LSU wins the 2015 BCS National Championship with a hard fought 24-21 win over #2 Notre Dame. QB Robert Stevenson threw for 116 yds on 10/15 passing and rushed for 54 yds and a touchdown on 8 carries, but it was the nonstop pressure put on Notre Dame QB Everett Golson by Tigers' DE Kwon Alexander that was the major difference in the game. Alexander was a nightmare for the Irish offensive line, and even with double teams he was hitting Golsen all night long, eventually knocking him from the game in the 4th quarter. His 5 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and forced fumble earned him Most Outstanding Player honors in the victory.
The Tigers won the toss and elected to kick off, and Notre Dame would get a nice pass play on the first snap, but Alexander made his presence known right away with a sack on the 2nd play of the game, as he chased Golsen out of the pocket and took him down. The Irish would convert on third down with a 23 yard gain, however, to keep the drive going, and followed that with a 25 yard pass play. The drive eventually ended with a 3 yard touchdown pass from Golsen to TE Koyack to make it 7-0 at the 3:52 mark. LSU wasted no time answering. They went 80 yards in 8 plays, capped off by a one yard QB sneak by Stevenson to tie the game. The big play in the drive was a 41 yard option keeper by Stevenson, which saw him get taken down by a shoestring tackle at the Irish 8 yard line.
LSU kicked off with a minute to go in the half, and Golsen's first pass went for five yards. The second play of the drive would end up being the play that likely decided the game. Golsen dropped back and threw an out route to his back side. All American CB Broderick Gibbons was in zone coverage in the flat, read it perfectly, and jumped it, taking it 36 yards for the touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
Notre Dame's next drive was a short one, going only five plays and being derailed by Alexander's second sack of the game, leading to a punt. LSU took over early 2nd quarter and drove down the field, gaining 49 yds on 5 plays. However, the drive stalled out inside the 15, and they settled for a FG to make it 17-7 with just 1:26 to go in the half. The Irish came out firing, and went 80 yds in 8 plays, ending with Golsen hitting Neal for a 17 yd touchdown to make it 17-14. LSU tried to quickly answer, and gained 24 yds on two plays, but a poorly thrown ball was picked off deep downfield, and the half ended 17-14 with the Tigers on top.
LSU comes out and drives downfield but a sack stalls the drive, setting them up for a 44 yd field goal from the middle of the field, but inexplicably (lag
) the kick hits the upright and the game remains 17-14. Notre Dame senses their chance and they come out slinging, as Golsen begins to tear them apart, even running for 10 yards. However, after getting to the LSU 35, he misread the coverage and threw a pass right to LSU freshman CB Darrell Freeman, and the Tigers escaped another threatening drive with the lead intact. After a few nice plays, Stevenson took a sack and the Tigers faced a third and 17 at midfield. Stevenson, using all the gifts that won him the Heisman, made the play that won the Tigers the national championship. As nobody was open and the pocket was collapsing around him, he rolled out to his left to throw the ball away and give the Tigers a chance to pin the Irish deep with a punt. However, just as he was about to throw it out of bounds, he saw WR Avery Johnson break free going up the seam, and hit him in stride for a 28 yard gain and new life. Two plays and 23 yards later, the Tigers were celebrating a six yard touchdown run by HB Karl Bush and a 24-14 lead.
Notre Dame wasn't going away quietly. They would come back and mount a comeback. Golsen would go incomplete twice, and would be sacked by Alexander and cough up the ball. His offensive line recovered upfield making it 4th and seven. He completed the pass for a first down on 4th down, but was nailed again by Alexander as he released the ball, and was knocked out of the game, and did not return. Gunner Kiel took over, and completed passes of 5, 13, and 34 yards, the last one going for a touchdown to Daniels to make it 24-21 with 2:32 remaining.
Electing to kick off and trust their defense with all three timeouts, Notre Dame kicked deep and gave LSU the ball. They never got it back. LSU handed it to WR Corey Swain on a WR sweep for 9 yards, and got a first down with a 6 yd FB dive. A 7 yard counter run made the Irish burn timeout number 1 with 1:18 to go, and Stevenson took a 4 yd power run up the middle out of the Gator formation to give LSU the first down they needed, but he also got knocked out of the game. This meant backup John Joseph came in to take the kneeldowns and give LSU the crystal ball and a hard-fought victory.
LSU now looks to the offseason, where they have put together their best recruiting class ever, featuring 13 players signed rated 77 or higher, and hoping that they don't lose a lot of players. Alexander, Stevenson, Bednarik winner Justin Hill, Gibbons, and Swain are all juniors; and many other important starters are juniors or redshirt sophomores including DT Jesse Neal, LB Scott Garcia, WR Jimmy Gandy, TE Nate Pickens, and WR Darius Byrd (all rated between 85 and 91 ovr). With very few seniors leaving at key positions, LSU should be ranked #1 come preseason.
Also after the game, the two schools announced they will schedule a rematch next season.
Great game Oracle, I always enjoy playing you win or lose.
