History of the SEC: LSU Tigers

The history of Louisiana State University football is about as rich and colorful as the purple and gold uniforms the team sports, with home game played in an atmosphere so electric that it’s one of college sports’ most unique venues to visit.

While the school can brag of Pete Maravich, Dale Brown and Shaquille O’Neal in men’s basketball, and has a baseball program the envy of entire nation, there’s nothing quite like a Saturday night in Death Valley (aka Tiger Stadium). Not only to the Tigers draw more than 100,000, but fill the stands with some of the most energetic and lively fans you’ll ever come across.

In the words of LSU publicity director and athletic director Jim Corbett (1945-67): “In Baton Rouge, the focal point of everything is Tiger football.”

But the real compliments have come from opponents like Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd: “I’d rather face the lions in the Coliseum than the Tigers in Baton Rouge.”

LSU was founded in 1860 as the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, with the first superintendent Civil War commander William Tecumseh Sherman, who led the North’s advance on Atlanta. After the school was moved to Baton Rouge following the war, LSU was commonly referred to as “Ole War Skule,” along with “Old Lou,” but it wasn’t until 1893 that the first football game was played under the direction of Dr. Charles Coates, a 34-0 loss to Tulane. Like some other Southeastern Conference pioneers of the sport, Coates had attended Johns Hopkins University.

However, under the direction of coach A.P. Simmons, the 1895 team recorded the first of six prefect seasons, with LSU compiling a 3-0 record, with wins against Tulane (8-4), Centenary (16-6) and Alabama (12-6).

It’s believed that the baseball team was the first to adopt the school colors, fittingly from the region’s Mardi Gras celebrations. But the 1896 football team, which finished 6-0 under coach A.W. Jeardeau, was the first to adopt the Tigers nickname.

After stumbling along for a few years, with an impressive 5-1 record in 1901, 6-1 in 1902 (both under W.S. Borland), and 3-0 in 1905, things got a little more serious in 1907 under the guidance of coach Edgar R. Wingard. Not only did LSU play its first 10-game season (finishing 7-3), but it also became the first American college football team to play on foreign soil. The University of Havana was undefeated against service teams comprised of U.S. soldiers stationed in Cuba, and eager to test itself against a collegiate program. On Christmas Day at Almendares Park, LSU won 56-0 before 10,000 fans.

Led by G. Ellwood “Doc” Fenton,” who was nicknamed the “Kandy Kid,” the 1908 team posted LSU’s first consequential undefeated season when the Tigers finished 10-0. Fenton scored 125 points and the squad was dubbed the “Point a Minute Team” for scoring 442 points in 450 minutes of play, and named Southern Intercollegiate Association champions. Although LSU had already recorded four unbeaten seasons, and wouldn’t do so again for another 50 years, it was considered the first great team in school history.

After the 1918 season was cancelled due to World War I, Mike Donahue, who won three Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships at Auburn, brought stability to the program, guiding the Tigers from 1923 to 1927 and had only one losing season.

In 1928, athletic director T.P. “Skipper” Heard, who was also credited for making night football an LSU staple, heard that school president James Smith had proposed to use $250,000 to build new dormitories on campus. Instead, Heard convinced him to raise the stands on the east and west sides of the stadium and extend them to the end zones, with the dorm rooms underneath. It bumped the stadium capacity by 10,000.

The tradition of playing under the lights began on October 3, 1931, when LSU crushed Spring Hill 35-0. In addition to avoiding the heat and humidity, it was a way to give fans a better opportunity to see the Tigers play, evidenced by an attendance spike. From 1960 to 2004, LSU was 187-62-4 (.747) in night home games comparred to 16-21-3 (.438) during the day.

Coming off a 7-2-2 season under coach Lawrence M. “Biff” Jones, Bernie Moore, who would later become the second commissioner of the SEC, gave LSU fans their first significant taste of success. Although the 1935 season didn’t get off to a good start with a 10-7 home loss to Rice LSU rebounded by scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat Texas 18-6. The comebacker was led by freshman end Gaynell “Gus” Tinsley and quarterback “Miracle” Abe Mickal, who had connected on a last-ditch 65-yard touchdown pass to tie Southern Methodist the year before to set the Southern record for longest scoring pass ever.

