Colleges

An LSU onslaught

The Tigers take control with 31 straight points, cruise to the title.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published January 8, 2008

NEW ORLEANS - The LSU Tigers came into Monday night's showdown against Ohio State with more losses than any team to reach the Bowl Championship Series national title game.

Folks asked if they truly belonged.

Well, now their only question is this: How did the Tigers lose twice in the regular season?

The No. 2-ranked Tigers, who fell behind the No. 1 Buckeyes by 10 in the opening minutes, rallied behind quarterback Matt Flynn's precision passing and its opportunistic defense to score 31 straight points and cruise to a 38-24 win before a raucous record crowd of 79,651 at the Superdome.

"Certainly there'll be some argument who's the best team, but I think the national champion's been crowned tonight," said LSU coach Les Miles, who credited "divine intervention" and "some great young men" to explain how his Tigers overcame some missteps in an injury-plagued regular season.

The Tigers (12-2) have won the national title (or a share of it) for the third time in their 115-year history. They won in 1958 and were BCS champions for 2003, beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State (11-2) can only lament what might have been. Again. The Buckeyes were undefeated and ranked No. 1 entering last year's BCS finale but were embarrassed by Florida, 41-14.

This was hardly the redemption they sought.

This was, instead, validation for an LSU team that had lost its No. 1 ranking after a triple-overtime loss at Kentucky on Oct. 13 and again after a triple-overtime loss to Arkansas on Nov. 23 but moved back into title contention as other teams were upset - the theme for perhaps the wackiest college football season ever.

But the game couldn't have started worse for the Tigers.

On their first two possessions, the Buckeyes hit LSU's proud and healthy defense with two big plays - a 65-yard touchdown run by running back Chris Wells and a 44-yard pass from quarterback Todd Boeckman to backup tailback Brandon Saine that set up a field goal - for a 10-0 lead with 9:12 left in the opening quarter. The Buckeyes mustered a total of 82 yards in last year's title game.

But the Tigers showed poise and confidence born from so many close games.

"We got off to that lead, but they fought back, which we knew they would," OSU coach Jim Tressel said.

"I don't think anybody thought twice when we were down 10," said Flynn, the game's offensive MVP after completing 19-of-27 for 174 yards and four touchdowns. "It was early in the game, and we knew we could execute.

"The defense played incredible, the offensive line played great, and it just all came together."

Flynn led LSU to four consecutive scores - a 32-yard field goal, a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Richard Dickson, a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon LaFell and a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Jacob Hester - for a 24-10 halftime lead.

"They give you so much to prepare for. They give you a lot of problems," Tressel said.

The Tigers opened the second half with another touchdown, a drive kept alive when Austin Spitler plowed into punter Patrick Fisher. Receiver Early Doucet caught a short pass and shed two tacklers for a 4-yard score.

OSU hadn't allowed more than 28 points since, yep, last year's title game.

But the Buckeyes rallied. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Flynn late in the third quarter. Boeckman, a first-year starter who replaced Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, capitalized on the turnover by finding receiver Brian Robiskie for a 5-yard touchdown on fourth and 4 to cut the deficit to 31-17.

OSU then forced its first three-and-out since the opening drive, and Boeckman had his team on the move again. Until the Tigers stopped him cold.

Defensive end Kirston Pittman sacked Boeckman for a loss of 3 yards on third and 3 from the LSU 31, and on fourth down, blitzing linebacker Ali Highsmith, a former Miami Central star, drilled Boeckman to cause a fumble that safety Harry Coleman recovered to all but seal the game.

"It shows the character and guts and the truth of this LSU football team," Flynn said. "This team is full of grown men. They know how to shake things off and not give into adversity. We've shown it all year and we showed it tonight."

[Last modified January 8, 2008, 01:33:03]