LSU's Miles struggles for answers after loss

The following is the opening statement from LSU coach Les Miles following his team's heartbreaking 25-23 loss at Ole Miss on Saturday and the question-and-answer session that followed with reporters.
MILES: "Felt like we played a very inspired game. Felt like it was a very competitive game. I can only tell you that the management at the back end of the game was the issue. I think without question, my quarterback's got to be able to throw it away. We're calling a timeout to save as much clock time as we can, but didn't get it relayed to the field.
"And again, I take that myself. So down to the 5 with one second, they had a difficult time getting the chains moved. We could've got lined up to kick the field goal with one second. That would certainly have been the end of the game that we would have foreseen.
"It's interesting, I felt like the team played awfully hard. I felt like that defense played better in the second half than they did in the first. I think guys came back from mid-game issues. I think Jo Jo LaFell made some big plays late in that game, and I was very proud of him. It's my regret that we didn't finish first in that game."
QUESTION: "Why not play for the field goal earlier and run the ball?"
MILES: "Well, we were throwing balls that should well have been incomplete. If he steps back there to throw understanding the situation — if it's not open, let it go. He's trying to keep the play alive and puts us in the initial issue. We were close enough to kick the field goal at that point, even though a long one, but close enough to kick it. And then we throw a screen to pick up some of the yards down on the boundary to get out of bounds. Certainly that was ill-fated as well. That play the clock ran down, timeouts were being called verbally. I didn't relay it to the official apparently, and that was the mistake. We didn't know that the timeout had not been called. So then we come down to nine seconds. The opportunity to get a first down and make a play thereafter was probably a very long position to be in. So we decided to go for the Hail Mary.
"Then we make a great catch. And certainly those seconds that ticked off before would have certainly made a difference because if we clock that ball, we then have the opportunity to kick the field goal to win.
"I'd heard the timeouts being called verbally. 'Call timeout.' I'm repeating it, but not getting it to the official apparently, because obviously I had to go and get the "» and make the timeout call yet again. So.
Q: "When Terrance Toliver makes the catch, what's happening between (quarterback) Jordan Jefferson and the sideline?"
MILES: "I do not. The only thing I can tell you at that point in time, it's "» the "» what we needed to have happen was run an offensive play or kick a field goal — one of the two. Apparently, you know, obviously, he felt like ... I do not know who told him to clock it. OK, and I'm listening to the headphones. You cannot clock that ball. I don't know that that call was ever made. So ... I ... uh ... again."
QUESTION: "Do you know what Jordan was signaled on that play? Do you know?"
MILES: "I'm going to have to find that one out. I'm listening to the headphones, and I'm ... there is no clocking it. There's no chance to clock it."
QUESTION: "Was there any scenario after Toliver's catch that you guys could have won the game?"
MILES: "The only scenario is, 'Call the play and throw it or call the play and run it.' In any event, there's no way to clock it. And we don't think that we can get the field goal team on the field."
QUESTION: "During the timeout, you talked about maybe, 'OK if we get this first down, get the field goal?'"
MILES: "No, no, no. We talked about if we had time beyond "
QUESTION: "When you called timeout after the screen pass — the one with nine seconds left — during that timeout on the sideline, did you say, 'OK, field goal team get ready because if we get the Hail Mary, you've got to run out on the field?'"
MILES: "Well really we were throwing the Hail Mary for the score. At that point, we felt like the score is what we needed to have happen. We didn't think we could get the field goal team lined up, nor did we think we could get another play off. And we probably could well have without the time it took to move the chains. We were down there on the ball certainly."

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