A 7-2 victory in its SEC opener against Vanderbilt was followed by a 6-0 win against Auburn, and after defeating Mississippi State 28-13 the Tigers shut out their last thee opponents to finish the regular season 9-1. Consequently, LSU received its first bowl invitation, to face Texas Christian and Sammy Baugh in the Sugar Bowl.

Played in a downpour, the Tigers were able to score a safety when Tinsley forced an incompletion in the end zone (back then, it was automatic two points), but Baugh drove the Horned Frogs for a game-winning field goal and 3-2 victory.

LSU got off to a better start in 1936 by defeating Rice, 20-7, and tied Texas, 6-6. A 47-7 victory against Georgia served notice of LSU’s offensive prowess and the Tigers wound up leading the nation with 281 points while compiling a 9-0-1 record. Voted No. 2 in the national poll behind Minnesota, LSU returned to the Sugar Bowl, but Santa Clara, under the direction of coach Buck Shaw, jumped out to a 14-0 lead en route to a 21-14 upset.

The two teams rematched a year later, with LSU posting similar offensive numbers despite a 7-6 loss to Vanderbilt. Again, the Broncos scored early and held on, holding the Tigers scoreless for the first time in 50 games for a 6-0 result.

Moore wouldn’t return to the postseason until 1944, when during World War II the Tigers made the trip to play in the Orange Bowl despite a 5-3 record. Steve Van Buren threw for two touchdowns and had a 62-yard rushing touchdown to lead a 19-14 victory against Texas A&M. Van Buren’s 16th touchdown of the season stood as a school record until Charles Alexander scored 17 in 1977.

Led by quarterback Y.A. Tittle, only a 26-7 loss to Georgia Tech kept LSU from tying for the SEC title in 1946, but the Tigers still managed to land in the Cotton Bowl to face Arkansas and All-American Clyde Scott. With the game played in frigid conditions (fans lit fires in stands so they could stay and watch), and nicknamed the “Ice Bowl,” LSU had an advantage of 271 to 54 in total yards and 15-1 in first downs. But neither team could reach an end zone resulting in a lackluster 0-0 tie.

“I’d rather face the lions in the Coliseum than the Tigers in Baton Rouge.” Bobby Dodd

Tinsley took over the program in 1948, going 3-7 his inaugural season, but brought about numerous changes the following year. Among them, the coach and Corbett devised a new numbering system, with the first letter of the position preceding a single digit. For example, a center could wear “C-4.” Although the “Gobo” yearbook predicted that the system “may revolutionize the football jersey manufacturing industry,” it flopped.

But the Tigers didn’t follow suit on the field, and following a 19-0 opening loss to Kentucky yielded more than seven points only once. The upstart squad was 8-1 when it returned to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl, but was overmatched against Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma Sooners, who, led by quarterback Darrell Royal, outgained the Tigers 286 yards to 38 on the ground for a 35-0 victory.

In 1955, LSU’s fortunes changed with the hiring of innovative coach Paul Dietzel, though it initially didn’t appear that way. After seasons of 3-5-2, 3-7, and 5-5, Corbett’s patience paid off handsomely in 1958.

With a lineup dominated by juniors and sophomores, Dietzel split his team into three units (Note: This was before teams were allowed unlimited substitutions). The White Team, led by Billy Cannon, played both offense and defense, and wore that color. The Go Team concentrated on offense and wore gold. The popular defensive unit was nicknamed the Chinese Bandits, borrowed from a “Terry and the Pirates” comic strip that referred to Chinese Bandits as the “most vicious people in the world.” Life magazine featured a photograph of the players all wearing Chinese masks.

When unranked LSU won at Rice, 26-6, and defeated Alabama 13-3 in Paul “Bear” Bryant’s coaching debut with the Crimson Tide, it started to shoot up the polls. After destroying Miami (41-0) and Kentucky (32-7), the Tigers were No. 3 to set up a homecoming showdown with Florida. In front of the first sellout at renovated Tigers Stadium (67,500), LSU held on for a 10-7 victory, and backed it up with a 14-0 win against No. 6 Ole Miss.

