The LSU football team entered 2009 with some unfinished business to take care of.An 8-5 record in 2008 left the Tigers with a sour taste in their mouths, and they had had enough of losing.While the 2009 regular season was not perfect, LSU finished the year at 9-3, No. 12 in the BCS standings, on its way to earning an invitation to face Penn State in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on New Year’s Day.The 2009 LSU lineup emerged with a new look and a new attitude. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson won the starting quarterback job ahead of fellow sophomore Jarrett Lee, and the defense introduced a revamped coaching staff among other new wrinkles.Junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard said there was a new spark even as early as spring practice.”It’s just a new vibe to everybody,” Sheppard said. “Everybody has a little bit more pep to their step.”The Tigers’ first game came in Seattle against the Washington Huskies, who went 0-12 in 2008. The road trip of more than 2,500 miles was the longest in team history, and LSU barely came away with a 31-23 victory.Washington amassed 478 yards of total offense, including 321 yards passing from junior quarterback Jake Locker. The 321 yards equaled LSU’s entire offensive output.”I can tell you that that team will be the most improved team in this conference,” LSU coach Miles said. “I’m very thankful that we came and performed like we did.”LSU kicked off its Southeastern Conference schedule with a 23-9 home win against Vanderbilt. LSU’s running game took a hit against the Commodores, as junior running back Richard Murphy was lost for the season with a knee injury. Murphy’s injury proved to be foreshadowing of events to come during the LSU regular season.The Tigers rattled off three more wins against Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State and Georgia to move up to No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The next game was the annual clash with Florida, the defending national champions, on Oct. 10.LSU held Florida to its fewest points since 1999, but the Tigers could not get in the end zone themselves as they suffered their first loss of the season, 13-3. The LSU offensive line allowed five sacks in the second half, in which LSU gained 44 offensive yards.Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow started the game despite suffering a concussion two weeks earlier. The Heisman Trophy winner’s 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez with 50 seconds left in the second quarter was a dagger in the LSU defense.”Tiger faithful, I apologize,” Miles said after the game. “I wish we were better.” After a bye week, LSU rebounded with a 31-10 beatdown of SEC rival Auburn and a 42-0 thrashing of in-state rival Tulane.The Halloween showdown was the final game in the teams’ 10-year contract, as LSU paid Tulane $700,000 in September to end the series.LSU was ranked No. 9 for its Nov. 7 matchup with then-No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. LSU led 15-13 in the fourth quarter before Crimson Tide junior quarterback Greg McElroy connected with sophomore wide receiver Julio Jones on a screen pass for a 73-yard touchdown.But perhaps a bigger story in LSU’s 24-15 loss was injuries.Senior running back Charles Scott fractured his collarbone and missed the remainder of the regular season, and Jefferson missed the following week’s game against Louisiana Tech when he left with an ankle injury.”It was devastating watching your team fight as hard as they can to put points on the board, and I’m not able to help them,” Jefferson said afterward.After a near upset defeat at the hands of Louisiana Tech on homecoming night Nov. 14, the 8-2 Tigers traveled to Oxford, Miss., to take on the Rebels.LSU somewhat miraculously had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter after recovering an onside kick down 25-23. What happened on that drive still remains inexplicable to LSU fans — 17 seconds evaporated off the clock after a swing pass lost seven yards before Miles called LSU’s final timeout, leaving the offense with just nine seconds to score a touchdown or run in the field goal unit.The Tigers did neither, as a Hail Mary pass from Jefferson to junior wide receiver Terrance Toliver fell 5 yards short on fourth down, and Jefferson attempted to spike the ball with one second left, causing time to expire.”I heard timeouts being called verbally,” Miles said. “I’m repeating, but I’m not getting it to the official apparently. Those seconds that ticked off before would have certainly made a difference because if we [spike] the ball, we then have the opportunity to kick the field goal to win.”The loss at the hands of the Rebels dropped LSU from No. 10 to No. 17 in the nation heading into its regular season finale Nov. 28 against Arkansas. The previous two games between the Tigers and Razorbacks, both LSU losses, were decided by a total of three points, and this year’s contest was no different.The right leg of junior kicker Josh Jasper was the difference in LSU’s 33-30 overtime victory. Jasper kicked a 41-yard field goal to send the game to overtime, and he booted a 36-yarder between the uprights to seal the win. “I knew if I was going to get the chance, I wasn’t going to miss,” Jasper said after the game. “I was excited for my team mainly because they worked hard all week. For me to be able to help out at the end, that’s just wonderful.”On Sunday night, No. 13 LSU happily accepted a berth in the Capital One Bowl. Miles said running backs coach Larry Porter, who was named coach at his alma mater of Memphis on Nov. 29, is “a big part of this ’09 team,” and he indicated Porter will coach in the bowl game.- – – -Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]