2008 BCS National Championship Game
| 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 7, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Louisiana Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense: QB Matt Flynn (LSU) Defense: DE Ricky Jean-Francois (LSU) |
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| Favorite | LSU by 5½ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Preservation Hall Jazz Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jon Bible (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Allstate Alumni Kicker Challenge, Ohio State's marching band, LSU's Marching band |
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| Attendance | 79,651 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$17,500,000 per team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | FOX | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Chris Myers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 14.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the No. 1 and No. 2 college football teams in the United States as determined by the BCS Poll (a combination of polls and computer formulas) to decide the BCS National Championship for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The game featured No. 1 Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes hosting No. 2 SEC champion LSU Tigers. It also featured the second postseason matchup between head coaches Jim Tressel and Les Miles in five years. The first occurrence was the 2004 Alamo Bowl, when Tressel's Buckeyes defeated Miles' Oklahoma State Cowboys, 33–7.
Prior to the last weekend of the regular season, it looked like the national championship game would be played between Missouri and West Virginia. However, Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game and West Virginia was shocked by their arch-rival Pitt in the Backyard Brawl. This threw the BCS and college football world into upheaval. By virtue of winning the Big Ten and having only one loss, Ohio State looked to be guaranteed a berth in the BCS championship game. After much speculation, LSU was revealed to be the number two team in the ratings, and therefore the Buckeyes' opponent in the title game.
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