BATON ROUGE ? LSU coach Les Miles has already been voted out of playing in the Rose Bowl once. He doesn't want to miss another trip to Pasadena, Calif., because of television numbers. Miles was a member of the 1973 Michigan team that tied Ohio State 10-10 in Ann Arbor, Mich., and left the Big Ten in a stalemate. Since Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl, which used to always take the Big Ten and Pacific-10 champions, in 1972, virtually everyone thought Michigan would be Rose Bowl bound. Instead, a vote was held by the Big Ten athletic directors, and Ohio State won the vote and went to the Rose Bowl. Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, who died at the age of 77 two weeks ago, took a grudge against the Big Ten to his grave. Miles, who played two more years for Michigan in 1974 and 1975, never played in the Rose Bowl. He coached in it five times as a Michigan assistant under Schembechler in 1981, 1989 and 1990 and twice more in 1992 and 1993 under coach Gary Moeller. Miles went 3-2. If BCS No. 5 LSU (10-2) gets invited to the next Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, it will be Miles' first as a head coach and LSU's first ever appearance. BCS No. 10 Notre Dame (10-2) is in the running against LSU for the Rose Bowl, which is expected to have BCS No. 3 Michigan (11-1) on the other side. Should BCS No. 2 USC (10-1) lose to 6-5 UCLA Saturday, the Rose is then expected to take USC. LSU is five spots ahead of Notre Dame in the BCS and has two wins over teams in the top 16 of the current BCS while the Fighting Irish have none. But Notre Dame is the most recognizable name in college football and could get into the game because of its huge effect on television ratings. "That shouldn't enter in," Miles said Tuesday. "In a country where we have set rules and guidelines for rankings and where the best should play, that shouldn't happen. If history repeats itself, the highest ranked and the best game is where the BCS should hang its hat ? not on television ratings." Miles said Notre Dame would be a difficult pick over LSU. "We are ranked higher," he said. "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." Miles was just in Ann Arbor for a funeral service for Schembechler. "I like the connection of Les Miles to Michigan," Rose Bowl CEO Mitch Dorger said. "I think that would be interesting." Miles said he would enjoy coaching against his old school. "It would be tremendous to line up against Michigan," he said. "It is a great team, a team that has been highly ranked all year long. We'd like to play at the Rose. We'd like to play the best team we can line up against. We'd like to show the country really how good this LSU football team is. It is a great bowl. It is a great venue." FLORIDA TO ROSE?: BCS No. 4 Florida (11-1) would be an outside candidate for the Rose Bowl, should it lose to Arkansas in the SEC Championship Game Saturday, according to Rose Bowl CEO Mitch Dorger. (A Florida win would automatically put it in the BCS Sugar Bowl.) Florida did beat LSU 23-10 on Oct. 7, but Miles scoffed at the notion of the SEC East champion Gators going ahead of his team. "If they lose, I don't think they're a deserving group," Miles said. "To the back end of the season, we'd be better. "I think our football team has made a real strong case for it. You look at the kind of skill players we have and the excitement that we bring to a game. I think it would benefit everybody to get LSU to play there. We have done everything that we can from a performance standpoint. We have proved worthy." HIGHSMITH TO PLAY IN BOWL: Starting outside linebacker Ali Highsmith is expected to be back for LSU's bowl game after injuring his ankle in the second quarter of the win at Arkansas on Friday. He did not return to the game. "He's nicked, but it's nothing that would require surgery and he should play in the bowl game," Miles said. Middle linebacker Darry Beckwith, who missed the Ole Miss game two weeks ago with an ankle injury, played against Arkansas and came out of the game fine, Miles said. Link To Original Article
