A&M’s money made it the right time for him to go.
Recruiting Offensive
Meanwhile, job one for Miles is to get his offense up to speed. Sources have indicated that Notre Dame QB Everett Golson has reached out to LSU about a possible transfer. The senior is set to graduate in May and could transfer to LSU without having to sit out a year. He lost his starting QB job with the Irish to Malik Zaire late in the season.
The LSU offense took a major step back after a promising 2013 season when Cam Cameron took over as offensive coordinator. Cameron worked wonders with then senior QB Zach Mettenberger as the unit flashed NFL looks and played with polish. But the Tigers did not have an adequate replacement for Mettenberger and payed the price for it in 2014. The low water mark was a 17-0 shutout loss at Arkansas on November 8. The loss continues to have damaging optics as the Razorbacks are looking like a team on the rise in the SEC West as well as program that could be passing by Miles’ Tigers.
LSU consistently ranks in the top 10 nationally for recruiting classes but pays the price for that success as the NFL annually raids the Tiger roster for early departures that have caught up to Miles and his program in recent years.
Perhaps the only position that LSU has not recruited effectively under Miles is at the QB position. The lack of talent and development of signal callers has been perhaps the only blemish on the Miles era. Sophomore Anthony Jennings started 12 games this year and yet never developed to the point where LSU could “open the playbook.” When freshman Brandon Harris got a start at Auburn, it was a disaster. It all bodes to an offseason must do combination of recruiting and development.
When you compare LSU to Alabama, who made the college football playoff with a first-year starting QB, or to Ohio State, who is in the national championship game with a third-string QB, Miles’ lack of QB development becomes even more apparent.
Bottom Reached?
LSU has gone just 9-7 in SEC games the past two seasons with a 4-4 conference mark this year. After their 31-28 Music City Bowl loss to Notre Dame, Miles claimed that the worst is over and that the team has a promising upside for 2015.
Miles believes that LSU will again contend for the SEC title as they will be, “In position with the team that returns. We’re sophomore and freshman heavy and we’ll be a very, very good team.”
While the record indicates Miles will in deed lead a comeback of the LSU Tigers his seat is also much warmer than it was a year ago.
