What If.... There was a 2003 College Football Final 4
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by user User:The Beast
This is Part 1 of a 3 part series on the what ifs in sports.
Remember 2003, USC was shut out of the title game and played in the Rose Bowl. LSU and Oklahoma met in the Sugar Bowl. Lets use the AP poll as a guide that year. USC would be seeded number 1, LSU at number 2, Oklahoma at number 3, and Michigan at number 4. So we all know what happened in the first two games. USC and LSU both trounced there opponents in each of their respective bowl games.
They now meet for the national championship, the final game of the playoffs.
Keith Jackson and Dan Foutes broadcast the game from Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Keith screams out "Whoa nellie" its gonna be a great one, the National Championship Game of the Bowl Championship Series squared off here in Houston, Texas, the USC Trojans at 11-1 and the LSU Tigers at 11-1" LSU wins the toss and defers to the second half.
1st Quarter Reggie Bush returns the kick all the way to the 40 and breaks a tackle, only to the fumble the ball away. Foutes cites that Bush will make mistakes as he is a true freshman. LSU puts a nice long drive together and Justin Vincent caps it off with a 2 yard touchdown run.
The teams trade off possesions throughout the quarter until Reggie Bush returns a punt all the way to the 33 yard line. However, USC struggles to move the chains and Ryan Killeen ends up kicking a 44 yard field goal.
2nd Quarter Leinert meets trouble as Marcus Spears ends up sacking him causing Matt to leave the game. Fouts exclaims that he is really shaken up. LSU capatilizes on backup Matt Cassell's mistakes as Martell Webster picks him off and takes it to the house giving the Tigers a 14-3 lead, going into halftime.
Halftime
Both the USC bands and LSU bands perform.
3rd Quarter LSU gets the ball at the start of the second half, but Matt Mauck struggles to move his offense. On a bad punt, USC gets the ball at LSU's 46 yard line. It is Matt Cassell who steps on the field for the first play and he immediately hands it off to Hershal Dennis who runs for a gain of 9 yards. Then Carroll calls Cassell over and says. "we're going to rotate you and Leinert, nice work though." The very next play of the drive, Leinert finds Mike williams deep for a 37 yard touchdown pass. There will be no rotating now.
Saban sees the momentum turning and tells Mauck to control the clock and take a long drive. Mauck does just that leading the Tigers down to the USC 26, but the Trojans stop 'em making it a 4th and 5. LSU sets up for the kick, but the 6'8 basketball playing tight end Gregg Gunther blocks the kick. Jason Mitchell picks it up and take it all the way to the five yard line. Carroll and Chow decide to keep Matt as the starter heading into the final period.
4th Quarter Down 14-10 USC runs a boot-leg and Leinert hits tight end Alex Holmes for a touchdown. With the extra point USC has a 17-14 edge. LSU goes three and out and punts. Reggie Bush receives and shows why he will be a future heisman winner by taking the punt for a touchdown giving the Trojans and 23-14 lead. Knowing that LSU is frustrated Chow calls for a fake extra point and Tom Malone hits Dominique Bird for the 2 point conversion.
The Tigers, in need of some serious help call upon Skyler Green who catches a pass and takes in for the score with a minute left making the score 25-20. The Tigers know they must convert the two point conversion, but it fails. LSU then attempts the onside kick and recovers it, SC is stunnd, and the Bayou Bengals sideline goes crazy, as momentum is clearly in their favor now.
However, on the very next play Will Poole hits Mauck causing the ball to fly in the air, where Mike Patterson grabs it for the interception, allowing USC to run out the clock, and leave no doubt as they are crowned national champions.
- Final Score
- USC 25, LSU 20
Date
Mon 08/14/06, 9:39 am EST
