Published March 12, 2013 - 12:45pm
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SDS came across a fascinating article from College Football by the Numbers on how the SEC coaches have performed against the spread. In particular, the author’s study centered around Les Miles and was conducted after LSU’s loss to Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The study compared Miles to his peers since 2005 in SEC play.
Here is every SEC team’s record against the spread since 2005.
| Team | ATS | ATS % |
| Arkansas | 37-27 | .578 |
| S Carolina | 35-26-3 | .574 |
| Alabama | 33-28-3 | .541 |
| Auburn | 34-30 | .531 |
| Vanderbilt | 32-31-1 | .508 |
| Tennessee | 31-32-1 | .492 |
| Miss State | 31-32-1 | .492 |
| Florida | 30-32-2 | .484 |
| Ole Miss | 30-33-1 | .476 |
| Georgia | 28-33-3 | .459 |
| Kentucky | 29-35 | .453 |
| LSU | 25-36-3 | .410 |
| Texas A&M | 5-3 | .625 |
| Missouri | 3-5 | .375 |
LSU has posted the worse ATS record in league play since 2005. Most notably, however, LSU is 85-21 overall and 47-17 in SEC play under Miles’ spectacular guidance, and as evidenced by his quirky nature and late-game heroics, Miles just wins ugly.
There have been 25 different coaches in the SEC since Miles took over in 2005, and here are their coaching records against the spread.
| Coach | ATS Record | ATS % |
| Bobby Petrino | 20-12 | .625 |
| Nick Saban | 27-20-1 | .574 |
| Steve Spurrier | 35-26-3 | .574 |
| Phil Fulmer | 17-14-1 | .548 |
| Bobby Johnson | 21-18-1 | .538 |
| Gene Chizik | 17-15 | .531 |
| Dan Mullen | 17-15 | .531 |
| Tommy Tuberville | 17-15 | .531 |
| Rich Brooks | 21-19 | .525 |
| Ed Orgeron | 12-11-1 | .522 |
| Urban Meyer | 22-24-2 | .478 |
| Houston Nutt | 26-30 | .464 |
| Mark Richt | 28-33-3 | .459 |
| Sly Croom | 14-17-1 | .452 |
| Les Miles | 25-36-3 | .410 |
| Derek Dooley | 9-15 | .375 |
| Joker Phillips | 8-16 | .333 |
| Hugh Freeze | 6-2 | .750 |
| James Franklin | 10-6 | .625 |
| Lane Kiffin | 5-3 | .625 |
| Kevin Sumlin | 5-3 | .625 |
| Will Muschamp | 8-8 | .500 |
| Mike Shula | 6-8-2 | .429 |
| Gary Pinkel | 3-5 | .375 |
| John L Smith | 3-5 | .375 |
| Robbie Caldwell | 1-7 | .125 |
Aside from Derek Dooley and Joker Phillips, Miles has performed the worst against the spread since 2005. The latter half of the chart was deemed too small of a sample size to include in the main list.
Photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
