Coach Les Miles already had been in Death Valley for his first win, his first loss and everyone’s first Monday night game. Among the experiences, Miles was still lacking the feel of Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. This season’s first Saturday night in Tiger Stadium came in the middle of October – approximately two months later than scheduled. “That crowd was phenomenal. It was my first Saturday night. It was my first time to see anything like that,” Miles said. “In our state, that may well be as heightened of an emotional atmosphere that I’ve been around. It was the right game to have that atmosphere.” LSU’s last-second victory over Auburn with a field goal in overtime may have given the special teams more appreciation, but Athletics Director Skip Bertman said the home crowd added the effect that was felt by the Auburn offense. Although Auburn committed only one false start and one delay of game penalty, they still had to take timeouts as early as 53 seconds into the game. “In the second quarter, Auburn was in our end zone and was forced to take a time out. Kyle Williams and another guy I couldn’t identify got so excited they pointed up to the students in a way to say, ‘You did it,'” Bertman said. “I want to emphasize that the coaches and the players are very much into the crowd.” While Auburn might have been feeling the negative effects from the crowd reaction Saturday night, Miles gathered the benefits from being the home team. “It makes you smile when you take the field,” Miles said. “You walk on the field with the idea that this is the most beautiful place in America. It’s 100 yards of grass. It is very special. If you talk to our players, if you talk to our coaches, it’s what we want. It’s what we need.” Senior defensive lineman Kyle Williams said he warned Miles of the “crazy” atmosphere of a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium but he said the warning did not do this past weekend justice. “I don’t think it quite lived up to its bidding until Saturday when he really saw what Tiger Stadium was really about,” Williams said. “I think you can tell the difference between Saturday night and any other night. It’s one I would like to remember.” After seeing the effects a 12th man can make in the outcome of the game, Miles already is urging the same turnout for the non-conference game against unranked North Texas.
“As you look at your weekend as we play North Texas, I encourage you to come out,” Miles said. “It means a lot to the coaches and to the players. It’s an advantage to our team. I trust and hope that we will see a very similar crowd as we did last Saturday this Saturday.”
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