Tigers fall to Tide 21-0
NEW ORLEANS — For weeks and months, perhaps even four years, LSU fans dreamed of celebrating a third victory in the BCS National Championship Game where the Tigers claimed their last two national titles.
After so much anticipation, however, the dream quickly became a nightmare for purple and gold-clad fans who helped fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Monday night.
The rematch of LSU’s 9-6 overtime win over Alabama on Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., which had been billed as “The Game of the Century,” wasn’t much of a game as far as the Tigers are concerned.
No. 2 Alabama captured its second title in three seasons with a 21-0 shutout of top-ranked LSU, which won the 2003 and ’07 championships in the same building in defeating Oklahoma and Ohio State, respectively.
This time, Alabama got to lift The Coaches’ Trophy, a $30,000 piece of crystal shaped like a football, on the field as confetti swirled all around jubilant players and coaches.
Fifth-year Tide coach Nick Saban, who guided LSU to its victory in the 2003 title game, hoisted it for the third time in nine seasons after getting the traditional water shower following the dominating victory.
“The goal today was, ‘You control your destiny, you control what you do — the outcome of the game,’ ” Saban said. “As good as LSU was, (the game) will be determined by how we play and what we do. And I think the players really responded well to that.”
Despite a painful ending, LSU coach Les Miles reflected on the positives of strong two-year run in which the Tigers went 24-3.
“The good news is that there will be more resolve,” Miles said. “We’ve had a nice run here. We won a lot of games. We’ve gotten to the back end of the season and won bowl games and won championships.”
But it wasn’t to be Monday night.
Alabama kicker Jeremy Shelley booted field goals of 23, 34, 41, 35 and 44 yards to give his team a 15-0 advantage after three periods before Heisman Trophy finalist Trent Richardson iced with a 34-yard touchdown run with 4:36 remaining in the game.
By the time that happened, many of LSU’s supporters had headed for the exits — leaving the Superdome to thousands of Alabama fans who were bitterly disappointed by their team’s home loss in early November.
The setback was a bitter ending for LSU, which was bidding for a perfect season after the Tigers entered the game with a 13-0 record.
But Alabama, which came in with an 11-1 mark, overpowered LSU with a solid offensive game plan and a defensive display never before seen in the 14-year history of the BCS — which was appropriate for a unit that led the nation in fewest points (8.8) and yards (191.2) allowed.
It didn’t help that the LSU offense saved its worst performance of the season for the biggest game of the year as the Tigers, who averaged 375.3 yards per game, managed just 92 total yards and five first downs for the game.
The closest they got to the Crimson Tide’s goal line was the Alabama 32-yard line, and that didn’t happen until midway through the final quarter.
Even that ended badly, however, as a 3-yard loss on a running play by Michael Ford, a penalty, and two incompletions pushed them back before quarterback Jordan Jefferson fumbled and lost the ball while being sacked.
It culminated in the first shutout in the 62-game history of the BCS, which began in 1998, even though LSU won 12 of its 13 games by a double-digit margin this season and led the Southeastern Conference with 38.5 points a game.
The previous low-scoring BCS game came in the 2000 BCS Orange Bowl when No. 2 Florida State dropped a 13-2 decision to top-ranked Oklahoma.
Even LSU’s defense, which ranked second in fewest points and yards allowed in the nation, was outplayed by Alabama’s offense. The Crimson Tide rolled up 384 yards even though the Tigers turned them back time and time again and forced them to try seven field goals.
Still, Alabama finished off the game with a touchdown, something the Crimson Tide wasn’t able to achieve in more than four quarters of their November loss to the Tigers.
“You cannot enjoy it any more than we have,” Miles said of his team’s recent run. “In the same vein, it was as painful as anything we’ve been through.”