And now the countdown can finally begin. There was only one possible scenario where No.1  L.S.U. (13-0) wasn’t going to go to the B.C.S. national championship game in New Orleans. Experts believed they would have to be absolutely destroyed by 14^th ranked Georgia (10-3) in Saturday’s SEC title game.

Instead, L.S.U. won the game 42-10, clinching the team’s first conference championship since 2007. Most went with the assumption that a close loss would not keep the Tigers out of the championship game. However, a victory ensures that they will be playing their final game for the top prize.

Despite the lopsided final score, Georgia came to play in the first half, leading 10-0 early on with an outstanding defense. The Bulldogs did not allow L.S.U. any first downs, forcing seven consecutive three and outs. L.S.U. became the first SEC team since 2001 to not convert any first downs over the first 30 minutes of a game. Georgia manhandled them, allowing a mere 12 yards of total offense during that stretch.

But the Tigers received a spark from a familiar name toward the end of the first half. Cornerback Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with less than six minutes remaining in the second quarter to finally get L.S.U. on the board at 10-7.

The “Honey Badger” picked up where he left off last week against Arkansas, when he also returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown. His efforts brought L.S.U. right back into the game. “My teammates love the name, and I think it depicts me on the field,” said Mathieu. “I just go with it. My teammates do a great job having my back. Anything I can do to help those guys, lift their spirits, I’ll do it.”

Receiver Tavarres King dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone on the opening drive. The Bulldogs then recovered an onside kick but received zero points from it. Freshman receiver Malcolm Mitchell dropped a pass inside the ten with nothing but green in front of him. Georgia then missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.

The Bulldogs also dropped an easy interception in the first half, while L.S.U. forced a turnover to start the second half after Aaron Murray fumbled on a scramble at his 26, becoming a touchdown with just two plays. Running back Kenny Hilliard ran it in from 15 yards out to give L.S.U. its first lead at 14-10.

Hilliard had three touchdowns – two rushing and one receiving. By the time he scored the third, the Tigers had pulled away at 28-10. L.S.U.’s defense gave up no points in the second half, becoming just as dominant as Georgia’s defense in the first half. Aaron Murray went just 16-40 with two interceptions and one touchdown, passing for 163 yards. The run game was progressively subdued as the team accumulated only 34 yards on the day.

Jordan Jefferson threw the ball 13 times and completed five passes for L.S.U., throwing for 30 yards and one touchdown. However, his ground attack made up for it completely, totaling 207 yards. Once again, L.S.U.’s ability to run and stop the run put the team unmistakably ahead of the competition.

With the regular season finally over, the popular consensus is L.S.U. and Alabama have established themselves as the best two teams in the nation. The only question that still remains is whether or not the BCS will vote two teams from the same conference to play each other for the national title.

“I would certainly understand if college football decides it should be two SEC teams playing for the national championship. It’s a very special conference with very special teams,” said L.S.U. coach Les Miles.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

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The state of Alabama is easily one of the most passionate in the country about its football. But those that live there must choose a side, as they lack their own NFL team. They will forever love either the Alabama Crimson Tide or the Auburn Tigers, and when the two universities met at Auburn on Saturday for the 76^th Iron Bowl, those who selected Alabama received year-long bragging rights following a 42-14 victory.

But there was far more than just bragging rights at stake for both ends coming into this matchup. For #2 ranked Alabama (11-1) and its fans this game was all about avenging last year’s heartbreaking 28-27 loss to then #1 ranked Auburn after blowing a 24-point lead.

Despite being ranked just 24^th in the BCS this time around, the Tigers (7-5) and their faithful supporters were still basking in the glory of the monumental comeback behind eventual Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton, in what turned out to be an undefeated national championship season.

Alabama, who also won the national title in 2009, aimed to make another bid at the championship game with a win, but defeating them and completely destroying those aspirations would make a challenging 2011 season all worthwhile for Auburn.

Auburn did not appear fazed from the outset, as their stadium erupted after they forced Alabama into a three and out on the game’s opening drive.

But Alabama remained as composed as they have been all year long, as they were able to also get their defense off the field in just three plays on the opposition’s first possession; setting the tone for another dominating performance by their top-ranked defensive unit.

