LAGNIAPPE
I only have one word to sum it up…
While I think an Aaaaaieeee! would have been a little more traditional Louisiana, I’ll take it. Les Miles guides LSU to their 2nd BCS National Championship in his 3rd year as head coach. More good news is that the AP didn’t act like idiots and also voted LSU #1 as well, so there’s no split championship like in 2003.
As for the game, LSU played THE Ohio State University and clobbered the Buckeyes. OSU came out strong and in the first 5 minutes, scored 10 points, while LSU looked like they’d forgotten how to play football. Things turned around from there, both the offense and defense started playing football, and LSU ran off the next 31 points to take total control of the game. There is no doubt that LSU is the best team in the country, and that the SEC is the best football conference in the country.
I’m glad that Matt Flynn, who waited four years to start at LSU, got to celebrate a national championship. I’m very glad that Glenn Dorsey, who stayed another year to try to win a championship, did just that while staying healthy. I think the Bo Pelini aspect is great as well, with him leading his defense to an impressive showing against OSU before leaving to be the head coach at Nebraska. Finally, I’m glad for Les Miles, who decided to turn down his dream job at Michigan to stay at LSU. He got to win a national championship AND beat Ohio State at the same time! (Les Miles is also happy today because his contract stipulates that if he wins the national championship, LSU must pay him at least equal to the 3rd highest college coach in the country, in the ballpark of $3.4M per year)
This team, heavy on seniors, will lose a lot of talent before games start next fall, (Bama v. Clemson on August 30th, where’s the countdown clock?) but a lot of talent will return. Let’s hope Les Miles can keep things rolling down on the Bayou in 2008!
Lagniappe: Here are LSU’s final records and rankings for the three years Les Miles has been the coach:
| 2005: | 11-2 | ranked #5 |
| 2006: | 11-2 | ranked #3 |
| 2007: | 13-2 | ranked #1 |
Lagniappe II: Here’s a list of coaches with national championships that Les Miles beat this year: Steve Spurrier (South Carolina), Urban Meyer (Florida), Nick Saban (Bama), Phil Fulmer (Tennessee), and Jim Tressel (Ohio St.). He also beat Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) and Tommy Tuberville (Auburn), two other programs that have been perennial Top 10 teams in the last decade. Not too shabby for a guy who wears his hat too high on his head. Fear the hat!
Lagniappe III: A little "mojo" from the view-in at Champions:
