When ESPN College Gameday selects four games from one team to showcase in a season, it says something about the team and its schedule.
No. 1 LSU defeated eight ranked teams — five on the road — en route to an undefeated SEC championship season and a spot in the BCS National Championship. The Tigers played one of the nation’s toughest schedules but outscored their opponents by a combined total of 363 points.
LSU opened the season ranked No. 4 and appeared in a national showcase in Arlington, Texas, against then-No. 3 Oregon in the Cowboy Classic. Despite losing senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson to a suspension for his involvement in an altercation outside Shady’s Bar, LSU jumped into the national consciousness with a 41-27 victory.
During the game against Oregon, sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu led the team with 10 tackles and two forced fumbles, returning one for a touchdown.
LSU followed up that season-opening victory with a 49-3 rout of Northwestern State in the Tigers’ home opener, then traveled to Starkville, Miss., for a Thursday night showdown with then-No. 25 Mississippi State. The LSU defense allowed just 193 yards, and helped take down the Bulldogs, 19-7, for their first Southeastern Conference victory of the season.
The Tigers hit the road again the following week with a 1,075-mile trip to Morgantown, W. Va., to face then-No. 16 West Virginia. LSU nearly surrendered a 27-7 lead, but eventually scored 20 unanswered points to defeat its third ranked opponent of the season, 47-21.
LSU snagged the No. 1 ranking for the first time and cruised to three more victories against Kentucky, then-No. 17 Florida and Tennessee, winning by an average margin of almost 30 points.
Heading into a matchup with then-No. 19 Auburn, LSU coach Les Miles suspended three players — sophomore cornerbacks Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon and sophomore running back Spencer Ware — for allegedly failing a drug test for synthetic marijuana.
Senior cornerback Ron Brooks filled in admirably for the two suspended defensive backs, returning an interception for a touchdown, and helped LSU cruise to a 41-10 victory.
Following a bye week, the “Game of the Century” arrived — a matchup between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. The hype built for two weeks before the two defenses battled to a virtual standstill. Aided by a flurry of missed Alabama field goals and a late interception by sophomore safety Eric Reid on the Alabama goal line, the teams went into overtime tied, 6-6.
The LSU defense forced another failed field goal on Alabama’s first overtime possession, and junior kicker Drew Alleman nailed a 25-yard, game-winning field goal to give the Tigers a 9-6 victory.
LSU rode that momentum to easy victories against Western Kentucky and Ole Miss before facing Arkansas, another matchup between two top-five teams. The Tigers fell behind, 14-0, to the No. 3 Razorbacks before roaring back to take a 41-17 victory.
That win landed LSU in the SEC Championship game against then-No. 12 Georgia. The Bulldogs had won 10 straight games heading into the matchup, but Mathieu’s 62-yard punt return touchdown — his fourth score of the season — contributed to a 42-10 victory and LSU’s 11th conference title.
Now with a 13-0 record, the Tigers find themselves in the BCS National Championship on Jan. 9 in New Orleans, attempting to win their third title in eight years.