After surviving a 7-6 scare against Mississippi State, only bayou rival Tulane stood in the way of a national championship. LSU built up a 6-0 halftime lead, but inspired by Green Wave tailback Claude “Boo” Mason’s statement: “We’ll beat LSU because they’ll choke,” the Tigers scored 56 points in the final two quarters for an overwhelming 62-0 win, the most lopsided score in the series (since equaled in 1961 and 1965 by the exact same score).

With a 10-0 record and national title in tow, LSU accepted an invitation to play Clemson in the 25th annual Sugar Bowl. Although quarterback Warren Rabb fractured his hand during the first quarter, Chinese Bandit tackle Duane Leopard recovered a fumbled punt at the 11 to set up Cannon’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Mickey Mangham on a halfback option for the game’s only score and 7-0 victory.

LSU was riding an 18-game winning streak in 1959 when it’s most famous play happened on Halloween night against Ole Miss. Ahead 3-0 in the fourth quarter, the Rebels decided to punt on third-and-17 (which wasn’t uncommon then) at their own 42. Cannon fielded All-American Jake Gibbs’ punt on the bounce at the 11 and headed up the sideline, avoiding numerous would-be tacklers en route to the end zone for a dramatic 7-3 victory. Many believe it secured Cannon the Heisman Trophy. To this day, J.C. Politz’s radio call is still frequently overheard in Baton Rogue.

“I got a hand on him, but he just shook me off like a puppy,” said Gibbs, the last of seven defenders who were unable to bring Cannon down.

“Outside the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, many Cajuns consider Bill Cannon’s run the greatest event in state history,” Ole Miss coach John Vaught later said.

What most fans don’t remember from that game is that Cannon and Rabb stopped Ole Miss’ Doug Elmore at the 1 to save a touchdown. However, LSU subsequently lost at Tennessee, 14-13, after Dietzel went for a victory instead of settling for a tie, ending both the winning streak and hopes of defending the title.

“We came to win, not to tie,” Dietzel said. “If I had it to do over a hundred times, I would do the same thing.”

Ole Miss got even in the Sugar Bowl. Gibbs’ 43-yard touchdown pass to Cowboy Woodruff provided an insurmountable lead while the Tigers never crossed the Rebels’ 38-yard line for a 21-0 final. Undefeated Syracuse won the national title, but voters had Ole Miss second and LSU third. During his career, Cannon rushed for 1,867 yards on 359 carries and 19 touchdowns and led LSU to a 24-7 record, including a 19-game winning streak.

Incidentally, the 1959 season began another LSU tradition, the wearing of white jerseys at home. After the NCAA passed a rule in 1982 making all home teams wear dark jerseys, coach Gerry DiNardo personally lobbied each member of the rules committee to have it changed. When Nick Saban took over in 2000, he altered the tradition so LSU would wear purple for non-SEC home games except the home opener.

Dietzel’s last hurrah was the 1961 season, which started with a 16-3 setback to Rice. However, over the last nine games the Tigers allowed only 30 points, 14 by Kentucky in a 24-14 victory. After finishing 6-0 in SEC play, which made the Tigers co-conference champions with Alabama, LSU was paired against Colorado in the Orange Bowl. Except for a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown, LSU dominated. Charley White Cranford (6-yard run), Jimmy Field (9-yard run), and Gene Sykes (recovered blocked punt) scored touchdowns for a 25-7 victory and a 10-1 record.

“There are no office hours for champions,” Dietzel was credited with saying, along with, “The athletic field is very democratic. Each person is judged by personal merit rather than personal wealth or prestige.”

Bowl games became a regular of the program under coach Charlie McClendon — “Cholly Mac,” who had been a player and assistant for Bryant at Kentucky — beginning with the Cotton Bowl after a 8-1-1 season in 1962. Led by All-Americans Fred Miller and Jerry Stoval, the defensively-potent Tigers, which gave up only 34 points all season, recorded a shutout against Texas. Field scored a 22-yard touchdown and Lynn Amedee made field goals of 23 and 37 yards for a 13-0 victory.

Injuries took their toll on the 1963 team, and following losses to both Ole Miss (37-3) and Mississippi State (7-6), the Tigers limped into the Bluebonnet Bowl with a 7-3 record. But with quarterback Don Trull completing 26 of 37 passes in frigid conditions, Baylor amassed 430 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 14-7 victory.

