LSU humbles No. 1 Ohio State 38-24 in national title game

Les Miles unleashed an ear-piercing whoop, then leaned back and exhaled as if he had been holding his breath all night.\n“I just had to do that,” the LSU coach said.\nEasy for him to say, now that he has the Bowl Championship Series trophy.\nThe second-ranked Tigers danced, dodged and darted their way into the end zone Monday night for a 38-24 victory, turning the title game into a horrible replay for No. 1 Ohio State.\nIn a season of surprises, this was hardly an upset: Ohio State once again fell apart in college football’s biggest game. A year after the Buckeyes were routed by Florida 41-14, they barely did better.\nBut this was unprecedented. Playing at their home-away-from-home in the Big Easy, the Tigers (12-2) became the first two-loss team to compete for the title.\nAnd while Miles got to hoist the $30,000 crystal prize, surely many fans around the country were wondering if someone else was equally worthy.\n“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.”\nLSU rallied from an early 10-0 deficit, taking a 24-10 halftime lead that held up.\n“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.\nJacob Hester bulled for a short touchdown, Early Doucet wiggled loose for a touchdown and Glenn Dorsey led a unit that outplayed the top-ranked defense in the nation.\nOhio 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.\n“It’s unbelievable to know you’ve failed two years in a row,” Wells said.\nThe 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.\nMatt 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.\nFlynn finished 19-for-27 for 174 yards and was picked the game’s most outstanding offensive player.