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BCS: Rematch Between SEC And Big Ten For National Championship

by Josh Cagliani
01/07/2008

If the Sugar Bowl was any indication of things to come, then the LSU Tigers are in good shape.

Just six days earlier on Jan. 1, the Georgia Bulldogs bullied their way into the Superdome in New Orleans and sent the Hawaii Warriors home with their only loss of the season.

When the Tigers (11-2, 6-2) enter the Superdome to face the Ohio State Buckeyes, they will do so knowing Georgia was warming up the dome for their fellow SEC mate.

The last time the Tigers played for the National Championship it was also in New Orleans. They came away with a 21-14 win over Oklahoma and became the 2003 national champions.

In 2006, the Tigers played in the Sugar Bowl and beat Notre Dame with ease 41-14.

The Buckeyes (11-1, 7-1) will be making their second straight appearance in the BCS National Championship Game.

They will be looking to avenge a 41-14 loss to another SEC foe Florida in last year’s title game.

In last year’s National Championship Game, the Buckeyes were slower, smaller, and lacked the intensity they needed to compete. This year things will be different for Ohio State.

“If we were racing, I bet that I have one guy that might be faster than any of their guys, but we’re not racing,” LSU head coach Les Miles said. “I promise you I watched that team, and there is no appreciable difference. They’re as quality, capable and talented as any.”

Ohio State has used that speed to lead the nation in scoring defense, pass defense and total defense.

All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis was a big part of the Buckeyes defensive success. He won the 2007 Butkus Award and was a finalist for four other awards: Rotary Lombardi, the Bronko Nagurski, the Bednarik and the Lott Awards.

“I followed Laurinaitis around because I was fortunate enough to go with Glenn Dorsey as he won several national awards,” Miles said. “I watched Laurinaitis’ highlights and no guy should be allowed to have that many highlights. He is one of the finest players in college football.”

After missing the SEC Championship Game with an injury, LSU quarterback Matt Flynn will be back when the Tigers take the field for the last time this season.

This year Flynn has thrown for 2,233 yards and 17 touchdowns while only throwing 10 interceptions.

Another big part of the Tiger offense is tailback Jacob Hester. He has run for 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Hester shows toughness when running the ball that very few players have. That toughness has rubbed off on the other players on the team.

“The thing I love about them is they're tough,” Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said. “They went through a season, a bunch of injuries, had a brutal schedule. They had some balls bounce the wrong way, taken into overtime. Playing without some of their best players at times and withstood all that.”

LSU was only two overtimes away from being undefeated this year. The Tigers went into triple overtime against Kentucky and Arkansas and suffered heartbreaking losses in both. In those two games, the Tigers gave up 43 and 50 points.

The Tigers hope a healthy Glenn Dorsey and the rest of the defense can keep that from happening again. Dorsey, the leader of the defense, is expected to be a first round pick in the upcoming draft.

“Glenn is at a point now where you don’t have to make comparisons,” LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini said. “Glenn Dorsey is Glenn Dorsey. I think he is as decorated a football player that has ever come through LSU and it is with good reason. The bottom line is what is special about Glenn is he is a heck of a football player.”

Pelini has been pulling double duty in the weeks prior to the national championship. He was hired as the head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and has had to prepare for his new job. At the same time he has still been tending to his duties as LSU defensive coordinator.

“I’ve been so focused on accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish that I haven’t had time to sit back and enjoy it,” Pelini said. That is for a different time when things settle down. Right now, I’m not quite a head coach. Right now I am a defensive coordinator because that is what I am committed to doing.”

LSU fans should hope they do not suffer the same fate as other teams who have been put in the same situation as LSU. Georgia head coach Mark Richt stayed on as the offensive coordinator for Florida State after accepting the head coaching position at Georgia and the Florida State offensive suffered in the bowl game.

One thing is for sure. It will not be hard for LSU and Ohio State to provide a better game for the fans than the one put on by Georgia and Hawaii a week earlier in the Superdome.

The BCS National Championship Game is being broadcast on FOX at 8 p.m. on Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

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