LSU met Ole Miss on Halloween again in 1964, when Billy Ezell connected with Doug Moreau on a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter for a 11-10 victory. But a 17-9 loss to Alabama knocked the Tigers out of contention for the SEC title, followed by a 20-6 season-ending loss to Florida. Against Syracuse in the Sugar Bowl, George Rice caught Floyd Little in the end zone for an early safety, Ezell threw a 57-yard touchdown to Moreau, and Moreau completed the scoring with a 28-yard field goal for a 13-10 victory.

The Tigers matched the eight-win season in 1965 when they were invited to play heavily-favored No. 2 Arkansas, which was riding a 22-game winning streak. On their second possession, the Razorbacks drove 87 yards to take the lead, but running back Joe Labruzzo countered by scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter. Sealed by Jerry Joseph’s late interception, LSU held on for a 14-7 win. With No. 1 Michigan State losing to UCLA 14-12 in the Rose Bowl, the loss cost Arkansas a chance at the national championship, secured by No. 4 Alabama with a 39-28 victory against No. 3 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

“Baton Rouge happens to be the worst place in the world to be a visiting team,” Alabama’s Bryant once said. “It’s a dugout arena, and you get all of that noise. It’s like being inside a drum.”

After missing the postseason in 1966 due to a 5-4-1 record, LSU returned to the Sugar Bowl the following year, where it was paired against unbeaten Wyoming. Nelson Stokley threw two touchdown passes to Tommy Morel and sophomore Glenn Smith came off the bench to be named game MVP of the 20-13 victory. In similar fashion, the 1968 season was also rather erratic, culminating with a 31-29 victory against Florida State in the Peach Bowl. Although Bill Cappleman attempted 41 passes and scored three touchdowns (two to Ron Sellers), Tommy Morel’s late reception set up Maruice LeBlanc’s game-winning 2-yard touchdown run.

When Archie Manning and Ole Miss left LSU three points shy of a perfect season in 1969, and missed a chance to play Texas for the national championship in the Cotton Bowl, 9-1 LSU turned down its bowl invitation. A shot at immediate redemption was quickly dismissed when the Tigers opened the 1970 season with a 20-18 home loss to Texas A&M.

But LSU rallied to win seven straight, including 17-9 against future Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan and No. 6 Auburn, and 14-9 against Alabama, before suffering a 3-0 setback against Ara Parseghian’s Notre Dame team led by quarterback Joe Theismann. Still, the Tigers got Manning, who was sporting a cast due to a broken arm, and Ole Miss at Death Valley with the SEC championship on the line. Tommy Casanova and Craig Burns combined to return three punts for touchdowns and Ronnie Estay caught Manning for a safety in the 61-17 victory.

LSU (8-3) was rewarded by playing in the game to determine the national champion, but not in its favor. Buddy Lee’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Al Coffee gave the Tigers a two-point lead after three quarters in the Orange Bowl, only to see No. 3 Nebraska drive 67 yards with Jerry Tagge leaping over the top for the winning touchdown and subsequent title.

“Be as positive as you can to everyone you meet and they’ll always think you’re a winner,” McClendon said. Two other popular McClendon-isms were: “There is no single ‘best’ way to do something in football,” and, “The worst mistake any coach can make is not being himself.”

In 1971, LSU got a chance for some revenge with Notre Dame and didn’t squander the opportunity. With three goal-line stands, the first of which saw Louis Cascio and Ronnie Estay stonewall Andy Huff, the Tigers won 28-8. The victory helped project LSU into the Sun Bowl, where quarterback Bert Jones completed 12 of 18 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, including one to his cousin Andy Hamilton, and ran in another touchdown for a 33-15 victory against Iowa State. The Tigers finished 9-3.

Some fans refer to November 4, 1972 as the day when time stood still ... literally. Supposedly, there were four seconds on the clock when Jones dropped back, pump-faked and then threw a pass for an incompletion against Ole Miss. After all that, one second still showed on the clock, when Jones connected with running back Brad Davis in the corner of the end zone and Rusty Jackson made the extra-point attempt for a 17-16 victory. It prompted a Rebels fan to post a sign at the state border: “You are now entering Louisiana. Set your clocks back four seconds.”

