LSU-Florida Recap: Wild Wins for Les Miles Are Nothing New

As far as Les Miles is concerned, a game like Saturday night's is business as usual.

The wild SEC romp in the Swamp between the LSU Tigers and the University of Florida Gators had all the makings of a classic battle. The game overall was an exciting contest, featuring six lead changes and big plays all over the field.

The real excitement however, came in the fourth quarter.

In what has become a weekly occurrence, Miles turned the final quarter into a circus of epic proportions. It seems every game ends with a loss due to questionable clock management or a win because of a dramatic play call or stroke of luck. 

This week, Miles reached into his bag of tricks for one of his favorites: the fake field goal, over-the-head toss from the holder to the kicker for the first down. It didn't disappoint, though it certainly didn't go according to plan.

All week in practice, the play had resulted in a touchdown. This time, the holder Derek Helton's no-look pass bounced before finding the streaking placekicker Josh Jasper.

For a moment, the play looked like to be yet another disaster in the fourth quarter for the Tigers.

Somehow, the oblong ball hopped perfectly to Jasper, and after a review of whether or not it was an illegal forward pass, LSU had its 1st down confirmed. 

In typical gutsy Miles fashion, he decided only seconds before the snap to call the fake. After lining up for a 53-yard field goal and then calling time out, Miles changed his mind.

Rather than attempt the long field goal, Miles lined up his team in field goal formation and let fly with one of his trickiest plays yet.

The holder and kicker, not at all unnerved by the sudden change of plans, executed the daring fake and sent LSU on its way to a 6-0 record.

Despite the sparkling record in an always tough SEC West, there has been unrest in the Bayou as the Tiger faithful seem to have grown discontented with Miles' gambling style.

It's hard to assign blame, however, when the team is standing at 6-0 and sitting comfortably at No. 9 in the AP Top 25. No matter what the critics say, Miles can use his victory in the 2008 BCS Championship Game and career record at LSU of 56-15 as proof of his success.

His win in Gainesville on Saturday marked only the second time in Urban Meyer's coaching tenure at Florida that he lost two games in a row. The last time was in 2007 when Meyer's Gators lost to Auburn and, you guessed it, LSU.

So long as Les Miles in running the show, LSU will continue to be one of the most daring and, at the same time, maddening teams in the country.

Les Miles simply wins ballgames—his way.