Les Miles, the head coach of the LSU football team, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Collegiate Coach of the Year for Louisiana for 2007. The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories; it also selects Amateur Athletes of the Month and each year’s Hall of Fame class.
For fans of LSU football – and with apologies to Paul Dietzel, Billy Cannon, Jimmy Taylor and the misty memories of 1958 – it doesn’t get much better than this.
In his three seasons as head coach at LSU, Les Miles has guided the Tigers to the 2007 BCS National Championship with a dominating 38-24 victory over Ohio State in the Louisiana Superdome, three consecutive seasons of at least 11 victories and three straight top five national rankings, unsurpassed in school history.
Miles’ three-year record at LSU is a stunning 34-6, and he has accomplished it all with a flair for dramatic but calculated risk-taking that has energized both players and fans and, more often than not, paid huge dividends.
His 34 victories in three years include 20 wins against SEC opponents and 14 over teams ranked in the top 25.
Miles built on the success of 11-2 seasons in 2005 and 2006 by leading the Tigers to the BCS Championship Game in 2007. LSU became the first school in the Bowl Championship Series era to claim a second BCS National Title with its 38-24 win over Ohio State. In the title game, LSU spotted Ohio State a 10-0 lead before roaring back with 31 unanswered points, flashing the speed and exhibiting the no-panic demeanor it had refined during its brutal SEC wars. LSU’s first BCS title came in 2003 when the Tigers beat Oklahoma, 21-14, also in the Superdome.
The Tigers finished 12-2 in 2007, and they became the first team in school history to win at least 10 games in three straight years. The 2007 Tigers also set a school record for wins over Top 25 teams (seven) and won the SEC Championship with backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, subbing for injured starter Matt Flynn.
LSU won six of seven SEC games against opponents ranked in the Top 25 and were ranked No. 1 for four weeks. LSU continued to win despite injuries to Flynn, wide receiver Early Doucet and All-America defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. The Tigers posted four fourth-quarter comeback wins, including a 21-14 victory over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.
LSU scored a touchdown with a second left to beat Auburn at home and then scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes to beat Nick Saban’s Alabama team in Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers’ most dramatic victory came against top 10-ranked Florida. On the winning drive, Miles twice rolled the dice and went for it on fourth down, leading to a one-yard plunge by Jacob Hester that gave LSU a 28-24 victory in Tiger Stadium. LSU also routed No. 9 Virginia Tech 48-7 in early September when it was completely healthy.
LSU didn’t lose a game in regulation during the 2007 regular season, falling to both Kentucky and Arkansas in triple overtime.
LSU displayed the tunnel vision of champions leading up to the SEC Championship Game. Speculation ran wild during the week that Miles would return to his alma mater, Michigan, as head coach. In an impromptu press conference just before kickoff, Miles announced he was staying at LSU, and the Tigers went out and beat Tennessee 21-14. The BCS National Championship a month later confirmed the wisdom of his decision to remain in Baton Rouge.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 102 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 89-year history. The 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2024. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
-AllstateSugarBowl.org-
