| 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 14th BCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 9, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense:A. J. McCarron (QB, Alabama) Defense:Courtney Upshaw (LB, Alabama) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Alabama by 1.5[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Scott Novak (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band Million Dollar Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 78,237 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$21.2 million | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brent Musburger (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Erin Andrews andTom Rinaldi (sidelines) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 16.2 (24.2 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2012 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the2012Allstate BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a postseasoncollege footballbowl game between theAlabama Crimson Tide and theLSU Tigers, and determined the national champion of the2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season on Monday, January 9, 2012, at theMercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game was part of the2011–2012Bowl Championship Series and arematch of regular season foes.[3]Alabama beat LSU 21–0 to win their 14th national championship, marking the firstshutout in a national championship game since the1992 Orange Bowl and the first ever shutout in a BCS bowl game.[4][5][6]The game had the third-lowest TV rating, 14.01, in the 14-year history of the BCS National Championship game.[7][8]
It was LSU's first loss in a game played in New Orleans (which is near the LSU campus in Baton Rouge) since the1987 Sugar Bowl. From 1987 through the 2011 regular season, LSU was 4–0 in bowl games in New Orleans (three Sugar Bowls and the2008 BCS National Championship Game) and 5–0 in the city vs.Tulane.
LSU was selected to participate in the BCS National Championship Game after a 13–0 regular season that culminated with a 42–10 win over theUniversity of Georgia in the2011 SEC Championship Game. Alabama was picked as the other half of the match-up following an 11–1 campaign, with theironly loss coming against LSU in overtime during the regular season. Over the following weeks, a series ofupsets resulted in the Crimson Tide receiving a No. 2 ranking in the finalBCS Rankings to qualify for the championship game. The selection of Alabama was controversial, and decried by writers such asRick Reilly, and by fans who claimed other opponents, most prominently theOklahoma State Cowboys (who finished second in most of the computer rankings), were more deserving of a spot in the game. The controversy lent support to the ever-increasing call for acollege football playoff and supposed SEC bias, specifically with regard to Alabama. Ironically, it was the conferences whose teams finished third and fourth (the Big 12 and the Pac-12) that had rejected the SEC's proposal for a four-team playoff in 2008.[9]
This game was the first time in the 14-year history of the BCS that the National Championship Game featured two teams from the same conference, let alone the same division (similar to the2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament six months prior featuring two teams from the SEC East division, though that came about through a playoff). This was also the first time that the BCS National Championship Game was a rematch from a regular season game, although the 1996 season'sBowl Alliance National Championship game was also a rematch, when Florida defeated Florida State 52–20 for the national title in the1997 Sugar Bowl. As a result of the matchup, the SEC's streak of producing the BCS champion was assured of extending to six straight seasons.
Alabama ranked first in rushing with 219.83 yards per game and in total defense (191.25 ypg), including scoring defense (8.83), rushing (74.92 yards per game) and passing (116.33 yards per game). Key players for the Crimson Tide were RBTrent Richardson (164.67 yards per game, 1583 rushing yards), OTBarrett Jones (Outland Trophy recipient), LBCourtney Upshaw (17 tackles for losses and 8.5 sacks), and SMark Barron (66 total tackles, 42 solos).
LSU ranked first in the conference in scoring offense (38.46) and second in the nation in total defense (252.08 yards). The Tigers averaged 375.31 yards per game with 215.15 yards in rushing and 160.15 yards in passing. The leaders of this team were CBTyrann Mathieu (Chuck Bednarik Award recipient), CBMorris Claiborne (Jim Thorpe Award recipient, six interceptions for 173 yards, 1 TD and 6th overall draft pick), DESam Montgomery (13 tackles for loss, 9 sacks for −55 yards), WRRueben Randle (53 receptions, 917 yards, and 8 TD's) and PBrad Wing (44.14 punt average).
Selected in an NFL Draft (number corresponds to draft round)
† = 2011 All-American
| Alabama | Position | LSU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | |||
| Marquis Maze | WR | Rueben Randle 2 | |
| Brad Smelley 7 | TE | WR | Russell Shepard |
| †Barrett Jones 4 | LT | Chris Faulk | |
| Chance Warmack 1 | LG | Will Blackwell | |
| William Vlachos | C | P.J. Lonergan | |
| Alfred McCullough | RG | Josh Willford | |
| D. J. Fluker 1 | RT | Alex Hurst | |
| Michael Williams 7 | TE | DeAngelo Peterson | |
| Darius Hanks | WR | Odell Beckham Jr. 1 | |
| A. J. McCarron 5 | QB | Jordan Jefferson | |
| †Trent Richardson 1 | RB | Michael Ford | |
| Defense | |||
| Jesse Williams 5 | DE | Kendrick Adams | |
| Josh Chapman 5 | DT | Michael Brockers 1 | |
| Damion Square | DE | DT | Bennie Logan 3 |
| Jerrell Harris | OLB | DE | Sam Montgomery 3 |
| Dont'a Hightower 1 | MLB | LOLB | Stefoin Francis |
| Nico Johnson 4 | ILB | Kevin Minter 2 | |
| Courtney Upshaw 2 | ROLB | Ryan Baker | |
| DeQuan Menzie 5 | CB | †Morris Claiborne 1 | |
| Dre Kirkpatrick 1 | CB | †Tyrann Mathieu 3 | |
| †Mark Barron 1 | FS | Eric Reid 1 | |
| Robert Lester | SS | Brandon Taylor 3 | |
Alabama won thecoin toss with a call of "tails" and elected to defer their decision to the second half.
The game, largely a defensive struggle, was epitomized by LSU's first possession of the game. The Tigers fumbled the ball on the opening play and ultimately ended up punting the football to Alabama after failing to gain afirst down. The rest of the first half was dominated by both defenses. Alabama got withinfield goal range four times and kickerJeremy Shelley made three of his attempts to give Alabama a 9–0 lead at halftime.[10] LSU gained only one first down and was unable to cross the 50-yard line for the entire first half.[6]
The second half played out much the same as the first. Alabama's defense allowed LSU to cross the 50-yard line only once and gave up only four more first downs.[6] Alabama was able to add 6 more points from a couple of Shelley field goals and another 6 points on the game's only touchdown on a 34-yardrush byHeisman Trophy finalistTrent Richardson.[11]
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics | Alabama | LSU |
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| First Downs | 21 | 5 |
| Total offense, plays – yards | 69–384 | 44–92 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 35–150 | 27–39 |
| Passing yards (net) | 234 | 53 |
| Passes, Comp-Att-Int | 23–34–0 | 11–17–1 |
| Time of Possession | 35:26 | 24:34 |
| Reference:[12] | ||