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2008 BCS National Championship Game
2008 BCS National Championship Game
2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game Halftime show BCS Bowl Game Attendance Payout Allstate Alumni Kicker Challenge, Ohio State’s marching band, LSU’s Marching band 79,651[2] US$17,500,000 per team[3]
United States TV coverage Network Announcers Nielsen Ratings
BCS Championship logo, 2008
FOX Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Chris Myers 14.4[4]
BCS National Championship Game < 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes (11–1) 24 Head coach: Jim Tressel BCS 2 1 LSU Ohio State Date Season Stadium Location MVP Favorite National anthem Referee 3 10 2 21 0 AP 1 3 7 7 Coaches 1 4 7 7 Total 38 24 2009 >
LSU Tigers (11–2) 38 Head coach: Les Miles AP 2 Coaches 2
January 7, 2008 2007 Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
The 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the #1 and #2 college football teams in the United States as determined by the BCS Poll (a combination of polls and computer formulas) BCS to decide the BCS National Championship for 1 the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game featured #1 Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes hosting #2 SEC champion LSU Tigers. It also featured the second postseason matchup between head coaches Jim Tressel and Les Miles in five years. The first occurrence was the 2004 Alamo Bowl, when Tressel’s Buckeyes defeated Miles’ Oklahoma State Cowboys 33-7.
Offensive: LSU QB Matt Flynn Prior Defensive: LSU DE Ricky Jean-Francois to the last weekend of the regular seaLSU by 5½ [1]
Team selection
son, it looked like the national championship game would be played between Missouri and West Virginia. However, Missouri lost to OkPreservation Hall Jazz Band lahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game and West Virginia was shocked by their archJon Bible (Big 12 Conference officiating rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. This threw crew) the BCS and college football world into upheaval. By virtue of winning the Big Ten and having only one loss, Ohio State looked to be
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guaranteed a berth in the BCS championship game. After much speculation, LSU was revealed to be the number two team in the ratings, and therefore the Buckeyes’ opponent in the title game.
2008 BCS National Championship Game
14-play/65-yard drive stalled in the red zone and Colt David kicked a 32-yard field goal. The first quarter ended with LSU on offense and trailing, 10-3.
Pre-game buildup
The LSU football team runs onto the field at the Louisiana Superdome prior to the start of the game.
LSU Tigers football team bus at New Orleans Marriott viewed from Sheraton New Orleans After intense media speculation, including a report on ESPN which indicated that he was on the verge of taking the Michigan job, LSU head coach Les Miles announced just before the SEC championship game on December 1 that he was staying. Shortly thereafter, he agreed to a contract extension at LSU.[5] Rich Rodriguez eventually took the job in Ann Arbor. As for the Buckeyes, two cornerbacks, Donald Washington and Eugene Clifford, were reported to be suspended for this game for violating team rules. However, Ohio State’s athletic director said on December 27 that the reported suspension of Washington was erroneous.[6]
The Tigers line up on offense against the Buckeyes.
Second quarter
LSU scored early in the period with a 12-yard Matt Flynn touchdown pass to tight end Richard Dickson, tieing the score at 10. The drive was aided by two penalties totaling 28 yards by Ohio State’s defense. LSU’s Ricky Jean-Francois then blocked a 38-yard Pretorius field goal attempt on Ohio State’s next possession. Momentum appeared to be shifting to LSU’s sideline. LSU began the ensuing drive from their 34. The Tigers marched 66 yards in 3:28; a 10-yard Brandon LaFell touchdown reception from Flynn culminated the drive. On the next Buckeye possession, quarterback Todd Boeckman was intercepted by cornerback Chevis Jackson who returned the ball 34 yards into Ohio State territory. LSU moved down to the goal line and running back Jacob Hester punched the ball in to give the Tigers a 14-point lead. A short
Game summary
First quarter
LSU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. After receiving the opening kickoff, Ohio State started slowly on offense before Chris "Beanie" Wells broke off a 65-yard touchdown run for the first score of the game. LSU went three-and-out deep in their own territory and punted on their first possession. Ohio State quickly added a field goal by Ryan Pretorius to go up 10-0. LSU then marched efficiently down field, but their
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Buckeye drive led to a punt and LSU was content to go into halftime having scored 24 unanswered points.
