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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 8, 2008

Updated: 01/08/2008 12:55 am

NEW ORLEANS - Capping the most unpredictable season in college football history, the controversial Bowl Championship Series format has presented two-loss LSU as the nation's best team.

Some people - we can hear you, Southern Cal and Georgia fans - have questions after what will be interpreted as an unsatisfying ending.

But one thing can't be disputed.

The Tigers were the better team in Monday night's BCS Championship Game at the Superdome.

LSU rallied from a 10-point deficit and steamrolled the luckless Ohio State Buckeyes 38-24, giving the SEC its second consecutive BCS national title.

"I knew our kids were competitive. I knew they'd fight," said LSU coach Les Miles, who has guided three straight 11-victory seasons.

"We enjoy playing in this arena. We enjoy playing in front of the state of Louisiana. This is great."

The Tigers, who delighted the mostly pro-LSU crowd of 79,651 fans, will finish No. 1 for the second time in five seasons. LSU is the only two-time national champion since the BCS format began in the 1998 season.

The game's flow was eerily similar to Ohio State's 41-14 loss to Florida in last season's championship contest.

The Buckeyes (11-2) roared to a rousing start, thanks to a 65-yard touchdown run by Chris "Beanie" Wells on the game's fourth play from scrimmage.

Then they unraveled.

But the defensive speed and power of LSU (12-2) was largely responsible for that.

Not to mention the play of senior quarterback Matt Flynn, the offensive Most Valuable Player who tossed four touchdown passes, including a pair to tight end Richard Dickson. Flynn was 19 of 27 for 174 yards. Equally effective was LSU's leading rusher, Jacob Hester, who scored on a 1-yard plunge.

"I've been extremely blessed," Flynn said. "To be part of such a great team, to have such great fan support, has been fantastic.

"We prepared well. We had a bunch of weeks to get ready. We just kept mounting some good drives and scoring touchdowns."

LSU defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois was named defensive MVP. Jean-Francios had an early key play when he blocked a 38-yard field-goal attempt by Ohio State's Ryan Pretorious. The game was 10-10 at that point, and LSU seemed to gain a spark.

Meanwhile, it began a long string of misfortune for Ohio State, which moved to 0-9 against SEC teams in bowl games, a grim statistic that dates to the Woody Hayes era.

"What can you say about it?" Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said before the game. "It's a fact. And it will remain a fact until we do something to reverse it."

LSU fell behind 10-0, tying its largest deficit of the season, but scored on its next four possessions and took command. The Tigers smashed through with a 14-play touchdown drive to open the second half, suddenly turning the Superdome into a purple-and-gold festival.

One play seemed emblematic of Ohio State's problem-filled night.

With the Tigers stalled on fourth-and-23 at their 40-yard line, Ohio State's Austin Spitler seemingly had the perfect angle to block Patrick Fisher's punt and perhaps reverse the momentum.

Spitler missed the ball.

Fisher still rocketed a 60-yard punt.

And Spitler was called for roughing the punter.

With new life, and aided by a 15-yard personal-foul penalty by Ohio State on the next play from scrimmage, LSU stormed downfield and got a 4-yard touchdown pass from Flynn to Early Doucet, giving the Tigers a 31-10 advantage with 9:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Ohio State threatened a comeback when Malcolm Jenkins interception Flynn, positioning the Buckeyes for Todd Boeckman's 5-yard touchdown pass to Brian Robiskie on fourth-and-4, cutting LSU's lead to 31-17.

But after forcing an LSU punt on the next series, then driving to the Tigers 35-yard line, Boeckman was sacked by linebacker Ali Highsmith on fourth-and-8. The ball popped loose and LSU recovered.

And that was that. Ohio State couldn't recover from three turnovers and 83 penalty yards.

LSU was a preseason No. 2 that rose to No. 1 in October. It billed itself as "unbeaten in regulation" after suffering a pair of triple-overtime defeats (Kentucky, Arkansas). Clearly, the Tigers weren't perfect. They had flaws.

But Ohio State, which came in with the nation's No. 1-ranked defense, made more mistakes. Wells, who finished with 146 rushing yards, was not a compelling factor in the late going.

Another fast start.

Another quick dismissal by the SEC champion.

Another black eye for the Big Ten Conference.

For Ohio State, the BCS title game was painfully familiar.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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