LSU (9-1-1) went on to face Tennessee, which it did not play during the regular season, in an all-SEC Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. Volunteers quarterback Condredge Holloway ran in two scores and threw for another to help give the Volunteers a 24-3 halftime lead. With Jones and Brad Davis scoring touchdowns, the Tigers came back to make it close only to have their last-ditch effort fall short when Jones’ final pass was deflected at the Tennessee 10 with less than two minutes to play. Tennessee won 24-17.

McClendon’s last good opportunity to win the SEC championship came in 1973, only to see an undefeated season derailed by Alabama, 21-7, followed by a disappointing regular season-ending 14-0 loss at Tulane. Despite scoring on the first series of the game and limiting Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti to just 50 yards, LSU wasn’t able to emotionally recover in time for the Orange Bowl, won by Penn State, 16-9.

During McClendon’s last three seasons from 1977 to 1979, the Tigers played in the Sun, Liberty and Tangerine bowls, losing the first two (24-14 to Stanford, and 20-15 to Missouri despite 133 rushing yards on 24 carries from All-American tailback Charles Alexander, respectively), but crushed Wake Forest 34-10 in the final sendoff. LSU’s all-time winningest coach with 135 victories, was fired because he couldn’t beat Bryant, who won six national championships at Alabama, prompting Auburn coach Shug Jordan to say: “You go by that and they’ll have to fire us all.”

“In football, and in life, you’ve got to keep proving yourself,” McClendon said. “If you’re looking back, you’re in trouble.”

After a lengthy coaching search, 34-year-old Bo Rein, who had just finished 7-4 at North Carolina State, was hired, but died before he could coach a single game for the Tigers. While on a recruiting trip to Shreveport, controllers lost contact with his small plane and sent military fighters to try to intercept it over North Carolina, approximately a thousand miles off course. Similar to when professional golfer Payne Stewart and five others died 20 years later, it was speculated that depressurization caused the deaths of everyone on board, long before their plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Their bodies were never recovered.

The following day, Jerry Stovall took the reigns. He needed three seasons to return the Tigers to the postseason, earning national coach of the year honors in the process. Coming off a 3-7-1 season, LSU opened the 1982 season with a 45-7 victory against Oregon State, only to eventually see a 24-24 tie to Tennessee and 27-24 upset at Mississippi State knock it out of contention for the SEC championship (won by Georgia). Against No. 3 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, two Dalton Hilliard touchdown runs had LSU leading 17-7 late in the third quarter and thinking upset. But the Cornhuskers countered with two late touchdowns of their own to pull off a 21-20 heartbreaker.

Bill Arnsparger had Tigers fans quickly thinking titles again when he was hired in 1984, and in his first year led LSU to within a whisker of the SEC title captured by Florida (which LSU tied in the season opener), only to be foiled by Mississippi State, 16-14. At 8-2-1, the Sugar Bowl set up a rematch with heavily-favored Nebraska. Hilliard, who was limited by the flu, scored a touchdown for a 10-0 lead, but the Cornhuskers scored three second-half touchdowns for a 28-10 victory.

Despite following the initial campaign with back-to-back nine-win seasons, Arnsparger wasn’t able to get a bowl victory or the elusive tenth win. In 1985, Norman Jefferson’s 79-yard punt return sparked Baylor, which behind 489 yards of total offense won 21-7. However, in 1986, even after the Tigers were shocked by the coaches’ alma mater, Miami of Ohio, 21-12, in Week 2, he was able to win the SEC championship. Led by freshman quarterback Tommy Hodson, the Tigers won at Florida (28-17) and defeated Georgia (23-14) to vault to the top of the conference standings. Ole Miss pulled off its first win at Death Valley since Archie Manning’s sophomore season of 1968, 21-19, but LSU responded by winning a crucial game at Alabama, 14-10, and crushed Mississippi State 47-0 to lock up at least a share of the title.

“You can accomplish a lot if you don’t worry about who gets the credit,” Arnsparger said.

LSU closed the season with victories against Notre Dame and Tulane, but it wasn't until Auburn upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl that the Tigers’ first championship since 1970 was secured. With Arnsparger having already accepted a promotion to athletic director, they faced Nebraska once again, in similar fashion were rebuffed by the No. 6 Cornhuskers in the Sugar Bowl, 30-15.

