BATON ROUGE — LSU coach Les Miles meet with members of the media on Tuesday for the first time since the Tigers’ 31-26 win over fifth-ranked Arkansas last week.
Miles touched on a variety of issues on Tuesday, including LSU’s schedule for the next couple of weeks as well as looking ahead to the potential bowl possibilities for the Tigers.
The following is a transcript of Miles’ comments from his Tuesday media session:
Opening Statement
“On Sunday, we (coaches) all went recruiting and gave the guys a full day on Monday to get their academics going and in order. Today, we met with the team and talked about bowl likelihoods and those things that they need to do to finish the semester strong academically. We set the schedule for their running and lifting. We really go into our recruiting season with the assistant coaches, nine of which are on the road. I’ll be in a home tonight.”
On the upcoming schedule …
“We will give finals’ week its due. If there are some windows in there that we might be able to get in and have a short practice or a seven-on-seven special teams go, that’s what we will do. The priority will be academics. As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite.”
On what bowl game he wants to go to …
“I just want the best opponent. I think our football team has deserved it. We were undefeated for the month of November; we beat two Top 10 ranked teams on the road in the back end of the season; and arguably, we could be the hottest, most in-the-groove football team in the back end of the season (in the nation). We just want a good opponent. We want a BCS venue to play in.”
On Notre Dame possibly being selected to the Rose Bowl before LSU …
“It would be a difficult pick. We are ranked higher. There is no arguable playing advantage in the match-up. I think it would be a unanimous feel that LSU would be the best team.”
On possibly playing his alma mater Michigan …
“It would be tremendous to lineup against Michigan. It is a great team, a team that has been highly ranked all year long. To compare our football team on the football field and decide a winner with a team that is highly ranked, who has been there with great tradition, we sure would enjoy it.”
On what bowl his team and players want to go to …
“I think the Rose Bowl. Alabama went there 60 years ago, and we would certainly like to re-up the SEC’s acquaintance with the Rose (Bowl). It is a great bowl. I have been very fortunate to have participated there as a coach with that Michigan team. It is a great venue. I think our football team has made a real strong case for it. You look at our offense, our special teams. You look at the kind of skill players that we have and the excitement that we bring to a game. I think it would benefit anybody to get LSU to play there. We have done everything that we can from a performance standpoint. We have lined up with the most difficult schedule, certainly the most difficult road schedule in the history of the NCAA for our football team. We have proved worthy. We would like to play at the Rose Bowl. We’d like to play the best team that we could get line up against. We feel like we deserve the opportunity to show our country really how good this LSU football team is.”
On television ratings possibly playing a part in the BCS selection process …
“That shouldn’t enter in. In a country where we have set rules and guidelines for rankings and where the best should play, and if history repeats itself, the highest ranked, the best game is where the BCS should hang its hat, not on television ratings. If that’s the case, LSU will be playing in some BCS match-up.”
On the SEC Championship Game …
“We certainly wanted to be playing in that game. We were hopeful for at least two of the weeks in November that we still had an opportunity. Our team wanted to play in that game. They would have loved to have met Florida.”
On his Rose Bowl memories …
“There are a number. The first one was Butch Woolfolk (1981) rushing for 174 yards. We beat a Washington team coached by Don James, 34-14 (1992). That was the first memory. We played Washington twice. Washington beat us, 34-14 (1992). We came back a year later (1993) and beat them 38-31 in a heck of a ballgame where Tyrone Wheatley rushed for 235 yards on 15 carries and set a Rose Bowl record. We were in it with the USC Trojans twice. We beat them with Leroy Hoard in one match-up (1989). In Bo (Schembechler’s) last bowl game (1990), I think the Trojans got us. That’s a memory now. That is as good as I got.”
On LSU’s fans traveling to Pasadena if the Tigers get invited to the Rose Bowl …
“The LSU faithful will go to California in hoards. They will drag some of the people on the West coast to the game with them. We will have a purple and gold section that will rival any of our opponents.”