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Feature
2008 BCS National Championship
Ohio State Crumble Under National Spotlight
by Matthew Nuttall
16/1/2008
LSU 38
Ohio State 24
Matt Flynn and the LSU Tigers 31 point run led them to their third all time National Championship after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes in Louisiana.
But it wasn’t easy in the first quarter, as Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells led Ohio State’s championship charge early in the first quarter and, just like in 2007, opened the scoring. With only 2:26 gone in the game Wells lit up the Superdome with a 65 yard run that left a sour taste in the mouths of the LSU tigers, after prognosticators had criticised Ohio State’s seeming lack of speed.
The crimson side of the crowd roared into excitement as the Buckeyes ripped open the LSU defense with ease the strong defensive line that seemed unbeatable was broken.
LSU’s offense were next to take the field having averaged 38.7 points per game and ranked 19th in the nation in ’07, but their drive stalled early as both the running and passing game was ineffective. Minus 13 yard for the Tigers was a good sign for a Buckeyes team that was 0-8 all time in bowl games vs SEC teams, and the Tigers were forced to punt.
On Ohio State’s following drive things were looking good – a 41 yard completion from Todd Boeckman to Brandon Saine spelled danger for Louisiana State, but a false start penalty limited the Buckeyes to only a field goal, converted by Ryan Pretorius from 25 yards. It turned out that these would be Ohio State’s last points until the third quarter, a stat that effectively cost them the game.
Down by ten, Les Miles’s Tigers had to score, and with the added pressure of the hometown crowd they did: 65 yards from 16 plays, with 29 coming from Matt Flynn’s arm, gave LSU good field position but the drive faltered, leading to only a field goal from Colt David from 32 yards. The score was now 10-3 in the favour of the unfancied Buckeyes.
A nervous atmosphere enclosed the Superdome as LSU began the second quarter but a mix of powerful running and accurate passing lead the tigers to Ohio State’s 13 yard line. With three WRs on one side of the field the Buckeyes defense was exposed as a 13 yard pass to the wide open TE Richard Dickson gave LSU their first TD of the game. It turned out to be a dominant quarter from the SEC champions.
 With the score tied the pressure now began to show on the offensive side of the football for the Buckeyes. 55 yards from 6 plays gave Ryan Pretorius a second chance at a field goal – this time from 38 yards out – but in what turned out to be a momentum changer the kick was blocked and for once in the game LSU looked like a force.
LSU now had all the momentum and it showed: a 66 yard TD drive in only 3:28 left the Buckeyes exhausted. Matt Flynn’s pass to Brandon LaFell gave the Tigers a seven point lead and Les Miles the sense that his Louisiana side was going to win the greatest prize in collegiate football.
The Tigers’ defense then forced the first turnover of the game. Immense pressure forced a bad pass from Todd Boeckman that was intercepted Chevis Jackson giving LSU great field position on the following drive. This turned out to be the story of the game as DC and soon-to-be Nebraska Head Coach Bo Pellini’s playcalling confused the Buckeyes consistently.
Next it was Jacob Hester’s turn as he punched in LSU’s third TD of the game from the 1 yard line, spinning through James Laurinitas’s strong tackle earning the Tigers a 14 point lead that looked untouchable, as yet again Pellini’s defense secured another big stop, this time a huge sack from Tyson Jackson lost the Buckeyes vital field position forcing them to punt. The first half ended with the Tigers up 24-10.
The National Championship was all but concluded in the third quarter with a 4 yard TD pass from Flynn to Doucet reminding the nation why the SEC was so strong, Doucet made something out of nothing as he juked two tackles to walk into the end zone, leaving the Buckeyes’ fans hopes in tatters. LSU’s drive – 80 yds in 5:56 – was its best of the game.
The Tigers’ defense then went to work, demolishing the Buckeyes’ offensive line as Boeckman was sacked again ,leaving Ohio State to punt once more.
Ohio State finally showed us why they were ranked #1 in the nation after a lazy Matt Flynn pass was picked off, leaing to their only points since the first quarter. Malcolm Jenkins was credited with the interception while Brian Robiskie caught a fourth down pass from Todd Boeckman to pull the Buckeyes to within 31-17.
Still, with only 15:00 remaining the mostly LSU pro crowd sensed a third title.
With 8:30 left of the game Buckeye hopes were finally dashed as Boecknman was picked off for a second time, after which Matt Flynn took advantage, securing the game with a 5 yard pass to Richard Dickson. A consolation TD from Boeckman to Hartline from 15 yards belied the fact that Ohio State were done. The Big Ten champions looked awful in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters, almost falling asleep in their biggest game of the season. Much like 2007 were taken apart by another SEC side, leaving them 0-9 in bowl games against the conference.
For LSU the celebrations began as they became the first team to win two National titles in the BCS era. They were also the first two loss team to win the National championship in the BCS era.
Ultimately, LSU answered critics who questioned if a two loss team should play for a title, proving again why the SEC is the best conference in the nation, while Les Miles’s team of 2007-08 made history in a season that will always be remebered as the year of the upset.
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Box Score
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1
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2
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3
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4
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Final
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LSU
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3
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21
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7
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7
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38
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Ohio State
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10
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0
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7
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7
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24
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Ohio State
Todd Boeckman 15/26 – 208 YDS – 2 TD – 2 INT
Chris Wells 20 CAR – 146 YDS – 1 TD
LSU
Matt Flynn 19/27 – 174 YDS – 4 TD – 1 INT
Jacob Hester 21 CAR – 86 YDS – 1 TD
Total Yards
LSU 326
Ohio State 353
Player Of The Game
Matt Flynn
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