Roll Tide Roll: Alabama Defeats LSU 21-0 To Win National Title

Head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide flat out dominated the LSU Tigers 21-0 on Monday night to win their second BCS National Title in 3 years and Saban's 3rd career Championship (the other coming with LSU in 2003). In the first ever rematch of a regular season matchup in BCS history Alabama avenged a 9-6 overtime loss to LSU at home on Nov. 5th in utterly convincing fashion to win the 2012 BCS National Title Game. The Tide defense capped off an historic season with an historic performance by posting the first shutout in BCS history and the first shutout in a National Championship game in 20 years.

The numbers for Alabama against a team that came in to this game undefeated and ranked Number 1 in the Nation were downright staggering. Alabama out-gained LSU 384-92 and did not allow LSU across the 50-yard line until midway through the 4th Quarter. LSU QB Jordan Jefferson and the LSU offense could not get a single thing going all night as Jefferson completed only 11 passes for 53 yards while the Tigers managed only 39 yards rushing as a team on 27 combined carries. LSU's defense held up as best it could and, despite allowing nearly 400 yards, kept themselves in the game by forcing the Crimson Tide into 7 FG attempts before Heisman Trophy Finalist RB Trent Richardson finally broke the plane and sealed the deal with a 34-yard TD scamper up the left side with 04:36 left in the game.

LSU never had a chance in this game because Alabama's defense was simply too good. The Tide came into this game allowing only an NCAA-best 8.8 points and 195 yards a game on defense in what was easily one of the best defensive seasons in the past 25 years. Nick Saban cemented his reputation as the best defensive-minded coaches in NCAA football with his team's performance tonight against an LSU team that average nearly 40 points a game coming in to the contest.

By winning in such dominating fashion Alabama erased any doubt as to who would be this year's unanimous National Champion. Their had been speculation prior to the game that had Alabama won in a very close game similar to the overtime contest between this two in November that the Associated Press (AP) poll might vote either Oklahoma State (who defeated Stanford in the Rose Bowl last week) or LSU as their National Champion resulting in the first split decision since LSU (BCS) and USC (AP) split the Title in 2003. Instead we can all be treated to the chorus of "Roll Tide" until next fall.