The Ohio State Buckeyes lost their second straight shot at a national football championship title Monday night. Second ranked LSU defeated Ohio State 38 to 24 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
In Columbus, thousands watched at sports bars and restaurants. It was only the fourth play of the game when the crowd at Champs, just west of the Ohio State University campus, burst into thundering applause.
Beanie Wells ran 65 yards for a touchdown. It was the same strong start that marked the beginning of last year's championship game against Florida. By the end of the first quarter, Buckeye fan John Parsons said he was "cautiously optimistic."
"I think we did really well," Parsons says. "We're controlling the line of scrimmage. I'm happy that Beanie's gotten off to a good start. I think we need to control the clock a little bit more and hopefully avoid any costly turnovers. As long as our defense continues to play well we're going to be okay."
But by the end of the second quarter it was obvious Ohio State was in trouble. The Tigers' Jacob Hester had a touchdown run that put LSU ahead 24 to 10 just before halftime.
"Let's hope they pull this thing out," Chad Fais said. "It's going to be tough, though."
During the halftime break, Fais could read the writing on the wall.
"We start off kind of well; kind of reminds me of deja vu from last year because we score in the first few minutes of the game," Fais said. "But I think LSU is just dominant on both sides of the ball. I really just feel that if things don't dramatically change this could be a three or four touchdown victory for LSU," he said.
Fais's prediction was disappointingly close. LSU scored 31 straight points to take a 31 to 10 lead. Ohio State would score again, but the Buckeyes were plagued by penalties, missed tackles, and a blocked kick. The game ended 38 to 24.
Todd Boeckman threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns but also had a pair of interceptions. Wells had 146 yards on 20 carries.
"Well tonight I think we got outplayed. But maybe there's next year," said Lou Blackford.
Most of the crowd had drifted away toward the end of the fourth quarter, but Blackford stayed with a large group of friends until the bitter end.
"It's always fun to watch the Buckeyes," Blackford said. "They can't always win but it sure would be nice to win one of those championship games. But we're always Buckeye fans.