Here is Miles’ record broken down by tier. As always, first tier opponents are teams that had a winning percentage of .750 or better, second tier were .500 to .749, third tier opponents were .250 to .499, and fourth tier opponents were .249 and below.
| Tier | Wins | Losses | Pct. | Avg. Scored | Avg. Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 7 | 3 | .700 | 25 | 16 |
| Second | 12 | 2 | .857 | 37 | 21 |
| Third | 13 | 1 | .929 | 37 | 12 |
| Fourth | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 56 | 3 |
Miles has had a first tier team each year, so the three losses within that tier are understandable. They were to basically equal or better teams.
The other three losses were 5-6 to Tennessee in 2005, 8-5 to Kentucky in 2007, and 8-5 to Arkansas in 2007. The common thread that binds these games together, besides being losses to lesser teams, is that they all were overtime losses.
That means Miles is a few well-placed field goals away from being an eye-popping 36-3 over his first three years with perhaps a third BCS appearance in ’05. Given his struggles in overtime so far, it’s no surprise that Miles coined the “undefeated in regulation” doctrine last year.
It's likely that the Miles/Meyer comparison will go on for quite some time since both appear to be at their current schools for the long haul and both have had so much early success.
Miles has had a slight upper hand so far, mainly because while Ron Zook left the cupboards full at Florida, Saban left an embarrassment of riches for his successor when he bolted for the NFL.
Periodically, the argument will arise about the pecking order of coaches in the SEC. Before you instinctively put Urban Meyer over Les Miles, just think about his record so far, because it's really, really good.
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