When the final seconds ticked off the clock in LSU’s 21-14 victory against Tennessee in the SEC championship, most experts said the Tigers were headed to New Orleans to finish their season in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. While LSU will still travel to New Orleans as predicted, it will be for a different reason. The Tigers, ranked No. 2 in the final regular season Bowl Championship Series standings, will take on No. 1 Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7 in the Louisiana Superdome. The Tigers watched the announcement from the Lawton Room in the Football Operations Center and chanted, “We’re goin’ to the ‘ship,” as LSU was displayed as the nation’s new No. 2 team. “This is a dream come true for a bunch of seniors who have busted their butts all year,” said senior safety Craig Steltz. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity, and we just kept on fighting.” The Tigers received a spot in the championship game following a wild final Saturday of the college football regular season that had both No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia lose, marking the first time in BCS history that the top two teams lost in the final week of the season. Missouri was defeated, 38-17, by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game. The Sooners had also beaten Missouri in the regular season. The bigger surprise was West Virginia, who was a 28-point favorite against Pittsburgh, but the Panthers defeated West Virginia, 13-9, to ruin the Mountaineers’ chances. West Virginia’s loss was the seventh time this season the nation’s No. 2 team was defeated. Senior quarterback Matt Flynn said the Tigers are grateful to receive so much help from across the country. “It seems like a lot of things have gone our way this season,” Flynn said. LSU senior defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey turned down millions of dollars in the NFL Draft this past season to return to LSU for his final season. Dorsey said playing in the national championship guaranteed that he made the right decision. “This is the reason why I came back,” Dorsey said. “I watched the last time LSU played for the championship in high school, and that is what attracted me to LSU.” LSU’s score of .939 was .069 ahead of No. 3 Virginia Tech, clinching a spot in the championship game. The Tigers defeated the Hokies, 48-7, on Sept. 8 to give LSU the advantage it needed in the final human polls. LSU coach Les Miles said he believes the voters did the right thing in making LSU No. 2. “We’re thankful to the voters who allowed us the opportunity to play in this game,” Miles said. “How [the season] unfolded certainly could not have been scripted.” Sunday’s announcement marks the second time in the nine-year history of the BCS that the Tigers are playing for the championship in New Orleans. LSU defeated Oklahoma, 21-14, in the 2004 Sugar Bowl to win the team’s second national championship. Ohio State comes into the game following two consecutive bye weeks. The last time Ohio State was in action was on Nov. 17 when the Buckeyes defeated rival Michigan, 14-3. The Buckeyes won the Big 10 Championship following an 11-1 regular season that included wins against the Wolverines, Wisconsin and Penn State. Ohio State’s lone defeat of the season was a 28-21 loss to Illinois on Nov. 10. The Buckeyes were in the championship game this past season, but were beaten, 41-14, by Florida. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said the Buckeyes learned from this past season’s loss and will prepare differently against LSU. The nation’s only unbeaten team, No. 10 Hawaii, will be traveling 4,208 miles to New Orleans to take on No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
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