The Tiger Diaries With Joey Fryoux

During his weekly Monday Media Luncheon following the Alabama game, Les Miles was asked about his team’s chances of playing for the national championship this year. His team was 8-1 and had just won its most difficult road game of the year. They were now home to host a very young Louisiana Tech team during homecoming week. His response was succinct and expected.

If we improve and play well everything we want to play for is right in front of us. That’s a long way away. That is something we don’t want to focus on. Miles preferred to discuss other subjects he thought were more important than what might happen to his football team in a couple of months. He wanted to talk about Craig Steltz being named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation’s best defensive back. He wanted to discuss his amazing freshman Chad Jones who was named Louisiana Male Athlete of the Week and to sing the praises of the SEC Defensive Player of the Week Glen Dorsey, his All-American defensive team leader. Yes, he was proud of his boys and appreciative that the newest BCS standings recognized their accomplishments with a #2 national ranking, but he cautioned that there was much work still to be done against some powerful, “quality opponents” who should not be overlooked and that were much better football teams than their records would indicate. What a prophet he would prove to be!

 As for Mr. Dorsey, he would embark on an unprecedented run on college football awards for LSU. He was named a finalist for the prestigious Lombardi Award in this week. Founded in the weeks following the 1970 death from cancer of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, it is one of the most coveted awards presented to a college athlete and it signifies superior character, integrity, and ability. The defining phrases that are Glenn Dorsey. He is the first LSU player since Ronnie Estay to make the list of finalists for the Lombardi Award. In addition to his football ability, Dorsey is also a leader and role model in his hometown of Gonzales, taking time to speak to students and he is active in LSU’s community outreach program. He was recently named the SEC Community Service Player of the Week for his efforts during the past year. LSU entered the game with LA Tech with great confidence and soaring spirits on Homecoming weekend. It was an incredible day for Tiger fans as finally the summer heat had begun to let up. The bright blue sky was all that could match their spirits for earlier in the day #1 Ohio State had been knocked from the ranks of the unbeatens by conference foe Illinois 28-21, virtually assuring LSU the #1 Spot in the BCS if they could handle their in-state visitors in Tiger Stadium. LSU came into the game riding a school record 18 game home winning streak. They had won 31 straight against unranked opponents, 20 straight non-conference home games, and 12 consecutive games against non-SEC teams.

The Tigers were relatively healthy for this time of the season but would be without middle linebacker Darry Beckwith who had undergone minor knee surgery and was expected to miss 2-3 weeks of action. LSU did not disappoint, rushing the ball for 321 yards and piling up 595 yards of total offense in a dominating 58-10 homecoming win. They improved their record to 9-1 and assured themselves a spot in the SEC Championship Game as they clenched the SEC WEST Championship. The Tigers were led by Jacob Hester with 115 yards rushing including a career long 87-yard third quarter run. It was the longest run from scrimmage for LSU since Justin Vincent’s 87-yard run against Georgia in the 2003 SEC Championship game. (Too small! Too slow!) Matt Flynn, who had thrown two first-half interceptions, bounced back to have a good night completing 14-of-26 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan Perrilloux also contributed leading the Tigers in the fourth quarter and getting a touchdown pass of his own as the #1 high school player in the nation continued to show why the future of quarterbacking for LSU remains glowing. It was the defense that got the night off on the right foot, forcing and recovering a fumble on the first play from scrimmage at the Tech 24 yard line. Freshman Terrance Tolliver flashed some of his incredible athletic ability by running to the one yard line on an end around before Flynn dove in on the next play to make it 7-0 Tigers. At that point in the season, through 10 games, LSU’s defense had allowed only Florida to score points on its opening drive.

