Some people might think Les Miles hasn’t won enough national championships at LSU, but leading with that one title in 2007, it truly has been an era of excellence for the Tigers under the Mad Hatter.

Not only do the Tigers go into 2015 as the winningest program in the SEC in the last 10 years with 103 victories, LSU is also No. 4 nationally in wins since 2005 as the Tigers rank behind only Boise State (113), Ohio State (109) and Oregon (105). Plus, Miles and LSU enter this season with numerous perfect streaks on the line.

Going into Saturday night’s season opener between the Tigers and McNeese State, the two teams had met just once before – and it was a memorable meeting. The Cowboys were leading, 10-7, in the second quarter of that game before the Tigers scored 25 unanswered points for a 32-10 victory.

Why is that comeback victory significant? Well, it’s part of the nation’s longest regular-season non-conference winning streak, which LSU has run to 49 straight games. Miles has been with the Tigers for 39 of those contests; Nick Saban had the other 10 wins from 2002-04.

The last time LSU dropped a non-conference, regular-season game was in 2002, when it lost, 26-8, in its opener that year at Virginia Tech. The Tigers also go into the McNeese State game having won 12 straight openers — with Miles on the sidelines for the last 10. Coincidentally, the Tigers’ defeat in Blacksburg, Va., 13 years ago was their last season-opening loss.

As a matter of fact, Miles is the only coach in LSU history to lead the Tigers to a season-opening win in each of his first 10 years. In Miles’ decade with the Tigers, his LSU teams have outscored their season-opening opponents, 373-186.

Saturday’s matchup with McNeese State marks the 11th time that LSU will face a team from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). LSU is 10-0 all-time against FCS teams, with Miles winning seven of those games. But he and the Tigers can’t overlook McNeese State.

The Cowboys — who return 16 starters, including nine on defense — are ranked 25th in the STATS FCS poll. And they nearly took Nebraska to overtime in their opener last season before Ameer Abdullah’s amazing 58-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left lifted the Cornhuskers to a 31-24 victory.

Even though McNeese State is 0-9 all-time against teams from power five conferences and the AAC, 10th-year Cowboys coach Matt Viator, who obviously remembers the 2010 matchup quite well, seems undaunted about returning to Death Valley.

“We’re gonna be McNeese,” he said earlier this week. “We’re gonna do what we do. It’s what we did last year at Nebraska. It’s what we did at North Carolina and Texas A&M. We’re not inventing the wheel or going in there and trying to trick them (LSU) and all that kind of stuff, which we never have done.

“We want to make sure that McNeese shows up and we do it to the very, very best of our ability. We’re going to play football the way we know how and if it’s not good enough, that’s fine.”

MCNEESE STATE COWBOYS CLOSER LOOK

Top returning player, offense: Daniel Sams, Sr., QB — A transfer from Kansas State last year who went into this summer coming off a thumb injury, Sams appeared in 10 games last season and led the Cowboys with 711 yards rushing to go along with 624 passing.

Top returning player, defense: Brent Spikes, Sr., DB — He led the Cowboys with 83 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss and a sack last season. He also led McNeese State with four interceptions and 156 interception return yards, with 148 of those coming in one game — against Incarnate Word — which set a school, Southland Conference and state of Louisiana record.

Top returning player, special teams: Khalil Thomas, Jr., WR — He returned 20 kicks last season for 429 yards and ranked fifth in the Southland Conference with an average of 21.5 yards per return. He also led the Cowboys with five receiving TDs and averaged a team-high 15.1 yards per catch on 18 receptions in 2014.