Countdown to Showdown: 16 Days
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MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM 2007
Out of time in OT
It was a dagger in the hearts of LSU fans everywhere, three overtimes worth — Kentucky 43, LSU 37.
No. 1 LSU went down in the third overtime when Charles Scott was dropped 1 yard short of a first down on a fourth-down run off left tackle.
After going five-for-five in fourth-down tries in the come-from-behind win over Florida, this next one didn’t make it. Under Les Miles, the Tigers had converted nine straight fourth-down tries, a streak dating to the 2006 season.
With Scott laying at the 17-yard line, Kentucky fans stormed the field, a victory prance that paid LSU back for that Bluegrass Miracle on UK’s turf in 2002. The celebration drew a $50,000 fine from the SEC office.
Steve Johnson’s 7-yard catch from André Woodson opened the third OT. Woodson’s 21-for-38, 250-yard, 3-TD performance shot him into a group mentioned for the Heisman Trophy, eventually won by Tim Tebow, the quarterback from Florida, whom LSU beat 28-24 the week before.
There were other, more telling statistics, like LSU’s 77 second-half rushing yards — which might have been because ground-pounding back Jacob Hester was injured — after the Tigers rolled up 261 yards running in the first half.
LSU was up 17-14 at half, 27-21 after three periods but couldn’t counter two Lones Seiber field goals in the fourth quarter. Not that LSU didn’t try. Record-setting place kicker Colt David was a foot or two wide left on a 57-yard field goal at the end of regulation.
Another telling stat was that Scott, who’d run for 91 yards and 2 TDs in the first half, gained only 3 yards on two carries in the second half.
Thing was, it wouldn’t be the first time in 2007 that the country’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams lost on the same day. California fell 31-28 to Oregon State. Those losses sent Ohio State, a 48-3 winner over Kent State, to the No. 1 spot.
“Of course it hurts when you lose,” offensive tackle Ciron Black said, “but it hurts even more when you know there’s a lot of things you could have done to prevent it from happening. We beat ourselves.”
Vote for the most memorable moment of 2007
Advocate sportswriters have selected 20 memorable moments from LSU’s march to the BCS Championship Game, from the 45-0 win over Mississippi State through the 21-14 SEC Championship Game victory over Tennessee. This series will run through Jan. 1 when readers will be able to go to The Advocate’s Web site — http://www.2theadvocate.com — and vote on their most memorable moment of the season. The voting results will be run in Jan. 7 Advocate Sports’ BCS Game Day Special.
The list so far:
2theadvocate.com's Countdown to the Showdown Archive
BCS TRIVIA
TODAY’S QUESTION: In BCS bowl game history, name the quarterback with the most pass completions, the opponent and the bowl game.
FRIDAY’S QUESTION: In the previous 37 BCS bowl games, name the quarterback with the most passes attempted, the opponent and the bowl game.
Rohan Davey, LSU, 53 attempts (31 completions) vs. Illinois, 2002 Sugar Bowl. Davey’s 444 yards is a BCS record as is having the most attempts without an interception. LSU won 47-34.
TIGERS’ SCHEDULE
Today: Practice
Sunday: Off for Christmas holidays
BUCKEYES’ SCHEDULE
Today and Sunday: Off for Christmas holidays
NOTEBOOK
Going the extra mile
“I like to talk about what we are and not what we lost. I look at a team that hasn’t lost a game in regulation. There has not been a team that has beaten us in 60 minutes. If we had ties like the old system, we’d be unbeaten with two ties. Maybe, that comes out to one loss.”
Les Miles’ now often-cited quote opened the floor for discussion among college football pundits, the talking heads seen on any and all public and cable sports networks.
No matter which direction the debate takes, the overtime system that places the football at the 25-yard line — and gives both teams a chance on offense and defense — has eliminated ties.
No one knows that better than Miles. Since he took over at LSU in 2005, LSU has had six overtime games, two in the most recent season, the two Miles mentioned in that late-November statement that became LSU’s only losses in its road to the BCS Championship Game.
Five have been against teams ranked in the Top 25 at game time. LSU’s biggest OT win came in Miles’ first LSU season, a 16-13 win at then third-ranked Alabama.
- 1998, a 37-31 loss at Ole Miss
- 2000, 38-31 win over Tennessee
- 2000, 45-38 win over No. 13 Miss. State
- 2004, a 22-21 win over Oregon State
- 2005, a 30-27 loss to No. 10 Tennessee
- 2005, a 20-17 win over No. 15 Auburn
- 2005, a 16-13 win at No. 3 Alabama
- 2006, a 23-20 win over Ole Miss
- 2007 a 43-37 loss at No. 17 Kentucky
- 2007 a 50-48 home loss to Arkansas.
The Buckeyes’ overtime-game list is short: Four games, two each in their 14-0 march to the BCS title in 2002 and in an 11-2 season in 2003.
Their biggest among the four is their 31-24 BCS Championship Game after the 2002 season.
Remember Maurice Clarett? His 5-yard TD run in the second overtime clinched Ohio State’s 31-24 win over Miami and gave Ohio State its first national championship in 34 years. Ohio State’s defense stopped the Hurricanes on their final possession.
The other three wins were 23-16 at Illinois in 2002 and 2003 home wins of 44-38 over North Carolina State and 16-13 over Purdue.
What to know more?
The NCAA adopted its overtime rule for Division I football in 1996.
Research by Peter Rosen and Rick Wilson shows there have been 328 overtime games played since then, and, after winning the coin toss, only four times have coaches picked to go on offense to start the first overtime periods.
Their 19-page “An Analysis of the Defense First Strategy in College Football Overtime Games” is posted in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports: Vol. 3 : Issue 2, Article 1. It’s available on line at www.bepress.com/jqas/vol3/iss2.
BREAKING DOWN THE SHOWDOWN
CORNERBACK
JONATHAN ZENON
6-0, 180, Sr.
Breaux Bridge
Interception for TD against Tennessee in SEC title game stands among LSU’s big plays this season … worked in three games in redshirt freshman year behind three future NFL players … three starts in sophomore year marked by interception against Ole Miss … reached full-time starter status in 2006 junior season with 4 picks, 2 for TDs and broke up 12 passes … rated as top-drawer “cover” corner … big game 7 tackles vs. South Carolina … finished season with 41 tackles, 3 picks, 7 passes broken up.
CAREER: 40 games, 87 tackles, 9 interceptions and 172 return yards
“You keep pressure on your opponent and you work and you work and you find a way to win. That’s Jon.”
-- Les Miles
MALCOLM JENKINS
6-1, 208, Jr.
Piscataway, N.J.
Returning All-Big Ten after playing in 10 games and earning nickelback spot in 2005 true freshman season … position is field corner, because he covers wide side of the field … started three games in freshman year at boundary corner, the spot on the short side of the field … extra-fast 4.3 in 40 … freshman-high 9 tackles against Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl … four interceptions in sophomore season … usually covers opponent’s best receiver … 2007’s top game 9 tackles vs. Purdue … three picks this year.
CAREER: 35 games, 136 tackles, 7 interceptions
“He does a great job preparing himself and others and translating that to the field … a true leader.”
-- Taver Johnson, assistant coach