The next day would prove to be an historical one for LSU football when, as expected, the Tigers were ranked #1 in the BCS Championship Standings for the first time ever during the regular season. Tiger-Mania was once again revved up as we prepared ourselves to watch the home stretch of the season featuring sure win games against Ole Miss and Arkansas, two teams that had struggled so far in the rugged SEC. In fact, Ole Miss was the only SEC team yet to win a conference game. Yes there was the annual talk about how well the Rebels always play against LSU, but it seemed little more than lip service as this bunch of Tigers seemed to have weathered the storms of another very difficult schedule featuring no less than seven ranked teams going 6-1. It was a remarkable accomplishment and one that no other team in the nation had come close to duplicating. As fate would have it, nothing would be easy for this team. Despite having a team almost unanimously considered the most talented in the nation, sluggish play, mental lapses, and an inordinate amount of penalties had caused the Tigers to have to scramble and fight for their lives against inferior teams and had pushed them to the brink in order to secure victory against its bigger rivals like Auburn and Florida. Les Miles had used extreme bravado when deciding to go for it on a series of fourth downs and the affects of a deliberate intention to hurt LSU’s star captain, Glen Dorsey, continued to slow Dorsey in his ability to prepare and play in these tough games. The national firestorm related to that play called into question the sportsmanship of the hated (in Tigerland anyway) Tommy Tuberville. Auburn and its coach denied the intent to harm Dorsey but the blatant act was despicable and obvious, compounded in the minds of many by the fact that despite occurring in full view of at least two officials in the game, no penalty was called. To make matters even more suspicious, the conference office refused to reprimand the officials or to even acknowledge any wrongdoings. LSU would continue to be the most penalized team in the conference and the disparity between penalties against the Tigers and those called on their opponents defies logic. LSU would spend the entire season ranked as one of the top five defenses in the country with their defensive line considered the strongest part of the group. Despite this fact, only six times all year has an opponent been flagged for holding against the defense, one of the most common penalties called in any football game.

Against that backdrop the Tigers traveled to Oxford and were greeted on the field as harshly as the fans of Ole Miss welcome Tiger-fans in “The Grove”. The Tigers looked to make history as a victory would give LSU at least 10 wins in three straight seasons for the first time ever. They would have to do so without the services of middle linebacker Darry Beckwith who would sit out his second consecutive game following a knee injury that occurred against Alabama. The day began well for the Tigers as Matt Flynn led them on a 98-yard touchdown drive, the second longest in the SEC this year and LSU led 7-0. Following the drive the Tigers held Ole Miss on their second possession of the game and took over at their own 1-yard line. This time it was the Rebel’s defense that took a stand and when LSU’s Patrick Fisher punted from his own end zone, Mississippi looked to have great field position. The Rebels would skip the formalities though as Benjarvis Green-Ellis, the Ole Miss version of “the outstanding SEC running back soon to be in the NFL” that the Tigers field and are asked to contain weekly, returned the punt straight up the field 44-yards for the tying touchdown. LSU fans were very uneasy as they had witnessed these Rebels fight the Tigers tooth-and-nail many times with lesser talent. This day, with so much to lose their nerves were frayed from so many close calls and frantic endings through the year. Compounding the anxiety was the feeling that gradually throughout the last few games it seemed that on special teams the Tigers were slipping ever so slightly. Statistics seemed to bear that notion out and in fact two weeks before Alabama had done the exact same thing to the Tigers punt coverage team. It was all but forgotten when LSU emerged victorious against the hated Saban but many thoughts revisited that day as Ole Miss fans whooped it up in Oxford. They enjoyed their delirium for maybe a full five minutes as LSU and Trindon Holiday shut the door on the party room by returning the kickoff 98-yards for a TD. Holiday sped up the middle of the field, broke two tackles, then made a spine twisting move to his left leaving everyone in his dust as he turned on the jets up the left sideline and cruised to the end zone. LSU now led Ole Miss 14-7 and that is how the first half ended.

