There are a lot of upset LSU fans this morning and deservedly so. After doing this for a lot of years, I’m sure I’ve seen a worse example of mismanaging of the clock than LSU had at the end of the Ole Miss game in Oxford. But for the life of me, I can’t think of one. The head coach and offensive coordinator did so many things wrong at the end of that game, won by Ole Miss 25-23, I’m not sure if I can keep count. But let’s start with this: Trailing by two points, LSU had the ball at the Ole Miss 32-yard line with a couple of time outs and about a minute left. Instead of running the ball and giving your field goal kicker—who had already made a 50-yarder—a chance to win the game, LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton decided to get cute, throwing the ball on the next three plays. The net result was lost yardage (taking LSU out of field goal range) and the burning of both timeouts. The last time out was inexplicably called with only nine seconds left, wasting 17 seconds. Everybody is talking today about Jordan Jefferson spiking the ball with one second left to run out the clock. Yes, that was bad. But the mistake was made when LSU started throwing the ball once the Tigers got into field goal range. Miles has developed this reputation as an unconventional coach willing to take risks and at times it has served him well. But he didn’t put the reins on his offensive coordinator and it bit him in the butt. That’s what head coaches get paid to do.
AJC
11/23/9
