JaMarcus Russell threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns and Keiland Williams rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns as the LSU Tigers defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 41-14, to capture the Sugar Bowl title.
Things started going LSU's way as early as the first drive of the game. After forcing Notre Dame to go three-and-out, the Fighting Irish sent the punting unit onto the field on 4th and 3 inside their own territory. Notre Dame faked the punt and tried to run for the first down, but could not convert. LSU took over at the Notre Dame 35-yard line. Two plays later, and the Tigers led 7-0. Russell completed a 31-yard pass to Early Doucet on the first place, and Williams followed it up with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Notre Dame then ran five plays on their next possesion and were forced to punt. There was no trickery this time. Russell took LSU down the field on an eight-play, 90-yard drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Russell to Dwayne Bowe, giving LSU a 14-0 lead. Russell went 4-for-5 on the drive and accounted for 59 of the team's 90 yards, rushing for 21 yards on one play and throwing for 38 overall.
The Fighting Irish showed signs of life, however, in the second quarter. After a shaky start, Brady Quinn led Notre Dame 80 yards down the field and finished off the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to David Grimes. This cut the deficit to seven, 14-7 being the score.
All of the momentum appeared to be on Notre Dame's side when Terrail Lambert forced Russell to fumble on a sack on LSU's next possession. The Irish recovered at the LSU 34-yard line. However, after they only gained five yards on the drive, Carl Gioia missed a 34-yard field goal, and Notre Dame squandered great field position and a chance to either tie the game or cut the lead to four.
Notre Dame would come back, though. After making LSU go three-and-out, Darius Walker fueled an eight-play, 86-yard drive leading to a 10-yard touchdown toss from Quinn to Jeff Samardzija. Walker rushed for 53 yards during the drive. The score was now tied at 14.
But, much to the dismay of the Fighting Irish, Russell would again take the Tigers down the field on a five-play, 82 yard drive highlighted by a 58-yard pass from Russell to Doucet. Russell then ran five yards into the end-zone, putting LSU up 21-14 going into the half.
After a close first half, LSU took over in the last 30 minutes, out-gaining Notre Dame 330 yards to 30. Colt David got things started by kicking two field goals in the third quarter, giving LSU a 27-14 advantage. Things got out of hand quickly after that, as Russell threw a 58-yard touchdown bomb to Brandon LaFell, making the score 34-14 and essentially putting the game out of reach with 18 seconds to play in the third. Williams then put the icing on the cake with a 20-yard touchdown scamper with 4:17 to play in the fourth quarter, extending LSU's lead to 41-14.
The suffering of Notre Dame's offense in the second half was due much in part to poor quarterback play, as Quinn completed only 42.9% of his passes (15-35) in the game and threw for under 30 yards and an interception in the second half.
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