The LSU Tigers defeated Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl on Sunday, creating split of the US college football championship.
The Tigers automatically received the No. 1 ranking in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll for beating the Sooners in this game, chosen as the Bowl Championship Series finale.
But USC topped the The Associated Press poll with a convincing 28-14 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
PHOTO: AP
Too bad for college football fans everywhere that there's not one more game left for LSU, ranked No. 2 in the AP poll -- against Southern California.
LSU charged out to a 21-7 lead, and then held off Oklahoma and its quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner Jason White, to win its first national crown since 1958.
The Tigers' Justin Vincent ran for 117 yards and was selected the game's most outstanding player, defensive end Marcus Spears scored on an interception return and coach Nick Saban's team never trailed in the game, running its record to 13-1.
All-America Chad Lavalais and his LSU teammates shut down the nation's top-scoring team for most of the game, extending the jinx that haunted previous Heisman winners such as Chris Weinke, Eric Crouch and Gino Torretta.
White found his touch in the fourth quarter and led the Sooners down the field in the final minutes. But on fourth down at the LSU 12, White's pass was tipped and it trickled off the hands of star receiver Mark Clayton in the end zone.
Other Sooners argued, yet Clayton picked up the ball and shook it, knowing his chance had slipped away.
Oklahoma got the ball back once more, and White was sacked on its final play.
The loss was a bitter one for the Sooners (12-2). They had seethed for nearly a month after their perfect season was wrecked in a humbling 35-7 loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game.
Kejuan Jones scored on two short runs for the Sooners, but their hope for an eighth national title was ruined by untimely penalties and mistakes. Coach Bob Stoops, whose team won the unified championship in 2000, spent as much of the game shouting at the officials as his own team.
White finished 13-for-37 for 102 yards with two interceptions.
The top-scoring team in the country, Oklahoma, was blanked in the opening quarter for the first time this season. Then again, the Tigers were accustomed to such performances.
LSU limited opponents to only 10.8 points, the best scoring defense in the nation. Anchoring the middle, as always, was Lavalais, who spent one year working as a prison guard before enrolling in school.
Oklahoma broke through midway in the second quarter, literally, when two Sooners burst through LSU's punt-block formation and Brandon Shelby smothered Donnie Jones' kick. They took over at the 2, and Jones' 1-yard burst tied it.
LSU took the ensuing kickoff and zoomed down the field 80 yards behind Mauck and Vincent. Mauck completed passes to four receivers and Vincent carried three times for 43 yards, capped by a snaking, 18-yard TD run for a 14-7 lead.
When the third quarter began, the fans got even wilder because of Spears.
On the first play, he sacked White. On the next, Spears dropped back into coverage in the right flat and seemed to surprise White, making an easy interception.
The big defensive end barreled toward the end zone and no one was going to stop him, scoring standing up when White bounced off him at the goal line.
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