I'm not going to speak for @red55, but the level of hyperbole in these "never" statements is a tad ridiculous. I am disgusted with losing to Bama 5 times in a row, but I will not allow it to make me miserable, or to sink into the depths of making statements about what will "never" happen again. At this point, it's whining at its finest, and the whining always reaches a fever pitch with a wish to replace the head coach. That would be a mistake--too many other schools have been burned by replacing successful coaches (when the metric for success is winning.)
I don't know, it doesn't seem like much has changed as far as approach goes. I still bet he thinks his best is good enough to beat Saban's best and it's not. In 5 games Les still hasn't figured out that in order to beat Saban you don't get into a slugfest, you try to exploit his weakness, which is the secondary and Les still hasn't figured that out yet. In 2012 Les stopped throwing the ball and we lost, in 2013 he stopped throwing the ball and we really lost. Kirby Smart has even said that he is glad LSU stopped throwing it. Sadly I don't see him changing.
Call it what you will. You are okay with 2nd, 3rd, whatever place he finishes because he is a good man. If we were running a rag tag bunch of 2nd bester garbage out there I'd probably say he did well. Instead he gets damn near anyone he wants in the country to come here and then presents an inferior product. It's not okay for anyone that has a single competitive cell in their bodies. As for my never statements, they are solid. The Bama game has become a damn consolation prize, we will collect our "other" wins and just roll out there in early Nov and try to not lose. Face it. It's the destiny of Miles and no, he will never win another NC because of the way he approaches the gump bowl. Great dude, would love to have a beer with him, don't want him fired but I cannot wait till he is gone
Like it or not, under the present system November games of this magnitude within the conference have become defacto playoff games. We are not mathematically eliminate but come on, who really expects Bama to lose to moo U or Auburn. So even if we win out we are out of the playoffs. Out of contention for the title. The irony is that we would still have a very good shot at being in the CFP if there were 8 teams instead of 4 included. So are you OK with Les Miles stubborn refusal to take a different offense approach annually when playing the elimination game? I won't say Les will "never" beat Saban again. Maybe Little Nicky will turn a new leaf and realize that it's better to give than receive and allow Les to win one because he has gotten soft headed. Maybe all their players will go on strike and they have to forfeit. Maybe Les will get hit in the head and wake up.
I get all of that, and I agree with it, as well. However, the cries of "never" this and "never" that are the equivalent of a child stomping his foot in anger and throwing a temper tantrum. There isn't a thing in the world that we, as fans, can do about this one way or the other, and I refuse to gripe and moan and complain about something I cannot affect in any form or fashion. It's not healthy. Analysis of the games, etc. are great; I just think the "crying" and "giving up" mentality are juvenile, at best.
It's healthy to let off steam rather than hold it in. Internalizing your frustrations lead to high blood pressure and worse. That's what forums like this allow us to do. We can all analyze until we're blue in the face but none of us have any power to affect the changes that the realistic among us know that are needed. If we didn't care we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't even be football fans.
The truth is - Saban is one of the Top 2 colleges coaches in the country. I think that's undeniable. He's a great recruiter, great motivator and great strategist. Miles is one of the Top 15, maybe as low as Top 20 college coaches. His record says so. He's a great recruiter and a great motivator. Les is 3 and 7 against Saban. The only coach that I am sure would post a better record against Saban was the head coach at Florida and is now the current head coach at Ohio State - Urban Meyer. Take a hard look throughout college football. Besides those 2, name me a sitting head coach that has led his team to 2 National Championship games? Ok. We can't. So let's start a list of other great head coaches ---
