The Louisiana State Tigers are one game away from an unprecedented run during a college football season.
This season, the Tigers defeated the winners of the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship. With a win on Monday, LSU will have four victories over opponents ranked in the top five. Only Notre Dame in 1943 has done that.
Head coach Les Miles is aware of the historic run his team is on.
“I’ve been asked that question a couple of times, and I think certainly it’s fair after tomorrow night,” Miles said. “I think it’s all about this game. It’s one that certainly we’re all looking forward to, and I think that those conversations are best served for then.”
A win on Monday night would make LSU the first school to win three BCS National Championships. Florida has two and nine other schools have one.
The Tigers are no stranger to the big stage and more specifically the Superdome. In 2003 and 2007, the Tigers walked away with the crystal ball.
“I think there’s been an enjoyment with our program that started in ’03 and then happens again in ’07 and then come ’11,” Miles said. “When we came down here in ’07, Katrina, really the aftermath, was very much a part of the game. And our players, coaches, certainly myself, became informed.”
This rematch between Alabama and LSU will be the SEC’s record sixth straight national championship. No other conference has won more than three consecutive championships. Miles said Alabama is absolutely the best team they’ve played all season.
“If you just review the season, it will come up pretty comfortably that way,” Miles said. “I mean, really without another team that you would consider. The teams that we play, this is certainly the best team on our schedule.”
Every championship game brings on new challenges, but if anyone can handle the pressure, it would be a Les Miles led football team. Miles and his team have had one focus all season; winning a championship. The Tigers have overcome adversity and blocked out all distractions so Monday should not be any different.
“When we take the field, we’ll be an emotional, fired up football team,” Miles said. “I think there’s no way that this team could be contained that way, considering how they’ve played in this year.”
Most teams would fold under the pressure of playing on such a big stage. Not the Tigers. Not Miles. They embrace it.