Although Mike Archer’s team finished 10-1-1 in 1987, a 22-10 loss to Alabama left the Tigers second behind Auburn in the SEC chase. Against future conference opponent South Carolina in the Gator Bowl, Wendall Davis caught nine passes from Hodson for 132 yards and three touchdowns to lead a 30-13 victory.

The 1988 season got off an unusual start against Texas A&M, when the stadium lights suddenly went out in the middle of an Aggie drive. After power was restored, the possession was eventually stopped at the LSU 2, with the 27-0 victory inspiring the nickname: “The Lights Out Defense.”

LSU recorded its first victory in Knoxville with a 34-9 rout before losing a close game at Ohio State (36-33), and at Florida (19-6). The conference title would come down to a showdown against No. 4 Auburn, and when tailback Eddie Fuller caught a late touchdown pass in the back of the end zone from Hodson for a 7-6 victory, LSU went on to win its second SEC title in three years. The Tigers split their final two regular season games, losing 44-3 to Miami and defeated Tulane 44-14, before playing Syracuse in the Hall of Fame Bowl. While Hodson had three passes intercepted, halfback Robert Drummond accumulated 123 rushing yards on 23 carries to lead a 23-10 victory.

Little did LSU fans know at the time, the program was about to experience a significant dip. From 1989 to 1994, the Tigers never won more than three conference games in compiling six straight losing seasons until DiNardo was hired away from Vanderbilt in 1995.

His first season (7-4-1) was capped by a 45-26 victory against Michigan State in the Independence Bowl in nearly Shreveport, La. Both teams had a kickoff return for a touchdown, the Tigers’ by Eddie Kennison, and a 51-yard touchdown run by running back Kevin Faulk pulled LSU to within 24-21 at the half. But keyed by end Gabe Northern’s 37-yard fumble return for a touchdown, the Tigers scored 24 unanswered points and in the process set 11 bowl records.

LSU was able to tie Alabama atop the Western Division standings in 1996, but due to a 26-0 loss in Baton Rouge, the No. 10 Crimson Tide advanced to the SEC Championship Game (and lost to No. 1 Florida, LSU’s other regular-season defeat). Against Clemson in the Peach Bowl, Faulk capped an 80-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown and Aaron Adams blocked a potentially game-tying 52-yard field goal attempt for a 10-7 victory, 10-2 record, and No. 12 finish.

The 1997 season brought another LSU milestone with Raion Hill’s interception sealing a 28-21 upset of Florida, marking the first time the Tigers beat a team ranked No. 1. However, after being bumped up to No. 8, LSU lost the following Saturday, 36-21 to Ole Miss, which proved to be costly. Having already lost to No. 12 Auburn earlier in the season, Auburn only had to tie LSU in the standings to advance to the SEC Championship Game (where it lost 30-29 to Tennessee).

A return to the Independence Bowl would be DiNardo’s swan song, but against a prize program, Notre Dame. Rondell Mealey’s 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns avenged a 24-6 loss during the regular season, and gave LSU both a 27-9 victory and 9-3 record.

When Saban was hired away from Michigan State in 2000, it had been more than a decade since LSU’s last SEC championship, and the team was coming off a lackluster 3-8 season. Upon making the announcement that he would be hired with a salary of $1.2 million, five times that of the university’s top official, LSU chancellor (and future NCA president) Mark Emmert said: “Simply put, success in LSU football is essential for the success of Louisiana State University.”

The Tigers finished Saban’s first year at 8-4, capped by a 28-14 win in the Peach Bowl after quarterback Rohan Davey came off the bench to pass for 174 yards and three touchdowns to lead a come-from-behind victory.

Saban’s second season didn’t get off to a favorable start when the SEC opener against Auburn had to be postponed in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Instead, the Tigers played their first conference game at Tennessee, and lost 26-18. That was followed by a 44-15 defeat to Florida in the home opener and a 35-24 loss to Ole Miss.