LSU received the second half kick-off and quickly put together a 56 yard drive highlighted by a 14-yard Flynn to Doucet pass and the Tigers 9th fourth down conversion of the year. The Tigers were comfortably ahead on the score board 21-7 but there would be little comfort for the Tigers and their fans on this day as Ole Miss did not receive the memo that read once the #1 team in the country went ahead of a team destined to 0-8 in the SEC by two touchdowns, they were supposed to throw in the towel. The Rebels were as valiant as their namesake and fought with great pride, as was expected by LSU. Their success against the LSU defense was the result of a change at quarterback made by embattled coach Ed Orgeron, a Louisiana native. Brent Shaeffer came on in relief of starter Seth Adams and got the Rebs offense into high gear. Time and again Shaeffer’s superior speed enabled him to scoot away from the LSU pass rush to either complete passes down field or make big plays running the football. In the midst of perhaps the biggest day of his college career, Shaeffer was inexplicably replaced late in the first half as Ole Miss closed in on a momentum seizing touchdown. Two plays later All-American safety Craig Steltz intercepted a Seth Adams pass in the Tigers end zone to end the threat. The decision would come back to haunt the Rebels and is one that some point to as the straw that broke the camel’s back for Orgeron who was dismissed as the Ole Miss coach at the end of their season. The Tigers, for their part would emerge victorious 41-24, their 10th win and a guaranteed trip to the SEC Championship but what was on the lips of Tiger fans was the inordinate number of yards given up by the defense again and the questionable health of its leader Glen Dorsey who was unable to perform anywhere near his ability. It was a memorable Thanksgiving week in Baton Rouge in 2007. This was the first Thankgiving Day we would enjoy as the #1 team in the BCS and the turkey was juicier, the dressing was spicier, and the mounds of desserts couldn’t match the sweetness of an already earned SEC Championship showdown that most believed would lead to our season long destination, the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans. It was with big heads and fat bellies that we settled into our easy chairs to watch Les Miles and his team finish off this spectacular regular season by beating Arkansas in Tiger Stadium. He was off to the most successful start for any coach in school history and is 30-6 in Baton Rouge. Miles is the only coach in LSU history to beat Florida, Auburn, and Alabama in the same season, and he’s done it TWICE! He has been named a finalist for several national Coach of the Year awards but when asked about those honors he, in typical Miles fashion, wanted to speak only of the fantastic record of this years senior class, which was to be honored at the Arkansas game. This group had won 18 straight November games, considered crunch-time in college football. This is as fine a group of young men as I have ever coached, said Coach Miles. These players have performed consistently at a very high level throughout their career while showing the same dedication to academics. These guys are the perfect example in proving that you can be successful at the highest level of competition and still be focused on education and graduating from college. This group understands that there is life after football and they are proving that by what they are doing in the classroom.

Seven starters are scheduled to earn their degree this semester, a list that includes Matt Flynn, Ali Highsmith, Kirston Pittman, Carnell Stewart, Jonathan Zenon, Patrick Fisher, and Keith Zinger. Four more starters are on pace for spring of 2008 graduation including Early Doucet, Luke Sanders, Chevis Jackson, and Craig Steltz. Furthermore, Shawn Jordan and Anthony Zehyoue both graduated last spring. Jordan is currently pursuing a second undergraduate degree in chemistry after earning his first diploma in kinesiology. Zehyoue, who graduated with a degree in history, is in graduate school pursuing a Master’s degree. By this time next year, 24 of 25 seniors are expected to be college graduates. Awesome!... and it is just as awesome that Les Miles is so proud of this aspect of his program. LSU is dedicated to the education of its student/athletes and keeping the promises that the man at the top makes to the parents of new recruits are a large part of his mission and a large part of what makes him the most accomplished coach in Tiger history. On the field, with a win in the BCS National Championship game, this senior class can close their playing career with more wins over a five year span (55) than any other group in the history of the program. They will have produced more SEC wins by any class in school history with 32, the most seasons with at least 10 wins with four, most weeks spent as a ranked team with 80, most wins over Top 25 teams with 19, and most wins over top 10 teams with 9. So as the final game in Tiger Stadium for this group approached, it was understandable that Coach Miles would take a moment to recognize their accomplishments and to dote on this outstanding group of young men. It is one of the characteristics of the man that LSU is so fortunate to call “Coach”.

The Tigers were getting set to take on Arkansas and its two-headed monster at running back, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. The Razorbacks had only a 7-4 record but came to Baton Rouge on a roll having won 4 of their last 5 games. McFadden, who had struggled through the month of October with bruised ribs, was looking like the Heisman candidate that he was projected as earlier in the season and Jones had fully heeled from a sprained ankle that had caused him to miss two games recently. The Tigers were ranked #1 in the nation and with the BCS Championship in their sights it didn’t seem likely there would be a let-down, especially in light of the fact that the Tigers had gotten a second chance at their goals after having lost on the road at Kentucky earlier in the season. The Hogs though, had other ideas, and to add to the confusion, the national media descended on Baton Rouge like a summer storm as Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr announced that he would retire following the season. The front runner for the job according to the media was none other than our own Les Miles, A Michigan graduate and ex-Wolverine football player who played for and was eternally dedicated to legendary coach Bo Schembechler. Miles has often professed his affinity for his alma mater, like most everyone would do. He had expressed that he would always be a Michigan man but he loved his job at LSU and this was now his home but so many wondered. The skepticism grew when Miles stopped short of removing his name from consideration for the Michigan job, opting instead to state that after the season was the time to address such matters as he had a team in the heat of a national championship run and wanted to focus only on that for now.

