Louisiana St. 0 - 21 Alabama

Because there is so much anger about the BCS system in the national media, and because this was a pretty boring game to neutral fans, there is a real danger that Alabama will not get the full credit it deserves for last night's victory.

For the record, here is how LSU did this year in games where it did not play Alabama (Games in Baton Rouge unless noted otherwise):

LSU 40, Oregon 27 (at Dallas)
LSU 49, Northwestern St. 3
LSU 19, Mississippi St. 6 (Starkville)
LSU 47, W. Virginia 21 (Morgantown)
LSU 35, Kentucky 7
LSU 41, Florida 11
LSU 38, Tennessee 7 (Knoxville)
LSU 45, Auburn 10
LSU 42, W. Kentucky 9
LSU 52, Ole Miss 3 (Oxford)
LSU 41, Arkansas 17

In those 11 games, LSU outscored its opponents 449-114. And this was not an easy schedule. LSU dominated the Rose Bowl champion (Oregon) on a neutral field. It dominated the Orange Bowl champion (West Virginia) on its home field. It dominated the Cotton Bowl champion (Arkansas), the Gator Bowl champion (Florida), the Peach Bowl champion (Auburn), and the Music City Bowl champion (Mississippi St.) If LSU had finished off the season with a second win over Alabama, the Tigers would have merited serious consideration as one of the greatest college football teams of all time.

And yet Alabama totally controlled the game. The stats are unbelievable. Alabama had 384 yards; LSU had 92. Alabama had 21 first downs; LSU had five. Alabama had the ball for over 35 minutes; LSU had it for less than 25 minutes. If not for a truly heroic effort by one of the best defenses in the country, Alabama would have won by more than 30 points.

I don't think I've ever seen a college football game in which so many players for one team did exactly what they were supposed to do. LSU ran play after play in which every Alabama defender turned up in precisely the right place. Alabama threw 34 passes without an interception, and they had 35 rushes without a fumble. They also had only one penalty -- a five-yarder on a punt in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach. It was simply a near flawless performance.

This was no fluke. Alabama should have won the first game between these two teams, but turnovers and missed field goals doomed them. LSU was lucky the first time, but their luck ran out when Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State, thus dooming the Tigers to a rematch with Alabama.

I was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and I have watched the Crimson Tide ever since I was a little boy. I have seen every big game they've played since about 1972, and I have read about all of their big games in the past. In my opinion, this was the best game ever played by an Alabama football team.