2008 BCS National Championship Game
Fourth quarter
After LSU punted early in the quarter Ohio State put together a solid drive, reaching the LSU 34. However the offense stalled and the Buckeyes were forced to go for it on fourthand-seven. Boeckman dropped back to pass and was hit on his throwing arm just before the arm could start to come forward. The hit—made by LSU linebacker Ali Highsmith—caused a fumble and LSU recovered in Ohio State territory. The play was reviewed to determine if it was a forward pass but the ruling on the field was upheld and LSU got the ball with 10:37 left in the game. The Tigers then went three-and-out, but on Ohio State’s next possession Boeckman was intercepted by safety Curtis Taylor. With 5:37 remaining, LSU’s fate as National Champions was essentially sealed.
Les Miles celebrates his team’s victory in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. Miles is now 1-0 in BCS National Championship games.
Third quarter
LSU started the second half with the ball and a 24-10 lead. The Ohio State defense appeared to have forced a punt on LSU’s first drive, but a roughing the punter penalty by Buckeye linebacker Austin Spitler gave LSU a first down. The Tigers parlayed the personal foul into a touchdown, as Early Doucet later received a short pass from Flynn and broke a series of tackles at the five-yard line and walked into the endzone. Ohio State seemed to be fading but with 3:50 left in the quarter, Flynn was intercepted by cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who returned the ball 21 yards to the LSU 11. Three "Beanie" Wells runs brought the Buckeye offense down to the five and Boeckman proceeded to throw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Robiskie on fourth down, pulling the Buckeyes to within 31-17.
Offensive MVP Matt Flynn holds up the Waterford Crystal National Championship Coaches’ Trophy while Defensive MVP Ricky Jean-Francois celebrates on stage. The Tigers added another touchdown, a five-yard strike from Flynn to Dickson (his second TD reception of the game). Ohio State then scored on a late touchdown pass from Boeckman to wide receiver Brian Hartline before failing to convert an onside kick. LSU ran out the clock and celebrated their 38-24 BCS National Championship Game win.
Historical implications
This was the first national championship in the BCS era to feature two teams that had previously won a BCS national championship. Louisiana State became the first school ever to win two BCS championships. The Tigers had previously defeated Oklahoma, 21-14, in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, which served as the 2003 season’s BCS championship game.
LSU fans celebrate their team’s victory by holding up copies of The Times-Picayune newspaper of the next day.
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2008 BCS National Championship Game
Statistical Comparison[8] LSU 1st Downs Total Yards Passing Yards Rushing Yards Penalties 3rd Down Conversions 4th Down Conversions Turnovers Time of Possession The Tigers are also the first team to earn a national championship despite losing two games in that season since the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 1960, and the first team in history to win the championship with two tie games in regulation (both losses were in triple overtime -- ties were not broken in overtime until 1996.) [7] Ohio State is now 0-9 against SEC teams in bowl games. 25 326 174 152 4-36 11-18 1-1 1 33:56 OSU 17 353 208 145 7-83 3-13 2-3 3 26:04
References
[1] Fox, David (2007-12-13). "Rivals.com Bowl Viewer’s Guide". Rivals.com. http://collegefootball.rivals.com/ content.asp?CID=750671. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. [2] Chicago Tribune [3] http://www.bcsfootball.org/bcsfb/facts [4] "BCS title game ratings down from last year". signonsandiego.com. January 8, 2008. http://www.signonsandiego.com/ sports/college_football/ 20080108-1255-fbc-bcs-ratings.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-09. [5] ESPN - LSU extends Miles’ contract through ’12 - College Football [6] ESPN - Report: Buckeyes’ starter Washington eligible to play - College Football [7] College Football Data Warehouse - 1960 Final AP and Coaches Polls [8] Box Score @ ESPN.com
Statistics
LSU
• • • • QB Matt Flynn: 19/27, 174 yds, 4 TD, Int RB Jacob Hester: 21 rush, 86 yds, TD WR Early Doucet: 7 rec, 51 yds, TD TE Richard Dickson: 4 rec, 44 yds, 2 TD
Ohio State
• QB Todd Boeckman: 15/26, 208 yds, 2 TD, 2 Int • RB Chris Wells: 20 rush, 146 yds, TD • WR Brian Hartline: 6 rec, 75 yds, TD
External links
• Official BCS Website • Associated Press Game Article • ESPN.com Game Article
See also
• 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_BCS_National_Championship_Game" Categories: Bowl Championship Series, 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, Ohio State Buckeyes football, LSU Tigers football, College football bowls, Sports in New Orleans, Louisiana This page was last modified on 7 April 2009, at 04:40 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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