LSU Defeats Ohio State in BCS Championship Game, 38-24

The College Football National Championship Game between Louisiana State and Ohio State was in question for about 17 minutes. Those first fifteen minutes came in the first quarter where Ohio State got off to an early lead due to a 65-yard by Chris Wells that gave the Ohio State Buckeyes the lead on their first drive of the game. Following a bad snap by LSU, Ohio State got the ball back on their own 49 and ended up scoring a field goal, thereby establishing a 10-point lead with only 5:48 having elapsed in the 1^st quarter. But LSU responded with 10 points of their own in less than 12 minutes, with only 5 minutes between scores. From there, the game was pretty much over and LSU went on to win 38-24.

After the first two scoring drives by OSU, the pressure that the LSU Tigers put on the Buckeyes was undeniable. At the out start of the game, it looked as if OSU was going to be able to establish a balanced attack, but for whatever reason, Coach Tressel, the OSU coach, elected to opt in favor of the pass, and Chris Wells only had 9 carries in the first half, despite having 119 yards in the first half alone.

OSU's decision to opt for the pass was confusing, especially since LSU did a great job of man-to-man coverage on the Buckeye's receivers. LSU took advantage of their great coverage and used it pressure QB Todd Boeckman, which resulted in several big stops on defense. One stop lead to a blocked field goal, which helped fuel the Tigers' big 2^nd quarter. The LSU offense was dominant throughout the quarter, with three touchdowns and went into the half with a 24-10 lead.

Penalties probably sealed the Buckeyes' fate in the second half. Two personal fouls on LSU's opening drive, including a roughing the punter call on 4^th and 23, resulted in an LSU touchdown that probably would not have happened with out the help of those penalties. That gave the Tigers a 31-10 lead, and while OSU tried its best to get the momentum back, they never had the Tigers on the ropes at any point after that opening drive of the 2^nd half.