However, with Davey passing for 528 yards and Josh Reed making 19 receptions for 293 yards, LSU won at Alabama, 35-21. With a 41-38 home victory against Arkansas, the Western Division title came down to the rescheduled game against Auburn. LSU won handily, 27-14, for a rematch with Tennessee in Atlanta. Even though Davey and running back LaBrandon Toefield both sustained injuries, backup quarterback Matt Mauck and the defense pulled of a shocking 31-20 upset, costing the Volunteers a chance to play Miami for the national championship in the Rose Bowl.

“I’d like to be there when the BCS [Bowl Championship Series] tries to sort this one out,” Reed said.

Back in the Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1986, LSU celebrated its first win there since 1968 with a 47-34 victory against No. 7 Illinois. Davey passed for 444 yards to be named the game MVP, Reed caught 14 passes for 239 yards, and running back Domanick Davis accumulated 122 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

LSU had to regroup a bit in 2002, but still enjoyed the dramatic “Bluegrass Miracle.” Down 30-27 at Kentucky on November 9, the Tigers had the ball at their own 13 with just 11 seconds remaining. As thousands of Wildcat fans prepared to storm the field, LSU completed a 12-yard pass. Already the UK players had doused their coach with Gatorade, and when quarterback Marcus Randall uncorked a Hail Mary pass downfield fireworks shot out of the scoreboard while the east end zone was stormed and the goalpost attacked.

Meanwhile, the pass deflected off three Kentucky players before wide receiver Devery Henderson caught it inside the 20, avoided a tackle and ran into the end zone for the absolutely stunning victory. Asked one student already standing on the crossbar to another, “Did we just lose this game?”

After winning six straight, LSU lost three of its final five regular-season games and to Texas 35-20 in the Cotton Bowl for an 8-5 finish. Despite LSU’s advantage of 187 yards of offense to zero at the end of the first quarter, and a second quarter lead of 17-7 after Davis scored a 10-yard touchdown, the Longhorns closed the half with two touchdowns and take a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished.

“The brook trout look _ we’ve got it and we’ve got to get rid of it,” Saban said of the losing performance.

Fans weren’t sure what to expect in 2003, and neither were those voting in the national polls with the Tigers the preseason No. 15 team. But when they built up a 38-0 halftime lead at Arizona and finished with 481 total yards for a 59-13 Week 2 victory , expectations began to rise. It set up an early test for No. 10 LSU against No. 7 Georgia, and despite a 93-yard touchdown pass from David Greene to Tyson Browning on a screen, Skyler Green’s late touchdown provided a 17-10 victory, the Tigers’ first against the Bulldogs in 13 years.

A 19-7 loss at Florida proved to be only a minor setback, for the following week running backs Justin Vincent, Alley Broussard and Barrington Edwards combined for 263 rushing yards while the defense limited South Carolina to a net total of zero, for a 33-7 victory. From there, the Tigers rolled. Against Auburn, LSU scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and went on to a 31-7 win. It easily won at Alabama, 27-3, to set up a showdown with Ole Miss for the division title, and edged the Eli Manning-led Rebels, 17-14. With only Arkansas in the way of the SEC Championship Game, LSU pounded out a 55-24 victory.

Heading into its rematch with Georgia, LSU was third in the Bowl Championship Series standings behind Southern California and Oklahoma, and looking at possibly being on the outside of the national championship game. However, when the Tigers blasted the Bulldogs 34-13, with Justin Vincent recording 201 rushing yards and scoring on an 87-yard run, and Oklahoma lost to Kansas 35-7 in the Big XII title game, it left all three teams with one loss in limbo on which two would play in the Sugar Bowl for the title. The controversial paring was LSU vs. Oklahoma, featuring the nation’s best defense against the top offense.

Despite Mauck fumbling away the first possession at the Sooners’ 1-yard line, LSU dictated the tempo from the start. The Tigers sacked Heisman Trophy quarterback Jason White five times and limited the Sooners to just 154 yards. End Marcus Spears returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown and cornerback Corey Webster set up a touchdown with his interception. Vincent, who had a 64-yard gain on the first snap of the game, finished with 117 rushing yards and one touchdown as the Tigers never trailed. Oklahoma’s last chance ended with linebacker Lionel Turner’s 10-yard sack, to secure the 21-14 victory.

