ENGSTER: Statistically Speaking
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| Putting the aught decade for LSU into numbers
By JIM ENGSTER
Tiger Rag Featured Columnist
LSU was wobbling at the final gun of the decade, but Tiger footballers produced ten years to remember on the gridiron. The 0’s were the most impressive years in LSU’s glorious past with ten bowl games, seven bowl victories, three SEC championships and two BCS titles under Nick Saban and Les Miles.
When Saban took charge in 2000, LSU had lost 15 of the last 19 games of the 90’s. Five years of Saban and five seasons with Miles resulted in a record of 99-31 for LSU to lift the Tiger program to the highest echelon of collegiate football.
It’s convenient to forget LSU’s pitiful performance in the 1990’s in which the Tigers lost five more games than they won and posted a putrid 31-44-1 record in the SEC. By contrast, LSU was 55-25 in the league under Saban and Miles from 2000-09.
Joe Dean and Mark Emmert warrant plaudits for signing a journeyman coach to a five-year, $6 million contract that made Nick Saban the third-highest paid college coach in the land at the close of 1999. Saban was a 48-year-old relative unknown when he took the LSU job sight unseen and rolled into town from East Lansing sporting a black turtleneck on Nov. 30, 1999.
The arrival of Saban, and Skip Bertman’s hiring of Miles five years later made LSU the envy of the nation not long after enduring six consecutive losing campaigns from 1989 to 1994.
A comparison of decades puts into perspective how special the past ten years were for LSU and its fan base.
| Decade | Record | Pct. | SEC Titles | National Titles |
| 2000-09 | 99-31-0 | 76 | ‘01, ‘03, ‘07 | ‘03, ‘07 |
| 1990-99 | 51-56-1 | 48 | None | None |
| 1980-89 | 70-42-5 | 62 | ‘86, ‘88 | None |
| 1970-79 | 76-36-3 | 67 | ‘70 | None |
| 1960-69 | 76-26-5 | 73 | ‘61 | None |
| 1950-59 | 55-43-8 | 56 | ‘58 | ‘58 |
| 1940-49 | 55-36-5 | 60 | None | None |
| 1930-39 | 68-27-7 | 70 | ‘35, ‘36 | None |
Note: LSU was named national champion by the Williamson rating service in 1935 and 1936, by Sagarin in 1936 and by Berryman in 1962. The highest that LSU finished in a major poll in those years was No. 2 by the Associated Press in 1936.
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Last week’s column noted that Les Miles has directed his troops in 30 games decided by ten points or less in his 66-game tenure at Tiger Town. Miles is 20-10 in those contests, and his penchant for close encounters elicited a number of inquiries about Charles McClendon’s record in games decided by ten or fewer points from 1962-79.
Here is a look at the Charlie Mac Era and close games under LSU’s longest serving head football coach.
Year Record
1962 3-1-1
1963 3-3-0
1964 6-1-1
1965 4-1-0
1966 2-1-1
1967 3-3-1
1968 5-2-0
1969 2-1-0
1970 3-3-0
1971 2-3-0
1972 4-1-1
1973 3-1-0
1974 2-4-1
1975 2-3-0
1976 1-2-1
1977 3-2-0
1978 3-3-0
1979 2-4-0
Total 53-39-7
McClendon won 57 percent of his close games at LSU, and his teams played in contests decided by ten points or less 48.8 percent of the time.
Miles at LSU has won 67 percent of his close encounters, and his units have played in games decided by ten or fewer points 45.5 percent of the time.
Counting his four years at Oklahoma State from 2001-04, Miles is 29-18 in close games (62 percent), and his teams have played in games determined by ten or fewer points 40.9 percent of the time.
Nick Saban is 38-20-1 in close games at four schools (Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama). He has won 65 percent of close outings, and his teams have played in games determined by ten points or less 33.7 percent of the time.
Saban is definitely improving with age. He landed his first head coaching post when he was 38 years old in 1990 at Toledo. Here is a look at Saban’s record as he moved through four states in the college ranks.
Age of Saban Schools Record Pct
30-39 Toledo 9-2-0 82
40-49 MSU, LSU 46-31-1 60
50-58 LSU, Alabama 69-17 80
Total 4 Schools 124-50-1 71
The record of Les Miles has also progressed since the coach turned 50.
Age of Miles Schools Record Pct
40-49 Oklahoma State 19-14 58
50-56 OSU, LSU 60-22 73
Total 2 Schools 79-36 69
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Jim Engster is the general manager of Louisiana Network and Tiger Rag. Reach him at jim@la-net.net.
One always hears how much Saban improved LSU’s football program; and I believe he deserves alot of credit for it. But does anyone ever point out how much LSU’s football program improved Nick Saban? Does it make any more sense to slam Miles for “winning with Saban’s players” than to stick Nicky for “winning with Dinardo’s players?” This story comes close to finally giving credit where credit is due: LSU,its administration AND FANS (with their money), made a commitment to building a great program. As you say, they went out and found the coach they wanted and made it clear they would pay him and build him whatever facilities he deemed necessary to make this program work. Saban definately helped to make LSU great by taking advantage of the resources he was given…but LSU made Saban a super-star. He got his shot at the pros because of what LSU made him and he got all of the money in Alabama because of what LSU did for him. I don’t hate the SOB as much as most Tigers do, and I think he’s good at what he does. But this idea that he is some football god, and Miles only won because he had some players who had been touched by the “holy man” before him, is just stupid. The fact is that both coaches won about equally over the decade with LSU football players…mostly Louisiana boys…not Saban’s players, or Dinardo’s players, or Miles’ players…LSU football players.
Saban took Dinardo’s recruits who were medicore at best and turned them into winners with his young recruits. Saban built the program with his players, his philosophy, his attitude, and his football coaching intelligence ( he knows how to manage clock and how to call time out). Miles took over a program that was at the top and road it to a national championship mostly with Saban’s recruits and their attitude and work ethic. Where is the program now that Miles’ s recruits make up the full roster? What direction is the program headed? Haven’t the last two seasons been very mediocore at best? What big games have we won? Miles didn’t learn much from Ole Miss end of the game fiasco as evidenced by end of Penn State, did he?
Man that was a nice column,but it is the intangibles of a man who throughly knows what is his doing…That the Man we want to hire, to coach LSU.
Not a two bit foolish gambler trusting LSU fate on a dumb whim.
David
There is an old saying, numbers don’t lie and in the case of sizing up the success of a college football program nothing could state the truth better. The last decade has been by far the greatest decade the LSU football program has achieved. I would like to thank all the coaches and players regardless where they presently reside at for giving this Tiger Fan a whole lot to rejoice about over the past ten years ! I believe the glass is more than half full at LSU presently and if our fans will rally behind the team and quit berating the mistakes of the 2009 season more championship banners will be raised over the next decade ! In closing, I would like to express my thanks to the writer of this article, excellent facts that state the truth. Job well done !
I wish to compliment Jon on a well thought out post and very truthful one. LSU football has been of great interest for its devoted fans. We lhave always expected great seasons and Championships and when that did not happen we turned on them. It makes no difference who recruited the players its the results that count. As long as our coach can produce a contender,be competitive and represent LSU as a team that works hard to the very end of the game whether ahead or behind and its players have charater to be proud of I will continue to support that coach and his players. Coach Saban is gone. He tried the pros and is now back in college with Alabama and has done well. My coach is Miles and he will do well also. As with Saban and the Dolphins, if Miles fails too often he will move on.