Team of destiny?

If it is announced this evening that LSU will play for the BCS title Jan. 7, you've got to be thinking that Someone Up There really, really likes the Tigers. How many times this season have we put our heads into our laps and thought, "Well, this is it. The dream is over." I count at least five. Three came in victories (Florida, Auburn, Alabama). The other two, obviously, are the triple-overtime defeats.

How many of us really believed Miles would turn down his dream job to stay under the microscope of one of the most ruthlessly judgemental and furiously fickle fan bases in the nation?

Everyone who's anyone is calling it for LSU. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated, who has arguably been LSU's most consistent mainstream media supporter, makes the case eloquently. BCS geeks like Brad Edwards of ESPN and Jerry Palm of CollegeBCS.com are doing the same, with caution. Among ESPN's talking heads, only Mark May dissented from what has turned out to be the prevailing opinion by favoring Oklahoma. Kirk Herbstreit may have been reluctant to do likewise after his erroneous report on Miles.

Speaking of which, the Mad Hatter, as they've now dubbed him, finds himself in an interesting position - making perhaps more money than he could ever have dreamed of, and with a shot at taking down the hated Buckeyes and Jim Tressel on a national stage. No pressure, there, buddy. If he can't get his men fired up for this one, Tiger fans will certainly question the wisdom of the O'Keefe-Bertman decision to lavish untold wealth upon him.

I, for one, am happy Les is staying put. I think another coaching change would effectively end the Golden Age of LSU Football. And if our fan base can't rally around him after he rejected his alma mater AND put his team back into the national title mix in a span of a few hours, then there's something in the water down here.

Meanwhile, Big Blue bitterness is apparent. That guy who wrote Tuesdays With Morrie throws a hissy fit in the Detroit Free Press. Another DFP columnist explains how the Michigan-Miles deal fell apart, suggesting a Carr kibosh after all.

7 p.m. CST can't come soon enough.