Whether coaches and players across the country realized it was LSU coach Les Miles’ birthday is unknown, but they definitely did everything they could to make the coach happy on the first day of his 54th year on the planet. The first gift Miles received was from the LSU student section who sung the third-year coach “Happy Birthday” as the coach arrived in Tiger Stadium two and a half hours prior to kickoff. “How about that with the students singing ‘Happy Birthday’ before the game?” Miles said. “Once you get to be 50, you really don’t want to remember your birthday. For instance, if 65 comes soon, you just don’t really want to remember that.” Miles’ team also did their part to make the coach happy, defeating Louisiana Tech 58-10. Sophomore tight end Richard Dickson said Miles did his best to keep his birthday a secret to his team, but the team gave their best effort to make their coach happy. “No one really made a big deal about it, but I kind of heard about it on the sidelines,” he said. “I think he was trying to keep it hidden so we didn’t mess with him too much.” The LSU offense was again dominant, racking up more than 500 yards and scoring more than 24 points for the 12th consecutive game. Senior running back Jacob Hester collected 117 yards on 11 carries, including an 87-yard touchdown run, the fifth-longest rushing touchdown in LSU history. “That was my longest [run] since [playing against] Captain Shreve my freshman year [in high school],” Hester said. “And that was 96 [yards]. You don’t get too many of those running between the tackles.” Dickson said Hester is one of LSU’s fastest runners, despite the senior being labeled as a power back. “[Hester] is one of the fastest guys on our team,” Dickson said. “I wouldn’t even say he is deceptively fast because that guy can run.” Miles also received gifts from Georgia coach Mark Richt and Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom, whose teams defeated Auburn and Alabama respectively to officially clinch the SEC Western Division for the Tigers. “We will enjoy [the championship] for a moment,” Miles said. “But we will look forward to playing our next two opponents in the regular season.” Former Florida and current Illinois coach Ron Zook did his part to make Miles happy, gift wrapping LSU the No. 1 spot in the polls when Zook’s Fighting Illini defeated No. 1 Ohio State 28-21. Miles said he took pleasure in seeing the nation’s No. 1 team fall. “I smiled on the sideline, and there was a lot of noise in the stadium,” Miles said. “But it’s like being No. 1 before it counts to be No. 1.” Hester said the Tigers will not dwell on likely being the nation’s No. 1 team. “The rankings haven’t come out yet, and who knows where we’ll be,” he said. “We might still be at No. 2, or we might be at No. 1. But it doesn’t really matter. We have three games left.”
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