The week of preparation for Arkansas is shortened every year and game-day falls on Friday so LSU is in the national spotlight annually the day after Thanksgiving. In South Louisiana there was a slightly different feel to this year’s holiday season. Another year removed from the catastrophic storms has given ever-resilient Cajuns a chance to revive their confidence and the reflection in their faith appears to have rewarded them with the promise of a brighter future. A calmer Tiger-nation enjoyed the chance to stop and give thanks. The consistent flash of the #1 team in the nation across TV screens was reassuring to most that all was well but the nagging reports of Miles to Michigan, of Glenn Dorsey’s injury, may have been more distracting than fans and players realized. But realize, we did not! We had watched this team struggle to win games, but they did win, and it was against very strong competition, so we just enjoyed the ride. For the most part, we could see what had gone on around the country throughout the year and it was quite clear. LSU has the most talent in the entire nation. They are led by a record setting coach who demands character, integrity, and superior effort from his players. The players were dealt with in a firm and fair manner with emphasis on their humanity and they seemed to appreciate and reflect Miles persona. The team had yet to play a game as well as it had in game two against Virginia Tech but were still 10-1 and the class of the SEC. Then came Black Friday. It is true that the term Black Friday was coined to describe the enormous financial impact the day after Thanksgiving has on local economies, but for us this year it had a much more ominous meaning. A loss in a three-overtime road game against #8 ranked Kentucky in October had robbed LSU of its #1 ranking and now the Razorbacks had sawed us off at the knees again winning in three over-times, 50-48, the highest scoring game in the history of Tiger Stadium. McFadden ran for 206 yards against a Tiger defense that to date had not allowed a player to run for even 100 yards in a game all year. McFadden scored three touchdowns and was joined in the run-fest by running mates Felix Jones who ran for 95 yards and by Peyton Hillis who ran for 89 more. The Razorbacks showed everyone why they had come into this game ranked #1 in the SEC and #4 in the nation in rushing. LSU played well at times but had missed some early chances to put the Hogs away, recovering two Arkansas fumbles but allowing mistakes and penalties to force them to settle for two filed goals. Jacob Hester reminded Tiger fans again why we regard him with such high esteem as in his final performance in his home stadium he gained 126 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Matt Flynn turned in a remarkable performance once again passing for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns and leading his team through pressure packed third and fourth downs throughout the game. The resilience and character of this young man as well as that of his fellow seniors is beyond description. For five years Mr. Flynn has pledged his soul to the good of the LSU Football team, vowing to do anything and everything to help the Tigers win. His reward could very well be a financial bonanza when he is done honing his skills for the Tigers and moves on to the next level. Good things do happen to good people you know! Unfortunately for Matt his curtain-call in Tiger Stadium would not have a happy ending. After four and a half hours of SEC football and three overtime periods Flynn’s pass to Demetrius Byrd on an attempted two point conversion was intercepted and the dreams of a miracle season had vanished in a nightmarish instant. The entire state was dumbfounded and numbed. Many pointed to a critical point in the first overtime. LSU had scored on its possession to take a seven point lead and force Arkansas to have to score a touchdown to send the game into a second overtime. Despite the success the Razorbacks had enjoyed all game long when lining McFadden up at the quarterback position, the Hogs, having been stopped three consecutive times for no gain and facing a daunting 4th and ten, had their somewhat immobile and second tier SEC QB Casey Dick behind center. Everyone expected LSU to play to its reputation as an intimidating defensive team and to send a wall of blitzers at the young quarterback much like they had to secure victory at Alabama a few weeks earlier. Unexpectedly and inexplicably Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini, who has since moved on to become the head coach at Nebraska, (with good riddance) decided not to pressure Dick and the young quarterback was given ample time to find a receiver and convert the fourth down play as well as another third down and long on his way to a tying touchdown to keep the Hogs hopes alive and eventually lead them to victory. Miles was saddened and disappointed for his young men and a fantastic leader at this troublesome time for LSU and its fans. “This team is not happy,” he would say. “We understand that this cost us and what was at stake. We now have to look forward to playing another game, a very important game, and one that is much bigger than the one we just played. That is what we have to focus on.” Certainly a grown man is expected to respond in such a way when responsible for the well being of so many young adults, but considering the emotional connection that Les Miles develops with his players, it must have been enormously difficult for him to look at this group of young men and remind them they had to rebound and represent the state and the university in the way that each of them truly believed in. But he did and they did as well. The Tigers took their disappointment like men and attempted to move on. They weren’t exactly “slumming it” though as they were about to play for one of their biggest preseason goals the SEC Championship, and a win there would land this now dominant program in another BCS bowl game on New Year’s Day, a day when only the big boys play. Things went fairly smoothly in most people’s mind. As we rebounded from the loss we tried to focus on winning the strongest conference in the land and considered what that would mean for recruiting. Athletic Director Skip Bertman confirmed that indeed Michigan had asked for, and received permission to speak to Miles about its coaching vacancy but that it would be after the SEC title game that the meeting would take place, not before. Then on Friday morning, the day before the game, ESPN analyst (of questionable repute and expertise) Kirk Herbstreit, an Ohio St. alumnus, announced that Les Miles had decided to accept the job at Michigan. The words sent shock-waves through the LSU community, surprising everyone, including Miles. An extremely agitated Miles felt compelled to call an impromptu news conference that day at which he may have galvanized his place in the hearts of Tiger fans everywhere when he announced, “I” m the head coach at LSU. I will be the head coach at LSU. I have no interest in talking to anyone else. I’m staying at LSU. This is the place I want to be. This is home. Oh, how we had longed to hear a great coach express those feelings at LSU. Even now I doubt that, as humble a man as Les Miles is, could he possibly realize the love and affection that he has elicited from the fans of this great university with that simple declaration. He went on to say, “I respect the young men that I coach. Anybody that I have signed, when I tell them that I am going to be here, I was sincere.”

The affects of the statement were extensive and immediate. The Tigers, who had looked tired and had played with poor concentration for the past few weeks, were remarkable in the SEC Championship against Eastern Division Champ Tennessee. The Tigers played inspired and intellectual football and matched a very physical Volunteer team hit-for-hit. What an incredible team this is. For weeks since taking a cheap shot from the classless thugs playing for the no character head coach Tommy Tubberville at Auburn, defensive leader Glen Dorsey would be unable to contribute significantly to the effort and their senior quarterback and offensive general Matt Flynn would also be unable to play at all due to an injured shoulder. In a season unsurpassed for upsets and unpredictable results a closer inspection will show that many of these surprises were due to key players being forced to miss games due to injury. Crippling losses for Oregon, USC, Oklahoma, and West Virginia had cost them a shot at the national championship, and this was only in the last couple of weeks of the season.

The Tigers however would simply plug someone else into place, adjust the game plan to better suit different personnel and move forward. In this case Ricky Jean-Francois, who had not played the entire season would take his place on the defensive front and as his coach would describe, “play and make considerable contributions to the outcome.” There were others who stepped up to cover for fallen team mates, but none more significant than a much heralded and recently embattled quarterback Ryan Perrilloux.

In 2001 another backup quarterback came on in support of an injured Tiger QB, Rohan Davey, in the SEC Championship, against a strong team from Tennessee. Matt Mauck made his claim to stardom that day with an amazing performance leading the Tigers to victory and earning MVP honors for the game. The blueprint was laid and Perilloux was not to be outdone as in this title game he was spectacular. The Vols served notice early when they took the opening kickoff and marched down the field on an efficient 11-play drive and took a 7-0 lead early. Perrilloux played well and moved the team but despite entering the Tennessee red zone three times the Tigers came away with only a pair of 30-yard field goals and six points. Shades of the early futility against Arkansas the week before crept into the minds of Tiger fans. But the strength of this Tiger team had been its vaunted defense all year and though it had been decimated by injury over the past few weeks, on this day they would perform for their coach the way they were truly capable of and shut down a powerful Tennessee offense for the rest of the half. In fact the Vols were limited to an incredible 31-yards and two first downs in the half.

