Saturday’s game against Ole Miss will be bittersweet for LSU coach Les Miles.On one hand, the coach is looking forward to an opportunity to defeat the Rebels — one of LSU’s biggest rivals.On the other hand, Miles is going to be sorry to see the final home game for LSU’s 20 seniors.”This is a quality group of men,” Miles said at his weekly press luncheon Monday. “Football’s a hard game. It’s not easy. When you go out there in contact and heat and cold . . . and do so well representing our school, we’re in their debt.”LSU is 8-2 in the Tigers’ last 10 senior day games.But the wins have not come easy for LSU, and six of the 10 have been decided by three points or less — including LSU’s 50-48 senior day overtime loss to Arkansas last season.Miles said he expects another difficult game this weekend against the upstart Rebels (6-4, 3-3).”I know who we’re playing this week,” he said. “I understand that rivalry. And this is a very, very talented team.”Junior halfback Charles Scott will have to wait another year before having his own senior day game but said he will do whatever he can to send out this senior class with a win.”I want to send them out with a bang,” he said. “They’ve done a great job of carrying on the legacy the guys started, and they did a great job of carrying on and building on that. And they put my class in a position to carry it forward also.”Miles thankful for supportWith LSU facing a 28-point deficit and temperatures dipping below 40 degrees Saturday night, many fans headed toward the exits early and didn’t see the Tigers’ comeback win.But Miles said he appreciated those who stayed, and the Tiger faithful that braved the cold weather had an impact on boosting LSU’s comeback win.”I’m not going to question the motives of those people who had to get up and go,” Miles said. “That’s their call. The only thing I know is that the guys who stayed, we enjoyed them. That was one heck of a game. We’ll have a lot of folks who’ll want to see the television replay.” Hatch out yet againMiles said sophomore quarterback Andrew Hatch will probably be unavailable for a fourth straight game this weekend.Miles has been mum on Hatch’s status since Hatch was injured Oct. 25 against Georgia, but Miles said Monday the former Harvard quarterback has a “contusion near the thigh area.””I don’t know if I am hopeful for this week,” he said. “That may be too optimistic. We’ll have to see.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]
Senior day brings mixed emotions
November 17, 2008