The Crimson Tide then proceeded to open up the scoring shortly after with an 81 yard drive that concluded with quarterback A.J. McCarron’s first touchdown pass of three on the night – a 41 yard flea flicker to sophomore receiver Kenny Ball. McCarron was extremely efficient, completing 18 of 23 passes going for 184 yards.

Alabama seemed to be in cruise control after scoring another touchdown on a 35 yard reception by tight end Brad Smelley. They were having their way offensively and allowed only one Auburn first down throughout the entire first half.

But the Tigers managed to get on the board and cut the lead to 14-7 after recovering a fumble by McCarron in the end zone.

However this was only one blip by the Crimson Tide, who didn’t really have any at all. They added on another 10 points and went into halftime leading 24-7.

Auburn needed a major spark to begin the second half and received just that when junior Onterio McCalebb ran back the opening kick 83 yards for a touchdown. They felt hopeful, as they were right back in the game at 24-14.

“We knew we had to execute,” McCalebb said. “Once I saw the hole, I hit it, and after that, I knew nobody could catch me.”

But unfortunately for the Tigers, Alabama’s defense allowed only 140 total yards of offense, gave up just nine first downs, and surrendered zero points on defense. Without any more points off turnovers or special teams, Auburn was unable to score for the remainder of the contest.

The Crimson Tide ran away with the game in the second half, adding a field goal, a 35 yard interception return touchdown from defensive back Dee Milliner, a two point conversion, and a 15 yard touchdown run late by Jalston Fowler.

Senior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Trent Richardson had a career game, making a five yard touchdown reception, running for 203 yards on 27 carries, also breaking off a 57 yarder in the process. It was also the ninth 100 yard rushing game of the year for him, tying him for the team record with 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram.

“Anytime you got No. 3 (Richardson) in your backfield, a team’s going to challenge you, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen all year,” said McCarron.

The game was clearly controlled by Alabama from start to finish, and now they’ll wait to see if the BCS will give them a birth in the national title game in New Orleans this January. Auburn, who took a step back this year, will still play in a bowl game, although it will not be of the BCS variety.

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A look of anguish and despair was spread across the student section of the Alabama Crimson Tide crowd. The LSU Tigers were in range for an overtime, game-winning field goal, and their kicker was not about to miss the biggest kick of his career.

In a late night showdown with strong BCS implications, defense was prominent and touchdowns were scarce. Actually, there were no touchdowns, only field goal attempts, misses and makes. In the biggest game of each team’s season, the coaches each banked on one player — or in Alabama’s case, two — the kicker, and LSU’s kicker came out victorious last night.

While RB Trent Richardson, a surefire Heisman trophy candidate, came out of the gates with two electrifying plays, LSU’s stingy defense held him to just 89 yards on 23 carries; no touchdowns. And it would be Bama’s defense that held Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson, two established LSU QB’s, to a menial 91 combined passing yards and two interceptions; no touchdowns.

The two offenses struggled all night to put points on the board, but in the end it would be Special Teams that made or broke each team. And LSU’s special teams more than crippled the Crimson Tide.

Alabama failed to capitalize on several opportunities to take the lead by failing to knock down field goals. Their so-called distance kicker, Cade Foster, missed field goals from 52, 50 and 44, and their close-range kicker, Jeremy Shelly, had his low 49-yard attempt blocked. While they weren’t easy kicks, Foster wasn’t even close on any of his attempts, missing wide right almost every time.

That’s where LSU Kicker, David Alleman, reigned supreme. Alleman missed not a single kick, hitting all three of his attempts, including the overtime try that solidified the Tigers as the best team in college football.

When all is said and done, this was a game for the ages, but do we really want a rematch?

With all of the hype that was built up on the No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown, the offenses definitely failed to excite. While it’s true that defense wins championships, it is offense that gets the crowds riled up and creates undying buzz for the team. Sure, A.J. McCarron threw for 199 yards, and sure LSU had 149 combined rushing yards, but no one got into the endzone.

Do these two teams really deserve to bore the fans again with a rematch at the BCS championship? Leave a comment and sound off, but this writer would rather see a potent Boise State offense take on a dominant LSU defense.

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