Miles at a loss to explain worst loss of his LSU career

quote:

---

It was one thing losing to Alabama, 21-0, on Jan. 9, 2012. The Crimson Tide was No. 2 in the nation, 11-1 on the season, had just won the 2009 national championship, and that game was for the national championship as LSU finished 13-1.

LSU’s 17-0 loss at Arkansas Saturday night was similar to watch, but with far different circumstances. The Razorbacks limped in at 4-5 overall, 0-5 in the Southeastern Conference and 0-17 in the SEC since 2012.

Arkansas became the first winless team in SEC play so late in a season to beat LSU since a 4-6 Mississippi State outfit that was 0-6 in the SEC defeated the Tigers, 34-22, on Nov. 17, 1990, in Jackson, Miss.

But that was a dying, 4-5 and 2-4 LSU team that was coached by lame duck Mike Archer, who learned just a few days before that he would be fired after the season because word leaked from LSU’s athletic department.

This was a 20th-ranked, 7-3 LSU team here Saturday that just a week prior had No. 3 Alabama beaten until the final seconds of regulation before losing, 20-13, in overtime. Just two weeks before that, LSU knocked off No. 3 Ole Miss, 10-7, to improve to 7-2 and 3-2 in the SEC. LSU found itself out of all polls Sunday.

So based on record of the opponent, this was the worst loss of LSU coach Les Miles’ decade at LSU. It has been 32 years since a winning LSU team this late in a season has lost to a team with such a poor record as Arkansas. On Nov. 27, 1982, a seventh-ranked, 8-1-1 and Orange Bowl-bound LSU lost, 31-28, to a 3-7 Tulane team in Tiger Stadium.

Miles was at a loss to explain the proceedings, which included the Tigers’ first shutout in a regular season game under Miles and an offense that has produced all of two touchdowns in its last 12 quarters.

“I don’t know what’s going on there,” Miles said when asked about an offense that managed 36 rushing yards on 32 attempts and a second straight passing output of less than 90 yards.

“Offensively, we struggled yet again,” he said.

“We were unable to get anything going. Simply, we have to do better on offense. We should have moved the ball better early in the game. Certainly, we should have started to throw the ball a bit more. They were loading the box early. We were uncharacteristically out of rhythm, and I don’t know why. But it’s something we have to fix.”

LSU (7-4, 3-4 SEC) gained 123 total yards – by far its lowest output of the season against a team that came in just seventh in the SEC in total defense with 364.8 yards allowed a game and seventh in rush defense with 136.8 given up a game.

---