LSU may have won the 13 straight games, dominating most opponents through one of the most challenging schedules in college football history.
But none of that mattered Monday as Alabama won the BCS National Championship, and the Tigers returned to Baton Rouge with nothing but regret. LSU coach Les Miles accepted responsibility for the team’s poor performance in the 21-0 loss – the first time a team has been shut out in a BCS title game.
“I told my team I did not see it coming,” Miles said. “And that’s my fault. I wish I could have done something to help them. But for my players that worked their tails off, they started in their career to put themselves in position to win a game like that. To them I owe a lot. We have to be better.”
The LSU offense failed to launch any attack, totaling just 92 yards and failing to cross midfield until the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw for just 53 yards and threw one interception. Despite the state line, Jefferson wasn’t ready to say he played poorly.
“I think I played pretty good,” Jefferson said. “The only thing that stopped us from getting to where we needed to be was coming up short on those drives.”
The fans questioned why senior quarterback Jarrett Lee didn’t replace Jefferson to try and provide some offensive spark, but Miles kept Lee on the bench. Lee expected to get an opportunity – as did Will Blackwell and Rueben Randle – but Miles said Jefferson could play better against the Alabama pass rush.
“As much as I would have liked to have put Jarrett Lee in,” Miles said, “because the program owes him a lot…I felt like it would be unfair to him with the pass rush that he would sustain to put him in late in that game.”
Jefferson was sacked 4 times and carried the ball 14 times for 15 yards. Even though the LSU defense held Alabama to five field goals before finally allowing a touchdown in garbage time, the offensive ineptitude prevented the Tigers from creating a threat.
“There was some few adjustments they made and I thought were timely, but not so significantly that it should not have stopped our offense,” Miles said. ”I thought that they played very, very well and made plays within the scheme of their defense.”