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By BOB HARIG, Times Staff WriterIts first national title in 45 years rewards coach Nick Saban's efforts.
NEW ORLEANS - They play in the sixth-largest on-campus stadium in the country, where some of the most rabid fans in college football support a program rich in tradition.
Yet for all their history, the Louisiana State Tigers had underachieved.
Nick Saban noticed, and wondered. How could a school with so much going for it play in just three bowl games in the 1990s? How could a school with so many resources be more than a decade removed from its last Southeastern Conference title?
Saban asked those questions when interviewing for the LSU head-coaching job, knowing from his days as an assistant in the NFL that the state of Louisiana was rich in football talent. In fact, he told those who hired him, a study had shown the state followed only California, Texas and Florida in producing NFL players.
"I think the most important thing to have success is to have the best players in Louisiana come to LSU," Saban said. "I think the kind of program to attract those players is definitely important. Because we have had some national exposure, we've been able to attract the best players in Louisiana and complement them with some out-of-state players that have contributed quite a bit to the success of the program as well."
Saban and LSU were rewarded with the school's first national championship since 1958 Sunday at the Superdome when the Tigers beat Oklahoma 21-14 for the Bowl Championship Series title.
As expected, the Tigers, who finished 13-1, share the national title with USC, which finished 12-1 and was voted No. 1 in the Associated Press poll after defeating Michigan Thursday in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans received 48 of 65 first-place votes in the media poll, with LSU getting the rest. In the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, LSU got the top spot, as was stipulated by the coaches contract with the BCS and the American Football Coaches Association - although three coaches did ignore the mandate and vote for second-place USC.
"There was always a chance it could be out of whack and it happened this year," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a conference call. "It doesn't take away from what LSU accomplished. ... I think there would be an awful lot of people who would love that matchup. It would be exciting for the country. It's too bad it can't happen."
Such a matchup can be debated in the offseason as BCS officials work to improve their system while hoping to avoid a repeat of this season, when the consensus No. 1 team, USC, was denied a spot in the predetermined title game.
The split national championship is the 11th, but the first since the BCS was put into place for the 1998 season. No doubt, LSU and USC are not quibbling much. The Trojans had no national titles since 1978, and LSU had gone 45 years, since coach Paul Dietzel, halfback Billy Cannon and a platoon defense brought the title to Baton Rouge.
Saban, who worked as a defensive coordinator for the NFL's Cleveland Browns in the 1990s before becoming the coach at Michigan State for five seasons, believed more glory was possible for LSU when he took over in 2000. He immediately sought to keep the best talent at home and notched top-five recruiting classes in 2001 and 2003. Of the top 57 players on the roster, 35 are from Louisiana.
And there is no reason why the success cannot continue. Eight of LSU's starters Sunday night were freshmen or sophomores, including the game's most outstanding player, tailback Justin Vincent, who rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown. Only seven senior starters were listed.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the Tigers will be the rumors about Saban, who continually is linked to NFL jobs and no doubt will hear his name mentioned more now.
Saban is due a nearly $1-million raise to become the college game's highest paid coach at approximately $2.5-million per year. He was looking forward to celebrating, but not for long.
"What I'm thinking is how are we going to get this done next year?" Saban said. "Because this year's accomplishment is next year's expectations."