LSU football coach Les Miles took the podium for the last time this season Monday at his weekly news conference to talk about the Tigers’ upcoming regular season finale in College Station, Texas, this Thursday.
Miles said while the annual rivalry between LSU and Texas A&M is relatively new, he has felt pressure to beat the Aggies since he arrived in Baton Rouge.
“I was told when I came here that it was absolutely a rivalry game, and I understand that,” Miles said. “I was told when I arrived here that the current record was not good and that we needed to do everything that we could to uphold our end of the rivlary.”
LSU has accrued a 3-0 record against the Aggies under Miles, beating them in each of the last three seasons by a combined score of 99-53.
Even though Texas A&M is without their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel this season, Miles remains wary of its high-powered passing attack, which leads the Southeastern Conference, averaging 321.2 yards and more than three touchdowns per game.
“Texas A&M has a very explosive offense,” Miles said. “They have four players that have 40 receptions or more and do a great job spreading the ball around.”
Due to back-to-back losses and a pair of bye weeks, the Tigers will enter the Thanksgiving Day matchup more than a month removed from their last win.
Miles said the long stretch has been difficult on his team, but that they remain in high spirits in practice.
“I can tell you that there is some wearing on the program certainly, but I can also tell you that everybody is handling it in a very straightforward manner,” Miles said. “They’re working hard at it. They’re enjoying practice.”
Miles said he received a letter from the Secretary of Louisiana Department of Veteran Affairs lobbying for him to consider giving senior defensive back and Marine veteran Luke Boyd playing time before the season’s end.
He implied that there was little chance Boyd would make the trip to Texas A&M.
“I was touched by the fact that so many people have championed Luke Boyd’s cause in terms of getting him on the field and letting him take some snaps,” Miles said. “But to travel and have him take one of the spots would be very difficult for us to do this late in the season.”
Miles did say the entire roster, including Boyd, will travel with the team in the postseason for its bowl game, but he did not confirm whether or not Boyd would get snaps.
He also gave his views on the College Football Playoff, saying he would not be surprised if the half the field in the inaugural tournament came from the SEC, especially if the Eastern Division champion wins the conference championship game.
“I recognize what parity is in this league,” Miles said. “I respect this league immensely. I could easily see two teams making the four-team tournament. … I can’t imagine there is a tougher league and certainly a tougher division than the Western Division of the SEC.”