LSU's Defense The Real MVP

Stopping Wells and great coverage reason why Tigers are champs

Jan. 8, 2008

By Brian Jones

Special to CSTV.com  

	BRIAN JONES Brian Jones is a football analyst for CSTV and CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- 1/17: Good Call For Some 1/8: Prognosticating Failure 1/8: LSU's Defense The Real MVP 1/3: Oklahoma Flat Out Whipped 12/18: Postseason Pontification, Edition '08 12/5: Final Thoughts - I Think - On 2007 11/28: What A Hoot 11/20: Love And Hate 11/13: Jayhawks Are For Real 11/05: Heisman Hosses 10/29: Corn-shucked 10/15: Nation Who Loves To Hate 10/9: No Love In The Heartland 10/1: Lessons For Professors 9/24: Say What? 9/3: NCAA Alphabet Soup 9/1: Questions On Defense Bit Wolverines 7/24: SEC Breakdown 7/16: Pac-10 Breakdown 7/10: Big East Breakdown 7/03: ACC Breakdown 6/25: 'Big 11' Breakdown 6/19: Big 12 Breakdown 5/14: Who's That 4/30: BJ's All Hi-Def Defense 4/27: `Twas the Night Before The Draft 4/23: Picture Perfect 4/6: Coach Robinson, We'll Miss You 4/3: BJ's 32 3/19: The Deserving Hall of Famers 3/5: Dreaming of December Delirium 2/26: Spring Cleaning 2/19: Gay or Straight, It Shouldn't Matter 2/13: Steroids Were Once Part of The Game 2/7: A Walk Down Recruiting Memory Lane 2/5: Longing For The Day When Race Doesn't Matter 1/29: Old Ways Need to Change 1/22: Change For the Better 1/15: No Problem With Ginn, Peterson Going 12/18: Postseason Pontification 12/12: Season Superlatives 12/4: Handicapping the Heisman Race 11/27: Rutgers Better Lookout For Stewing WVU 11/20: Got To Like Booty And USC 11/13: It's All About The D For Michigan 11/6: Knights Will Be Hard-Pressed to Stop Cards 10/31: Win in Cards For Louisville

CSTV football analyst Brian Jones breaks down the BCS Championship Game and the reasons why LSU won and Ohio State lost.

Turning Point of the Game: I thought there were a couple. The Brian Robiskie drop in the end zone was crucial. That's a catch Robiskie has to make. Ohio State could have stopped some of the bleeding if they had scored on that play. Then the field goal is blocked, LSU scores and the Tigers are off to the races. That was a big swing right there.

X-Factor: I thought it was Flynn's passing accuracy.  Early on he was very accurate. That dude, Ricky Jean-Francois, who hadn't played all season, was tremendous. So was that Harry Coleman kid who played for the injured Craig Steltz. Jacob Hester did what he always does, but Flynn was best player on the field Monday.

Best Coaching Move: LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton used all these multiple formations and really threw a lot at Ohio State. I've played against an unbalanced line for a long, long time and that can be confusing, especially if you're not expecting it and they quick count you. You walk out there and say to yourself that something's different and before you get your bearings straight, tight end Richard Dickson's wide open. Crowton did a phenomenal job mixing it up.

Why LSU Won: The power running. Hester did a phenomenal job. There was precision passing by Flynn. They also limited penalties. They came into this one as one of the highest penalized teams in the country. They played well on special teams, they played great defense, they stopped Beanie Wells and covered great. They just had more talent on the field.

Why Ohio State Lost: They didn't have enough playmakers on the field. I can't remember hearing the tight end's number called all night long, other than in the introductions. It was Brian Hartline and Robiskie all night long. You've got to have at least three guys to be effective and they didn't have that. You've got that tight end position on the field and it's got to be effective at either blocking or passing. Ideally, you'd like it to be effective at both, but you never heard their numbers called. They had three turnovers - you can't have three turnovers - and then all the penalties.

The Real MVP: LSU's defense. Early on it was Flynn and Hester probably could have gotten a nod, too. But overall, you have to give it to the entire defense. They did a hell of a job.