The Louisiana State Tigers have won U.S. college football's national championship game, with a convincing 38-24 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. VOA's Jim Stevenson has more.
Louisiana State was ranked second in the nation, behind Ohio State, coming into the Monday's game at the Superdome in New Orleans. Ohio State appeared in early control when running back Chris Wells rumbled for a 65-yard touchdown just one minute, 19 seconds into the game. A field goal gave the Buckeyes a 10-0 lead.
But the Tigers reeled off 31 unanswered points with three touchdowns in the second quarter. Two late Ohio State scores were offset by another LSU touchdown to seal the win. Tigers quarterback Matt Flynn completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for 174 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.
After the game, Flynn gave credit to his teammates. "We came out here with the right frame of mind. And, we prepared well. We just came out here and executed and just kept hanging in there. I give it (the win) to our offensive line and the receivers blocking out in the perimeter. They did a great job."
One of Flynn's receivers, tight end Richard Dickson, caught two of LSU's scoring passes.
Tigers Coach Les Miles had no doubt his team would play well. "I knew they were competitive. I knew they would fight. I knew they would win. We had great confidence. I can only tell you, by the grace of God, we are here. But once we got here, we were going to do our best."
LSU becomes the first university to win two national titles since the Bowl Championship Series began in 1998. The Tigers won the BCS title in 2003, beating Oklahoma in a championship game also played in New Orleans.
LSU ended the season with 12 wins and two losses. Ohio State finishes with an 11-2 record.
