 "Photo: STEPHEN MORTON / The Associated Press")
It's here.
The game Tiger fans have been waiting for is finally on the horizon.
With No. 1 LSU's 42-10 stomping of No. 12 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship game, the Tigers took home their fourth SEC title in school history and secured its spot in the Allstate BCS National Championship game Jan. 9 against No. 2 Alabama.
"It means a lot to us," said senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson. "The seniors have been striving for four years to get to this moment and it's finally here. We need to take control of it and take advantage of it."
It wasn't the prettiest game for Jefferson and company, who compiled just 237 yards of total offense in the game — a mere 30 yards through the air — and only 12 coming in the first half.
In a rerun of last week's showdown with No. 6 Arkansas, LSU survived an early-game scare, coming out of the gates sluggish in all phases.
A feeling of deja vu set in late in the first half when sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown and the Tigers' first points of the game.
Mathieu added four tackles, a fumble recovery and another shifty 47-yard punt return to his outing and was named the game's MVP.
"I just felt that I needed to change the momentum of the game," said Mathieu, who became just the third defensive player to win the award. "A lot of credit goes to my team and to my coaches to put me in the right position to make a big-time play for my team. I'm so blessed, just so privileged to represent LSU and win most valuable player."
The Bulldogs outgained LSU 134 yards to 11 in the first quarter and took an early 10-0 lead in the closing seconds of the quarter.
But that would be the last time Georgia would reach the end zone.
"We started really backed up, and we did not have great special teams play to start," said LSU coach Les Miles. "Offensively, we were not moving the football. Frankly, it was just a matter of time that this team would rebound and this team would get their feet underneath them and play."
From the second quarter on, LSU's defense suffocated the Bulldogs, holding them to just 162 yards in the next three quarters combined.
The Tigers also forced three turnovers in the second half, including a pick-six by junior cornerback Morris Claiborne late in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
Despite the putrid air attack, there were some bright spots on offense.
Sophomore running back Alfred Blue and freshman running back Kenny Hilliard each carried the ball eight times, combining for 166 yards and four touchdowns.
Hilliard's three bruising touchdowns, coupled with Blue's 48-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, took the wind out of Georgia's sails and allowed LSU to run away with the game.
"You've got Alfred Blue, Spencer Ware, they all can do it all," said junior wide receiver Russell Shepard. "We've got a stable of backs back in Baton Rouge that nobody's seen. To do what we did with Kenny Hilliard, it's a great feeling for him, and the rest of them can do the same thing."
The silverware may not stop there for the Tigers.
Mathieu's standout performance has his name again being thrown around in the Heisman talk — an honor the Honey Badger said he's leaving in the hands of the experts.
"I don't think I should be the judge of that," Mathieu said. "I just try to go out there, just play my best football for my team and my coaches."
Regardless of individual honors, LSU has a bigger goal — the national championship.
"It feels good, but we have one more," Claiborne said. "However it falls, we're ready for it. We're going to enjoy this victory right here and when it comes time for [the national championship], we're going to prepare for it, whoever it may be. We're going to try to go out and get another W."
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Contact Mark Clements at mclements@lsureveille.com
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