BATON ROUGE -- LSU coach Les Miles may not be taking a new job any time soon. He was in his first year as Oklahoma State's head coach in 2001 when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. He was in his first year as LSU's head coach in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita devastated Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. "We were preparing for a game and somebody told us, 'Somebody hit the World Trade Center,'" Miles said at his weekly press luncheon Monday on the five-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks. "We turned the television on to see and saw the second plane hit live." Like virtually every football coach that week, the game Miles was preparing for on that Saturday, Sept. 15, was scratched. "I just could not believe it was terrorists," Miles said. "It took maybe too long for me to figure that out. I couldn't believe it. I think we were all so sad in this country after it became evident this was a terrorist plot. I hope we continue to find answers to these things that challenge our way of life." Oklahoma State ended up playing Northwestern State on Sept. 29 to make up for its lost game of Sept. 15 against Northern Arizona, which was not made up. Northwestern State had Gardner-Webb scheduled for Sept. 15, but that game was also not made up. Oklahoma State and Northwestern State each had open dates on Sept. 29, so that game was scheduled. Northwestern State strength coach David Deets had friends at Oklahoma State and realized the two schools had common open dates. Oklahoma State won 24-0 in Stillwater, Okla. LSU was scheduled to play Auburn on Sept. 15, 2001, in Tiger Stadium. Instead, LSU ended up having open dates on Sept. 15 and on Sept. 22, which was scheduled before the season. The Tigers then lost their next game on Sept. 29 at Tennessee. LSU rescheduled its game against Auburn on Dec. 1, and that ended up being for the SEC West title. LSU beat Auburn 27-14 and then upset No. 2 Tennessee 30-21 in the championship game. "I remember not realizing how bad it was at the time," LSU offensive guard Will Arnold said. "Looking back, I believe it sticks with everybody. It was one of those things that you never thought would happen - seeing two planes going through a building." INJURY REPORT: Starting tight end Keith Zinger (stomach) did not practice Monday, and Miles is not as confident about Zinger's status for Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game at Auburn as he was Sunday. "I don't know exactly when he'll return," Miles said. Zinger did not dress out Saturday for the Arizona game. Starting right tackle Peter Dyakowski, who broke a bone in his right hand in the second quarter Saturday, is wearing a small cast but is expected to play Saturday. "Peter will be fine," Miles said. Link To Original Article
