And they got their wish when athletic director Joe Alleva announced after the game that Miles would remain.
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Moments after running back Leonard Fournette set an LSU season rushing record to snap the reeling Tigers’ three-game losing streak with a 19-7 victory over Texas A&M, LSU coach Les Miles found out in the locker room that he would remain the coach for the 2016 season.
“I thought up to Game 7 [Harris] was magnificent”, Miles said. While being interviewed by SEC Network’s Maria Taylor, Les Miles paused mid-interview and began singing the LSU Alma Mater with his team in front of a prodigious crowd for what many believed was the last time.
“He’s a great player”, defensive lineman Miles Garrett said.
Leonard Fournette broke the program’s 38-year-old single-season rushing record in the win Saturday rushing for 159 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries to pass Charles Alexander’s 1977 rushing total of 1,686. Midway through the third quarter, Guice took a reverse and scooted around the left end for the 50-yard touchdown, giving LSU its first touchdown of the night. Signs were posted throughout the stadium portraying, “Keep Les Miles, Fire Joe Alleva”.
Nov 9, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles and Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban greet each other midfield before the start of their game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. He side-stepped a question about offensive coordinator Cam Cameron’s future and did not rule out staff changes following the 19-7 win over Texas A&M.
Miles followed that terse defense of his offense by admitting that the unit needed change. Hanagriff observed that fan support for Miles has never been as high as when the Coach’s future was uncertain.
Quarterback Brandon Harris’ numbers have dipped substantially following an impressive three-game run earlier in the season.
And outside of a hard-fought regular season win at Tuscaloosa in 2011, the times that Miles has managed to beat Saban hasn’t meant all that much in the bigger picture.
“We seemed to undershoot our mark this year”.
After scoring LSU’s 6 points in the first quarter from field goals, kicker Trent Domingue missed three different attempts that would have put the Tigers ahead of the Aggies.
If Miles wants to see his current contract through to its 2019 expiration, LSU likely will have to be better than it was this season.
“We are a pretty talented football team”.
Miles’ week leading up to the game involved rumors about boosters willing to give $15 million to buy him out, rumors so strong Miles reportedly told a group of boosters that Saturday’s game was going to be his last. I can tell you this: “Thank goodness we had him tonight”.
Miles may not have realized what Castillo said, but the Mad Hatter’s valiance throughout his career-both on and off the field-has left him victorious once again.
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“Now I know what it’s like to ride an elephant”.
