Big, easy victory for LSU over Ohio State

NEW ORLEANS — Too easy.

No. 2 Louisiana State danced, dodged and darted its way into the end zone Monday night, turning the BCS national championship game into a horrible replay for No. 1 Ohio State. It was over early, with Matt Flynn throwing four touchdown passes in a 38-24 victory.

Playing at their home-away-from-home in the Big Easy, the Tigers (12-2) became the first two-loss team to play for the title.

Still, LSU was a runaway No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. The Tigers received 60 of 65 first-place votes from a national media panel. Georgia, USC, Missouri and Ohio State rounded out the top five. Georgia had three first-place votes while USC and No. 7 Kansas each had one. LSU got all 60 votes in the coaches poll. USC was second followed by Georgia, Ohio State and Missouri.

And while Miles got to hoist the $30,000 crystal prize, surely many fans around the country were wondering if someone else was equally worthy.

The top six teams in the final AP poll all had two losses and Kansas had one.

"Certainly there will be some argument as to who's the best team. But I think the national champion has been crowned tonight," Miles said. "I have give great credit to some divine intervention that allows us to be in this position."

Shouts of "SEC! SEC!" bounced around the Superdome as the Tigers won their second BCS crown in five seasons. They are the first school to win a second title since BCS rankings began with the 1998 season.

"My team is the No. 1 team in the land," said All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who passed up the NFL draft to return for his senior season.

LSU rallied from an early 10-0 deficit, taking a 24-10 halftime lead that held up.

"We just didn't do the things you need to do to win a ballgame of this nature. We're very aware that LSU's a deserving champion," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

Jacob Hester bulled for a short touchdown, Early Doucet wiggled loose for a touchdown and Dorsey led a unit that outplayed the top-ranked defense in the nation.

Ohio State (11-2) had little to celebrate after Chris "Beanie" Wells broke loose for a 65-yard TD run on the fourth play of the game.

"It's unbelievable to know you've failed two years in a row," Wells said.

LSU, whose two losses both came in triple overtime, became just the fourth favorite to win in 10 BCS championship games. The Tigers added to the crown they won in 2003 — their other national championship came in 1958.

"We came out here with the right frame of mind. We kept hanging in there," Flynn said.

Miles probably got a little extra satisfaction, too. Though he turned down a chance to return home to Michigan, he did something his alma mater hasn't done recently — beat the Buckeyes.

The loss left Ohio State at 0-9 overall in bowl games against teams from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC delights in whipping Big Ten teams in what's become a rivalry that steams up fans on both sides.

Better on offense and defense, the Tigers got two big plays on special teams — Ricky Jean-Francois blocked a field goal, and LSU took advantage of a roughing-the-kicker penalty.

Flynn hit Doucet with a 4-yard toss with 9:04 left for a 31-10 lead and the celebration was on in earnest. The Buckeyes made the score more respectable on Todd Boeckman's 5-yard TD pass on fourth down to Brian Robiskie, only to have Flynn come back and throw his second TD pass to Richard Dickson.

Flynn finished 19 for 27 for 174 yards and was picked the game's most outstanding offensive player.

A year after the Buckeyes were routed by Tim Tebow and Florida 41-14 in the Arizona desert, they barely did better.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press final college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: