NEW ORLEANS — From playgrounds to football fields across America, kids have dreamed about this day forever. It’s GameDay and this time the 2003 National Championship is at stake. It’s No. 2 LSU vs. No. 1 Oklahoma in the 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl for the ADT National Championship Trophy Sunday night in the Louisiana Superdome. Kickoff is at 7:22 p.m. CST, and the game will be nationally broadcast on ABC Sports, and heard round-the-world on radio and internet and www.L- SUsports.net.
LSU (12-1) heads into tonight’s contest riding a seven-game winning streak. After suffering its only loss of the season, a 19-7 setback at home against Florida, LSU has dominated its opponents, outscoring them 246-78. In its previous game, LSU embarrassed a then-ranked No. 5 Georgia team, 34-13 in the SEC Championship Game and handed the Dawgs their worst loss of the season.
Oklahoma (12-1) heads into tonight’s contest having lost its previous game. Kansas State defeated Oklahoma 35-7 in the Big XII Championship, handing the Sooners their first loss in 15 games, dating back to the 2002 season.
The matchup itself is intriguing. LSU and Oklahoma have battled all year long for claim to the nation’s best defense. The Sooners defense features several post-season award recipients, led by defensive lineman Tommie Harris, Lombardi Award winner and All-American, linebacker Teddy Lehman, Butkus Award winner, Bednarik Award winner, and All-American, and defensive back Derrick Strait, Nagurski Award winner, Thorpe Award winner, and All-American.
The Tigers counter with the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense, allowing only 10.8 points per game, the No. 2 in total defense, allowing only 259.5 yards per game, and No. 3 in pass defense efficiency. The Tigers are led by defensive lineman Chad Lavalais, All-American, and Corey Webster, All-American.
LSU football head coach Nick Saban said, “It’s a little bit tough for us, because you can’t hardly walk out of the hotel where you don’t have a parade type atmosphere relative to where we’re going or what we’re doing, so I think it has been a little more difficult for our guys to deal with some of the outside influences, and I think it’s very, very important that we don’t focus on this game being bigger than life, but that we can actually focus on what we need to do to play well in the game, be ourselves, have the identity that we’ve always played with as a football team this year, because I think that’s the only way we’re going to compete well in the game.”
On the atmosphere… “It’s great to have such spirit and passion beside you in a big game or a game like this, but I also think, as I said before, it’s a real challenge for the players not to get the game out of perspective relative to the balance that they need psychologically to be able to compete like we’ve competed and keep the identity that we’ve had as a team all along.”
On Oklahoma…”I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for Oklahoma as a program. I mean, I remember playing Oklahoma in 1978 when I was at West Virginia when Barry Switzer was the coach, and they were rolling. We played there (in Norman) and they were running the wishbone with (David) Overstreet at halfback, Billy Sims and Kenny King at fullback, Thomas Lott was the quarterback. Our players were coming off the field saying that we don’t have enough men out there. We said that we had 11, they had 11, but their 11 was a lot faster than our guys. The wagon used to come out, whatever they call it (Sooner Schooner), it was a real hot day, and I thought some of those horses might die they were running around so much.”
Saban and the rest of the Tigers will have their chance to win LSU’s second National Championship, and first since 1958, when LSU and Oklahoma kickoff Sunday night in what will undoubtedly be a game to remember.