To see a video of Miles’ press conference, click here.
It took a long time for junior tight end Richard Dickson to fall asleep Saturday night after the Tigers’ 31-13 loss to Ole Miss.”I was laying in bed at night and trying to replay every single play in my head to figure out what went wrong and what I could have done better,” he said.For the fourth time this season, the Tigers (7-4, 3-4) woke up having to analyze a loss. This time, they have an even shorter week to prepare for the next opponent — Friday’s 1:30 p.m. game against Arkansas (4-7, 1-6).LSU coach Les Miles addressed the media Monday and faced questions about effort, quarterback injuries and confidence in his coaching staff.With the Tigers out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2002, Miles sought to distance himself from negativity among fans.”I don’t want to identify it,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it.”Miles  consistently defended his players and coaches while discussing effort, talent and hope for the remainder of the season. After each loss, he has vehemently denied a lack of effort or leadership. Monday’s talk followed suit, although he teetered on the border of damage control in his defense.With quarterbacks Jarrett Lee and Andrew Hatch still nursing injuries, it’s very likely Friday that the LSU offense will be led by the third starting quarterback of the season, true freshman Jordan Jefferson.Miles expects his senior crew to lead the way in the Tigers’ efforts to secure the best possible bowl bid. In the team meeting Sunday, Miles said he challenged his seniors to say, “This ain’t right.”Like every loss, it still begs the question: What is going wrong? The answers were few and far between Monday, but Miles said he thinks aggressiveness and fun play are missing pieces of the puzzle.”The want to get this team playing well really revolves around the understanding of doing your job and relaxing, having fun and enjoying yourself,” he said. “We need to play like LSU has always played instead of anticipating that a mistake would be made.”Defensive end Rahim Alem earned praise from Miles, who called the junior lineman a “wide-eyed” force he’s eager to watch in the future.”I’m still having fun,” Alem said. “I’d be having more fun if we were winning.”Dickson said he would have more fun and maybe get a much-needed full-night’s sleep if the Tigers finish strong.He said he understands the fans’ frustrations and assures the Tiger faithful the effort is there.”No one likes cheering for a team that just lost a game,” he said.STATISTICAL OVERLOADIf the odds are any indication, Miles stands a good chance to bounce back Friday. He boasts a 9-0 record at LSU in games following losses. The Tigers hold a 33-18-2 all-time advantage in the series against Arkansas, with the game played the day after Thanksgiving every year since 1996. LSU dropped the last contest against the Razorbacks in a 2007 heartbreaker that, at the time, appeared to cost the Tigers their BCS National Championship hopes. Arkansas won, 50-48, in triple overtime in Tiger Stadium.SMITH LIKELY OUTArkansas coach Bobby Petrino announced at his weekly press conference earlier today that running back Michael Smith could miss Friday’s game because of a hamstring injury.”I don’t expect that he will be available for the game,” Petrino said. “He has a hamstring injury, and that is hard to come back from.  We are going into the game with the understanding that we will be without him.”Smith, who has eight rushing touchdowns, is the Southeastern Conference’s fourth leading rusher with 1,072 yards this season. He is second in the conference in rushing yards per game, averaging 107 per contest.—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]