Les Miles Brain Cramp Costs LSU in Loss to Ole Miss

However bad the schedule of games on Saturday looked, the finish to the Ole Miss/LSU game made up for all the disappointment. Early on in the 4th quarter, Ole Miss scored on a halfback option pass from playmaker Dexter McCluster. That touchdown made it 22-17 Ole Miss, and they added a field goal with about four minutes left to take it to 25-17. LSU rallied to score a touchdown on a 25 yard pass from Jordan Jefferson to Rueben Randle to make it 25-23. Despite being only a yard or so out on their two-point conversion try (Ole Miss had a pass interference on the first attempt), they weren’t able to convert on a fade pass so they were forced to try an onside kick. Amazingly enough, Brandon LaFell picked up a low kick in stride and took it down around midfield. While that was one part of the craziness (the other was converting on 4th and 26), the brain cramp part was soon to come. After throwing a screen pass for an 8-yard loss, LSU let the clock go from about 27 seconds to nine seconds before calling timeout. That blunder cost them big time. Check out the highlights below to see what unfolded:

Talk about big time mismanagement. Les Miles looked confused even when time ran out, as if he didn’t understand what was going on. I can’t believe that such a savvy coach like Miles could have let this situation get so out of hand. The first mistake was letting so much time expire before ultimately calling a timeout after 3rd down. The next mistake was not running the field goal unit out there after connecting on the 4th and 26. With only 1 second left, there was no way to spike the ball even though that’s what LSU attempted. I’m sure Tigers fans won’t get over this loss and the series of blunders any time soon.