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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In the battle for the BCS Championship Game, there seems to be only one shoe-in for a definite BCS bid: the LSU Tigers. At an undefeated 11-0, the Tigers have stomped out the likes of Oregon, then-ranked Mississippi State, West Virginia and Florida. But contrary to popular belief, they are not the only undefeated team in college football.

The Houston Cougars, lead by red-hot QB Case Keenum, have been on a roll since their season began. Leading the NCAA in passing yard (447.5) and points per game (53.1), the dynamic Cougar offense has rolled over every team they’ve played.

So why are they only ranked ninth in the BCS Top 25?

Strength of schedule

The Houston Cougars have yet to play a single ranked team this season. They opened the year with a, beating UCLA by only four points and they barely inched out over Louisiana Tech, with a 35-34 road victory. But because strength of schedule — essentially, how good your opponents are — is weighed so heavily by the BCS rankings, Houston can’t possibly move up among the charts.

Even though the Cougars haven’t beaten anyone of importance this season, they still deserve the chance to show that they can compete on bigger stages against tougher opponents. Houston’s beaten their opponents by an average of 31.73 points per game; isn’t it time they get the chance to showcase their flammable offense against a team more suitable to extinguish it?

Arguably the best defense in the NCAA, LSU is ranked second for points allowed, only giving up an average of 10 points per game. However, some of us would rather see the No. 1 offense take on the No. 1 defense for what could be the biggest game of the year.

I was personally bored to tears watching the LSU-Alabama game a few weeks ago. And seeing as though all of the anticipation for an Oregon-LSU rematch was smashed when USC came and strangled the Ducks’ hopes of a BCS Title, who better to replace the Oregon “Quack Attack” Spread Offense than Houston.

The Cougars haven’t played anyone worth getting them into that game, but going undefeated has got to count for something. Give them a chance to take on a worthy opponent, and, guaranteed, it will be the most exciting game of the season.

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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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