LSU leaves Tennessee, BCS in disarray


ATLANTA (AP) -- Tennessee isn't going to the Rose Bowl. The Bowl Championship Series is a mess. All because of a guy who couldn't make it as a baseball player.

How appropriate in this season of upsets.

Backup quarterback Matt Mauck, who returned to football after three nondescript years in the minor leagues, ran for two touchdowns and guided Louisiana State to a 31-20 victory over second-ranked Tennessee on Saturday night.

The Tigers (9-3; No. 20 ESPN/USA Today; No. 21 Associated Press) won their first Southeastern Conference championship since 1988, but this game was more about what they denied the Vols: a chance to play top-ranked Miami in the Rose Bowl for the national title.

"I can't believe it," said Tennessee's star running back, Travis Stephens. "We just didn't do the job."

Just one week after upsetting Florida at The Swamp, the Volunteers (10-2) know they will have to settle for the Orange, at best, or more likely the Citrus.

"Our team fought hard to get here," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We had five huge road wins but we weren't able to pull this one out. You cannot expect to win a championship game with as many opportunities as we missed."

Instead, it was LSU that won the title after losing two of its offensive stars in the first half. Quarterback Rohan Davey went out with bruised ribs and running back LaBrandon Toefield hurt his left knee.

Mauck, a 22-year-old freshman who spent three years as a catcher in the Chicago Cubs' organization, put LSU ahead for good with a 13-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter. He also scored LSU's first touchdown on a 4-yard run.

Asked how well he hit in the minors, Mauck smiled. "Not very much," he said. "That's why I'm here."

Toefield's backup, Domanick Davis, finished off the Vols by diving over the top on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 2:26 remaining.

So, who will go to Pasadena to face top-ranked Miami? Nebraska was next in the BCS standings, despite a 62-36 loss to Colorado in its last game.

Simply put, the computers will decide. Oregon and Colorado are hoping to slide into the second spot. No matter what happens, there's sure to be plenty of controversy.

Tennessee could have made things a little easier on the BCS by winning. But the Vols lost two fumbles, kept getting penalized at crucial times and let a couple of backups spoil their season.

"Everybody believed in each other," LSU coach Nick Saban said. "Matt and Domanick did an outstanding job taking the place of two outstanding players in a crucial game. I couldn't be happier with the way they came through."

LSU earns a spot in the Sugar Bowl against No. 8 Illinois with the final surprise in a regular season that ended a week later than expected because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Nebraska, Florida and Texas all fell by the wayside in recent weeks. Now, Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch and the Cornhuskers might be back in the picture, getting a chance to play for the national title when they didn't even win their own division in the Big 12 Conference.

After falling behind 17-7, LSU held the Vols to a field goal in the second half.

Stephens, who rushed for a career-high 226 yards in the upset of Florida, managed just 37 yards on 14 carries. He also had a crucial fumble that led to Mauck's go-ahead touchdown.

"Last week didn't mean anything tonight," Stephens said. "If we had won tonight, then last week would have meant something."

Kelley Washington had six catches for 103 yards in the first half but just three for 37 yards over the final two quarters.

Down 24-20, the Vols had a chance after a short punt gave them the ball near midfield. Casey Clausen completed a 17-yard pass over the middle to Donte Stallworth, but Demetrius Hookfin stripped the ball and Ryan Clark recovered the fumble for LSU.

LSU then drove 65 yards for the clinching score. Appropriately, Mauck and Davis did all the running for the Tigers, while the Vols made two more critical mistakes.

Julian Battle had an interception right in his hands but couldn't hang on. Rashad Baker tripped up LSU's star receiver, Josh Reed, and was penalized for interference.

Toefield, who tied an SEC record with 19 rushing touchdowns, gained just 18 yards before going out. In relief, Davis ran for 78 yards and Mauck contributed 43 yards on the ground, usually taking off from the shotgun. Mauck completed just five of 15 passes for 67 yards, but was named the game's most valuable player.

"I was very nervous at the beginning," Mauck said. "But after I got in the flow, I felt OK."

Tennessee's last hope ended when Stallworth, trying desperately to pick up a first down, was dragged down by four tacklers at midfield with a minute to go.

On LSU's second possession, Davey was leveled by Tennessee linebacker Keyon Whiteside at the end of a 2-yard run. The quarterback appeared to be out of bounds when Whiteside drove his helmet into Davey's left ribs, but no penalty was called.

After several minutes on the turf, Davey finally managed to walk slowly to the locker room for X-rays. Nothing was broken, and he returned to the field for LSU's next series.

In the meantime, Mauck guided the Tigers to the end zone, taking advantage of three Tennessee penalties. The Vols were twice called for being offsides on incomplete passes, and a flag was thrown for pass interference when Reed was tripped up near the goal line by Baker, an omen of things to come.

Davey took another shot in the ribs just before the end of the first half and didn't return. That brought on Mauck, who had played only two games and thrown just 26 passes in his career.

For a while, it seemed as though things would work out for Tennessee, which wiped out an early 7-0 deficit with 17 consecutive points in the second quarter.

Clausen threw a perfectly placed pass to Washington for a 31-yard touchdown with 9:04 left in the half. The quarterback simply threw to the goal line and Washington ran under the ball at the left pylon without breaking stride.

The Clausen-to-Washington combination worked again on Tennessee's next possession, this time for 47 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown pass to fullback Troy Fleming.

Hoping to turn the momentum, Saban gambled on fourth-and-inches at the Tigers 22. The plan backfired when Davey, attempting a sneak, fumbled the snap and was wrapped up by Demetrin Veal for no gain.

Tennessee actually went backward -- Clausen was called for intentional grounding -- but Alex Walls equaled the longest field goal of his career when he connected from 51 yards.

LSU got to 17-10 at halftime when John Corbello made a 45-yard field goal. In the third quarter, he hit from 47 and 45 yards to pull the Tigers to 17-16.

Reed and Stephens both set records.

Reed had four catches for 60 yards, giving him 3,001 in his career. He broke the SEC mark of 2,964, set by Boo Williams of Vanderbilt from 1985-88.

Stephens wound up with 1,464 yards for the season, eclipsing Jay Graham's 6-year-old school record of 1,438.