Nick Saban got outcoached.
That statement is rarely uttered, but it was the truth on Saturday night. Something heard on even fewer occasions is that Saban, the Alabama head man, got outcoached by the same coach in two consecutive seasons.
That man is LSU coach Les Miles.
It would even appear Miles has gotten into Saban’s head and is merely toying with him. Miles’ claim to fame during his tenure at LSU is his willingness to take risks, running fake kicks and trick plays. He went 5-for-5 on fourth-down conversions in a 2007 win against Florida. Later that season, he called a pass to the end zone with LSU in field-goal range that was caught by wide receiver Demetrius Byrd with one second remaining on the clock.
In 2010, Miles called a fake field goal late in the fourth quarter against Florida that helped the Tigers come from behind to win, 33-29.
Then there was last season’s Alabama game. With LSU trailing 14-13 and less than 10 minutes to play, the Tigers were facing a fourth-and-1 on the Alabama 26-yard line.
Instead of kicking a field goal, Miles went for it in a style only the Mad Hatter could pull off. He ran Deangelo Peterson on a tight-end reverse for a 23-yard first down. The Tigers scored a touchdown three plays later, converted the two-point conversion and took a 21-14 lead.
LSU won the game, 24-21.
Before this season’s game, Saban knew he would have to be prepared for Miles’ shenanigans and be able to respond with some of his own. But Miles pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat.
This time, he did nothing.
Miles was conservative. He was content with punting and playing the field position game without trying to do anything crazy.
Saban did the opposite. He tried to out-Miles Miles, and it completely backfired.
With the Crimson Tide driving on the LSU 28-yard line, Saban decided to have Marquis Maze attempt a wide receiver pass. The toss was picked off by sophomore safety Eric Reid, ending the Tide’s scoring aspirations.
Then, in overtime, with a Heisman Trophy candidate in junior running back Trent Richardson in the backfield, Saban elected to throw the ball three times. The third attempt led to a sack of sophomore quarterback A.J. McCarron and put Alabama in long field-goal range.
Alabama sophomore kicker Cade Foster missed the kick, marking the fourth missed field goal attempt of the day for the Tide.
LSU took the ball, never put it in the air, got into field-goal range and let junior kicker Drew Alleman put the game winner between the uprights.
Alabama led LSU in total yards, time of possession and had fewer penalties, but it was Saban’s risky calls and overmanagement that cost his team the game.
This aggressive style is unlike the normally conservative Saban.
Saban banked on the fact that he could catch Miles’ team sleeping and get the offensive spark that the game never saw. Saban’s aggressive play calls did create a spark — it was just a spark for LSU.
Maze had no business throwing the football, and why Saban elected not to hand the ball to Richardson in overtime is a question that will haunt ‘Bama fans for years to come.
The only explanation for Saban making a diversion from his harped-upon process is that Miles’ zany reputation was in his head. Saban overanalyzed Miles’ tendencies and thought he would have to go off-the-wall to win.
But Miles’ crazy call was to do nothing crazy at all.
And that was the last thing Saban was expecting.
 
Rob Landry is a 23-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville. Follow him on Twitter @RobLandry85.
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]