Although the coaches’ poll would vote Southern California No. 1, under the BCS system LSU was automatically presented with the national championship trophy, and later Saban was named Coach of the Year. USC and LSU would finally meet, but not of the playing field. Instead it was in the East Room of the White House, part of Champions Day with President George W. Bush.

The 2004 Tigers weren’t quite able to equal the championship season, finishing 9-3 after winding up on the losing end in one of the most dramatic bowl games ever played. After LSU erased a 12-point deficit over the final eight minutes of the Capital One Bowl, No. 11 Iowa pulled off a surprising come-from-behind victory thanks Drew Tate’s last-second 56-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway, with the receiver knifing his way through the secondary en route to the end zone and 30-25 victory.

It turned out to be Saban’s last game at LSU. After just four years, and a 48-16 record, he accepted the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins. But Saban left a roster full of talent for Les Miles, who was hired away from Oklahoma State, and despite massive destruction to the region from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the Tigers still managed to reach the SEC Championship Game.

“What’s the toughest thing about being great? It’s overcoming being good,” Saban said.

Post-Saban, LSU had three great teams in the years to follow, including two national champions. However, its fans were absolutely horrified in 2007 when the man who had brought them to new heights came back to not only college football, but the SEC West. Saban at Alabama would haunt the Tigers for nearly two decades.

Many of the subsequent "Saban Bowl" matchups could only be described as epic, featuring some of the best games played in that era, and in two of the best settings in college football. Round 1 went to LSU, barely, 41-34, and the Tigers subsequently went on to win the national title by topping Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game in New Orleans, 38-24.

But then Saban got the Crimson Tide going. His first return to Baton Rogue ended in overtime with Alabama escaping with a 27-21 victory. Alabama went on to reach the 2008 SEC Championship Game. The following year it won in Tuscaloosa and went on to win the national title.

In 2011, the teams were on a collision course again, ranked No. 1 and 2 for a Game of the Century at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It too went to overtime before the Tigers eked out a 9-6 victory that had Tigers fans thinking not only another national championship, but the team was being heralded as being maybe the best in college football history.

Only Alabama wasn't done yet. Having only dropped to No. 4 in the rankings with three weeks remaining in the regular season it needed to win out and get a little help, especially since LSU was blocking it from reaching the SEC Championship Game. It got it as the only team separating the two teams in the rankings, and the only ones that could surpass Alabama with a conference championship win, all lost.

The rematch was set, Alabama vs. LSU in the Louisiana Superdome. Even though the game was played in Baton Rouge's backyard, it was all Alabama. While the Tigers struggled to even cross midfield, the Crimson Tide connected on five field goals and then scored the only touchdown in regulation during the two meetings, for the 21-0 victory. (Note: Many credit the rematch as being the key impetus to college football going from the two-team BCS title game, to the four-team College Football Playoff that started in 2014).

Alabama repeated in 2012, and Saban captured three more national championships with the Crimson Tide (six total) for a dynasty unparalleled in college football history. However, not even he could derail LSU's 2019 team of destiny.

On September 25, 2016, LSU fired Miles after a 2-2 start, and promoted line coach Ed Orgeron. While scandals continued to follow Miles and eventually end his coaching career at Kansas, Orgeron went 6-2 the rest of the 2016 season, 9-4 in 2017 and 10-3 in 2018. With Joe Burrow at quarterback, prolific wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire executing coordinator Matt Canada's shift-friendly offense, the 2019 Tigers set NCAA records for points scored and offensive yards in a season.

En route to a 15-0 season, LSU won another No. 1 vs. No. 2 matching at Alabama, 46-41, topped No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, destroyed Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl semifinal of the College Football Playoff, and then ended Clemson's 29-game winning streak in the title game, 42-25. Burrow accounted for all but 107 of LSU’s 628 yards of total offense and scored six touchdowns, five in the air at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and then smoked a cigar in celebration of the championship.

"That's what it's all about," said Orgeron, who following a 'mutual agreement' with the school stepped down as head coach after a 3-3 start in 2021, paving the way for LSU to pry Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame with a 10-year, $95 million contract. "I grew up wanting to be the head coach of LSU."

This is the sixth part of an extended series about the history of SEC football. Some of the material was used in the book "Where Football is King," by Christopher Walsh

Three things that stand out about LSU football

1. Mike the Tiger