Mathieu Sparks No. 1 LSU to 11th SEC Title; BCS
BATON
ROUGE -- SEC Championship Game MVP Tyrann Mathieu dazzled the crowd
with a punt return for a touchdown and setup two more scores with his
return and a fumble recovery, as No. 1 LSU buried No. 12 Georgia,
42-10, for its 11th league title and a berth in the BCS National
Championship.
LSU (13-0), winners of their fourth league
championship game in five tries, will play for its fourth national
championship (1958, 2003, 2007) on Jan. 9 in New Orleans -- the site of
its two BCS titles.
The Tigers fell behind 10-0 in a first
quarter. However, as they began to shut down the Bulldogs' high powered
attack, Mathieu's 62-yard touchdown salvaged a second quarter. After a
scoring drought in the first half, the Tigers' defense and special
teams opened the flood gates in the third quarter.
Freshman
running back Kenny Hilliard polished off all three drives with
touchdowns, as the Tigers set a championship game record with 21 points
in the quarter. Two of the scores were setup by turnovers sandwiching
Mathieu's elusive 47-yard punt return.
After leading 10-7 at the
half, Georgia managed only 35 yards in the third quarter, as
quarterback Aaron Murray was intercepted by Morris Claiborne and was
stripped of the ball at his 26. Of course, the fumble was covered by
Mathieu.
LSU added a 48-yard touchdown run by Blue and a 45-yard
interception for a touchdown by Claiborne, who left Murray in his wake
as the Tigers have done in the second half all season.
Including the 35-0 roll-up of Georgia, the Tigers have outscored opponents 264-61 in the second half this season.
While
it was led by its defense once again, LSU's offense came alive in the
second half. Hilliard had eight carries for 72 yards and touchdown runs
of 15 and 4 yards. He added an 8-yard touchdown reception to cap his
three-score third quarter.
Alfred Blue became the third LSU
running back to eclipse 500 yards rushing this season, as the sophomore
added 94 yards on eight attempts with a 48-yard touchdown run in the
fourth quarter. Michael Ford added 34 yards on six runs.
Starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson was 5-of-13 passing for 30 yards with the touchdown pass to Hilliard.
Murray,
who was sacked four times, completed only 16-of-40 passes for 163 yards
with two interceptions and a touchdown with 42 seconds remaining in the
first quarter. His backup, Hutson Mason, entered in the fourth quarter
and was 4-of-11 for 55 yards.
Georgia was held to 37 rushing
yards through three quarters, while backup Ken Malcome equaled that
total with a team-high 37 more when the game was out of reach in the
fourth quarter. Starter Isaiah Crowell strugged with only 15 yards on
10 carries, while his backup Carlton Thomas had 28 yards on seven
tries. Tight end Orson Charles led the way for Georgia with 42 yards on
four catches.
Defensively, LSU allowed gave up two short field
scoring drives to the Bulldogs in the opening quarter but stiffened to
keep the Tigers close. The Tigers forced three turnovers while
committing none.
Safety Eric Reid had a game-high seven tackles,
while linebacker Kevin Minter and Michael Brockers added six each.
Brockers had two of LSU's nine tackles for loss. Mathieu had four
tackles, while all three of Kendrick Adams' tackles were behind the
line.
LSU had little go its way offensively in the opening half,
as Georgia took the advantage in field position and didn't give it up.
The
Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred it decision until the second
half. Morris Claiborne brought the opening kickoff out of the endzone
but managed only 15 yards on the return. On third-and-7, Jefferson was
sacked by linebacker Cornelius Washington.
Brad Wing's 50-yard
punt was fair caught at the Georgia 38, where Murray connected with
King behind the Tigers secondary for a 44-yard gain to the LSU 21. A
false start on third down pushed the Bulldogs to the 22, where Murray's
pass into the endzone was just out of the reach of King.
The Bulldogs settled for a 40-yard Blair Walsh field goal and led 3-0 with 11:45 remaining in the quarter.
Walsh then executed a perfect on-side kick that was recovered by Alec Ogletree at the Georgia 49.
Murray
connected with wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell for 13 yards to the LSU
40 and then overcame a holding penalty with a 19-yard pass to Charles.
A LSU holding penalty by Claiborne on third-and-1 gave the Bulldogs new
life, but Mitchell dropped a sure touchdown at the 7-yard line on third
down and Walsh sliced a 45-yard field goal to the right.
However,
LSU was unable to take advantage of a momentum swing, as Jefferson came
up two yards short of a first down and the Tigers went three-and-out
for the second time.
The teams traded punts, as Georgia's Drew
Butler pinned LSU at its 8 with a 62 yarder and Wing managed only 38
yards from his endzone.
Georgia took over at the LSU 44 where
Thomas gained 16 yards and a first down. On third-and-6, Murray found
Charles across the middle for 11 yards to the 12. On the next play, the
Bulldogs quarterback connected with tight end Aron White for touchdown.
Georgia led 10-0 with 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The second quarter featured a grand total of seven punts and only 2 yards of total offense between the great defenses.
The
Tigers got the better end of the special teams when defensive end Sam
Montgomery sacked Murray at the Georgia 3 and forced Butler to punt out
of his endzone.
Mathieu fielded a booming 59-yard punt with room
to run, and the sophomore took advantage with a zigzagging 62-yard
touchdown return -- his second in as many games.
The big play helped the Tigers stay within three, 10-7, with 5:48 remaining in the half.
Again,
the Tigers offense wasn't able to capitalize on its final two
possessions of the half. The Tigers were held without a first down and
had only 12 yards of offense prior to the break.
In the second
half, the game changed in LSU's favor with two forced turnovers, a
47-yard punt return by Mathieu and three touchdowns by Hilliard.
The
Tigers added two more scores in the fourth quarter for its largest
margin of victory in the showdown between the SEC's Eastern and Western
Divisions.
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