Pasadena, CA - For the 2nd time in 4 years, the Oklahoma Sooners are National Champions! In what was a hard fought and intense game, the Sooners put together a magical second half and an incredible defensive effort to put away the feisty LSU Tigers. Said Oklahoma coach utvol27 after the game, "The Sooners got that swag, baby! Boomer Sooner! What an effort by my guys tonight. I can't say how proud I am of this group. Coming into the season I was a little concerned. We'd lost some impact players, including Heisman winner WR Jaz "Yaz" Reynolds and star QB Landry Jones, and I was especially concerned about our youth and inexperience on the defensive line. But this time just had the 'IT' factor! We were probably not even the most talented team in our conference, but we were a cohesive bunch that continued to work hard and get better, and look what happened! The chemistry on this team is what brought this title back to Norman...and of course a little Sooner magic!"
LSU received the opening kickoff and put together a time consuming, methodical drive complete with a patented 4th down conversion to get an early field goal and 3-0 lead. Oklahoma would respond, as Heisman winning RB JurMuriquan "I am really only 1/2 black even though my name indicated otherwise" Jones would use a sick-nasty spin move to complete a 4 yard rushing TD to make the score 7-3. On the ensuing possession, LSU would again go for it on 4th down, and this time they were stuffed by the Sooner defense. "Stopping their 4th down tries was a key part of our gameplan," said coach utvol27. However, just 2 plays after the stop, Oklahoma would fumble the ball back to LSU after a completed pass to Sheldon Ochoquatro. From there, LSU would pound out the rest of the 2nd quarter and score on a TD pass from QB Cam Treangen to WR Abrams from 5 yards out with under 15 seconds left before half. Halftime score...LSU - 10, Oklahoma - 7.
"At halftime, we adjusted our gameplan slightly," said utvol27. "We decided to get more aggressive and really up the tempo of the game. A slow, close, drag it out game would favor LSU's style, so we wanted to put up points, build a lead, and get the stops we knew our defense could make."
And do that the Sooners did. After an opening three-and-out and punt by Oklahoma, they forced the same out of LSU. On the ensuing drive, Oklahoma drove down the field and scored on a 15-yard TD pass from QB Drew Breezy to seldom-used freshman WR Bobby Bennett. LSU's offense would then be stymied on another 4th down attempt as the game rolled to the 4th quarter. Oklahoma would chew some clock, and faced with a 3rd and long, QB Drew Breezy struck gold again as he hit star WR Kenny "Tippy Toes" Stills for a 22-yard TD, putting the Sooners up 21-10.
LSU took the air to get a quick score, and although they Oklahoma defense was ready for the pass, LSU found some seams and scored on a short pass to TE Erik O'Neal with under 4 minutes to go. After the failed 2 point try, the score stood at 21-16.
Coach cjohnchavis and coach utvol27 each gathered their teams on the sideline as the ensuing drive had the national title on the line. "I told them if we can run out the clock, I'll take every last one of you to Ryan's Steakhouse after the game and we'll have unlimited soft serve ice cream until it's coming out of your ears! NOW GO WIN THE GAME AND WE GET ICE CREAM!!!" said utvol27 in his post game press conference.The Sooners, who were forbidden from eating ice cream all season (coach utvol27's secret motivational strategy), were ready. They wanted those tasty, delicious swirls of chocolate, vanilla, and sprinkles. To earn their "ice cream dream" (the team's secret official motto for the season it was revealed), OU turned to its star, JurMuriquan Jones. Oklahoma marched down the field, chewing up the clock. They even snuck in a key pass to WR Stills on a 2nd down to fool the LSU defense, a play that resulted in a 18 yard gain and a first down in LSU territory. It appeared OU could continue running and finish the game, but LSU burned all 3 of its timeouts and made a key stop and forced a field goal with 25 seconds remaining.
"I considered going for it on that 4th and 3, but I knew a field goal would put us up by 8 points and they had no timeouts, so I knew my defense could handle that situation," said utvol27.
LSU threw a short pass and was tackled in bounds, and with the clock ticking, got off another play and was intercepted by Oklahoma All-American CB Gabe Lynn. OU would hit a knee and the clock struck zero...ICE CREAM TIME!!!!
With the win, Oklahoma and Alabama are now tied with 2 national titles in RUTS3. Final rankings for season 4...
#1 Oklahoma
#2 Ohio State
#3 Alabama
#4 Miami
#6 Florida
#8 LSU
#10 UNC
#24 Tennessee
"Gotta show a little Big 12 love," said coach utvol27. "Three of the top four teams ain't no joke!
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