LSU wins national title
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Too easy. No. 2 LSU danced, dodged and darted its way into the end zone Monday night, turning the BCS national championship game into a horrible replay for No. 1 Ohio State. It was over early, with Matt Flynn throwing four touchdown passes in a 38-24 win.
Playing at their home-away-from-home in the Big Easy, LSU (12-2) became the first two-loss team to play for the title. Shouts of “SEC! SEC!” bounced around the Superdome as the Tigers won their second BCS crown in five seasons. They are the first school to win a second title since BCS rankings began with the 1998 season.
And in a season of surprises, this was hardly an upset: Ohio State once again fell apart in college football’s biggest game. A year after the Buckeyes were routed by Tim Tebow and Florida 41-14 in the Arizona desert, they barely did better.
Jacob Hester bulled for a short touchdown, Early Doucet wiggled loose for a touchdown and All-American Glenn Dorsey led a unit that outplayed the top-ranked defense in the nation. Ohio State (11-2) had little to celebrate after Chris “Beanie” Wells broke loose for a 65-yard TD run on the fourth play of the game.
Yet while LSU got to hoist the $30,000 crystal trophy, certainly many fans around the country were peering into their crystal balls, wondering if someone else was worthy of the title. Southern California, Georgia, West Virginia, Kansas and Missouri all put on impressive shows in bowl games, and will be among the favorites in 2008.
The final Associated Press poll was to be released early Tuesday.
LSU became just the fourth favorite to win in 10 BCS championship games. Coach Les Miles probably got a little extra satisfaction, too. Though he turned down a chance to return home to Michigan, he did something his alma mater hasn’t done recently – beat the Buckeyes.
The loss left Ohio State at 0-9 overall in bowl games against teams from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC delights in whipping Big Ten teams in what’s become a rivalry that steams up fans on both sides.
The Tigers rallied from an early 10-0 deficit, taking a 24-10 lead that held up. Two big plays on special teams kept them ahead – they blocked a field goal, and later took advantage of a roughing-the-kicker penalty.
Flynn hit Doucet with a 4-yard toss with 9:04 left for a 31-10 lead and celebration was on in earnest.
The Buckeyes made the score more respectable on Todd Boeckman’s 5-yard TD pass on fourth down to Brian Robiskie, only to have Flynn come back and throw his second TD pass to Richard Dickson.
As the clocked down, Boeckman threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hartline.
Ohio State was trying to win its second BCS title in six years, and add to the one that coach Jim Tressel captured by upsetting Miami 31-24 in double overtime for the 2002 championship.
For sure, the Buckeyes were perhaps the most-maligned No. 1 team in recent memory, with critics attacking them all season.
Tressel gave his players a 10-minute DVD filled with insults hurled at them by television and radio announcers, hoping it would motivate his team.
Instead, the Tigers ravaged the nation’s best defense and showed that maybe all those naysayers were right.
Copyright Associated Press 2008