Ohio State, ranked No. 1 but the underdog in the BCS national championship game, played the no-respect card all last week.
By kickoff, you would have thought this was Kermit Washington stepping into the ring against Kermit the Frog.
“It’s easier to focus when the world is telling you not only that you won’t win but that you’re not worthy of being in the game,” Buckeyes cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. “After about 50 days of hearing it, it can get to you.”
Too bad, Buckeyes. You’ll be hearing it for another 12 months.
And that’s OK with Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.
“If you’re not tough enough to handle criticism,” he said after back-to-back losses in the BCS title game, “you better get out of this game.”
After trailing 10-0 Monday night, LSU stepped on the gas and steamrolled Ohio State in a 38-24 victory before a boisterous, pro-Tigers crowd of 79,651 at the Superdome.
If one play epitomized the Buckeyes’ plight, it came early in the third quarter when they trailed 24-10 but had LSU in a 4th-and-23 spot.
Ohio State’s Austin Spitler, a sophomore linebacker, busted through LSU’s wall of blockers and was in perfect position to knock down Patrick Fisher’s punt. But Spitler missed the ball, and his collision with Fisher resulted in a roughing-the-punter penalty that gave LSU new life.
“I thought I had it,” Spitler said in a somber Ohio State locker room. “I probably could have blocked it without even diving. I took my eye off it, I guess.
“When I turned around and looked back, that ball was a mile high and a mile long. It was shocking, but what are you gonna do?”
The stunning turn of events left Tressel shaking his head.
That’s what Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany probably did for much of the game.
The loss further diminished his conference’s reputation. The league has now lost its last four BCS bowl games, including two blowouts in the Rose.
Ohio State fell to an incomprehensible 0-9 against the Southeastern Conference in bowl games. Or maybe it’s not so hard to believe, given the caliber of LSU athletes.
“If you’re going to beat a team like that, you have to be flawless,” defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said.
The victory marks the pinnacle of Les Miles’ coaching career.
The Ohio boy-turned-Michigan man, who opted not to return to Ann Arbor to succeed Lloyd Carr, beat the Buckeyes in the biggest game of them all.
“There will always be a wonderful place in my heart for Michigan,” Miles said. “That will never change. There’s also an extremely warm spot in my heart for LSU. This was a very special season, and this is a very special team.”
The first half left America asking: This is what the nation’s top-rated defense looks like?
The Tigers dropped 24 points on Ohio State in the first two quarters — more than the Buckeyes had allowed in 11 of their 12 games this season.
The Tigers averaged 8.7 yards per play, punted only once and converted 8 of 10 third downs.
Oh, and LSU, the most penalized team in the Southeastern Conference, drew zero first-half flags.
The Buckeyes had four, including three personal fouls, for 48 yards.
“They really helped some drives stay alive,” said quarterback Matt Flynn, who fired four touchdown passes.
Just like last year, when Ted Ginn Jr. — who showed up on the sideline wearing a White Sox cap — took the opening kickoff 93 yards, Ohio State scored first.
On the fourth play from scrimmage, Chris “Beanie” Wells broke through the middle, cut back to the right and beat All-America safety Craig Steltz to the goal for a 65-yard touchdown.
Trailing 10-3, LSU benefited from two Ohio State personal fouls.
Seconds after the officials walked off the second penalty, LSU hurried into the trips-right formation, sending every Ohio State defensive back to that side.
Before the Buckeyes could adjust, Flynn flipped the ball to tight end Richard Dickson, who was all alone out to the left. The 13-yard score tied the game 10-10.
Ohio State could have taken the lead on Ryan Pretorius’ 38-yard field-goal attempt, but LSU blocked it, giving Pretorius four blocked kicks in 23 tries this season.
The Tigers took the lead when Flynn rolled left and fired across his body to the back of the end zone. Brandon LaFell made the 10-yard touchdown catch.
Ohio State rallied in the second half, but it was not enough.
“It’s very disappointing, two years in a row,” Boeckman said. “We didn’t get the job done, and now we have to start all over again.”
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
