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The 3rd ranked LSU Tigers are a perfect 4-and-0, but Coach Les Miles said they are far from a perfect football team. Miles acknowledged mistakes were made in the Tigers hard fought 12-10 victory over Auburn, but the head coach is not as critical, as some fans.
On top of Miles' fix-it list is taking better care of the football. LSU has only turned it over five times, but three of them have occurred in the red zone. The head coach blamed back-up center Elliot Porter for the fumbled snap on the goal line against Auburn, even though the replay clearly showed the ball hit Quarterback Zack Mettenberger's hands and then bounced away. But Miles is putting the blame on Mettenberger for not taking care of the football when he was sacked late in the 1st quarter and his fumble resulted in a game changing turnover.
Protection issues have also been a problem at times. Miles blamed miscommunication between Mettenberger and a running back for one of the sacks. The head coach was questioned about left tackle Josh Dworaczk's play, but Miles said there are no immediate plans to remove the sixth-year senior as the team's starting left tackle.
Penalties are another issue hampering the Tigers. They had nine penalties against Auburn and they are averaging eight a game. Miles said the penalties were certainly legitimate calls in the Auburn game, but in several instances they occurred as an LSU player was trying teammates off a pile.
LSU's wide receivers have also been an issue. There are plenty of drops and the Tigers are averaging only 12 yards a reception. There's also been just four touchdown passes in four games and Mettenberger had trouble several times finding someone open.
Miles said the receivers are improving, but in other instances they can play better. The head coach said sometimes you have to give the opponent credit for covering up their routes.