On offense the Tigers were conservative but controlling. As Perrilloux adjusted to his status as the starter, the Tigers turned to their many other weapons to dominate the first half statistically and keep the dangerous Tennessee offense on its sideline. LSU outgained Tennessee in total first half yards 271-93 and controlled possession of the ball 21:20 of the 30 minutes. Still, that domination had not transformed into a big lead on the scoreboard and Tiger fans were not relaxed. As the second half opened LSU, behind the leadership of an obviously more confident and eventual game MVP, Perrilloux drove the ball down field, spurred by some evasive, athletic moves and strong passing skills from the next superstar quarterback in line for the Tigers. LSU led 13-7 and looked to continue its dominance in the game and build on its lead but the Tennessee defense stiffened and a defensive struggle ensued for a while. The Volunteers grasped the upper hand following a Trindon Holiday fumble when the Tigers looked to be driving toward more points, instead falling behind again when a Vols touchdown made the score 14-13 Tennessee. Another LSU turnover, an interception thrown by Perrilloux, seemed to give Tennessee momentum, but the Tiger defense forced a field goal try by the Vols which sailed wide and kept the score the same. The defensive struggle continued which played into the hands of the Tigers and true to form they pressured Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge into an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Jonothan Zenon and returned for the winning touchdown. Ryan Perrilloux followed that play with a skillful sidestepping run into the end zone and a two point conversion and posted the final LSU winning score of 21-14. The Tigers were now SEC Champs and assured of a BCS bowl birth, heading to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The drama of the day and of the past few weeks, when LSU fans saw their hopes of playing for a national championship dashed not once, but twice, with last minute triple-overtime losses, would pale in comparison to the unbelievable and chaotic series of events that would occur in the 24 hours following the Tigers SEC triumph. First #2 ranked Missouri was defeated by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game to no one’s great surprise. Later in the evening is when the other shoe fell. Oklahoma’s win in effect put the third ranked Ohio State Buckeyes into position to play #1 West Virginia for the title. It was considered a mere formality that the Mountaineers would first need to dispose of lowly Pittsburg, the long time West Virginia rival who had been struggling through a very tough season. The Mountaineers were a 29 point favorites in the 110th meeting between the schools and in this case familiarity certainly breeds contempt as the Panthers shocked the college football world by dominating their rival on the field despite some obviously slanted calls from the Big East officials calling the game. LSU entered the day ranked #5 in the BCS and when West Virginia went down it left a void atop the rankings that would pit someone against Ohio State in the title game. LSU trailed Georgia and Kansas in the rankings, two teams that had failed to reach their conference championship games relegating them to third place in the conference, and after the gloomy disappointing week that the Tigers and their fans had suffered through following the Arkansas loss, it was almost unbelievable that we would be back in the running for the championship. Not only were we in the running, but most believed, given the circumstances, we were the only logical choice. Coach Les Miles had attempted to squelch the rumors that he would pull a “Saban” and bolt for the Big Ten job at Michigan by renouncing them as false, but for now all eyes would be riveted on the bowl selection show on Sunday evening. Throughout the day coaches of lesser teams like Bob Stoops of Oklahoma and Mark Richt of Georgia tried to lobby their teams into a place they had failed to play themselves into but it came off looking and sounding like sour-grapes and it had no effect. Sunday evening December 2, 2007 was the culmination of a 30-hour period as meaningful and magnificent as any in the history of the school. The Tiger football team closed out an amazing run, in the most tumultuous and upset filled season in college football history, and become the SEC Champions. They were simply the best team in the best conference period. The next morning the LSU Athletic Department announced it had reached an agreement with Coach Les Miles to remain the Tigers coach for several more years. Miles further ingratiated himself with the LSU faithful by expressing clearly how happy and fortunate he is to be the coach at LSU. He is here because he wants to be and this is home. It’s what every purple blooded Cajun Tiger fan longed to hear all along. The fantastic day was topped with the Tigers grabbing the golden ring when it was announced that indeed they would get the chance to play for their last and most important goal, the national championship. It has been a strange and unpredictable season but for Tiger fans at the end of the day on January 7, 2008 it will all play out the way it was supposed to for LSU from the beginning, with us on top of the college football world.