The Tigers set a school record with 12 victories this season...and hope for an opportunity at number 13 in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4, 2004

Twice As Sweet: Vincent, Defense Lead Tigers to SEC Title
12/06/03

ATLANTA -- Freshman running back Justin Vincent set a Southeastern Conference Championship Game record with 201 rushing yards including an 87-yard touchdown run to lead the No. 3-ranked LSU Tigers (12-1) to a 34-13 victory over No. 5 Georgia (10-3) in front of a championship game record 74,913 in the Georgia Dome.

Vincent, who became the seventh player in school history to rush for more than 200 yards, was unanimously named the game's Most Outstanding Player. He carried 18 times with two touchdowns, and broke the record of 169 yards set by Florida's Ernest Graham in 2000.

The victory game head coach Nick Saban's Tigers their second SEC Championship in three seasons and may vault LSU ahead of No. 1 Oklahoma (lost to Kansas State, 35-7) and No. 2 USC (won against Oregon State, 52-28) for its first No. 1 ranking since 1959.

A teleconference will be held on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, in Baton Rouge to announce the Tigers' postseason fate. Live streaming audio from the teleconference will be available on LSUsports.net at a time to be determined.

An announcement on postseason bowl tickets will be made late on Sunday once the Tigers know their destination.

The Tigers, looking to impress the computers and pollsters who ultimately control the Bowl Championship Series, outgained Georgia 444-249 and dominated the line of scrimmage defensively for most of the game. LSU rushed for 293 yards, its best output since amassing 400 against Kentucky in 1997.

Quarterback Matt Mauck was 14-of-22 for 151 yards including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Michael Clayton. He was intercepted once. Clayton led the Tigers five catches for 81 yards.

In spite of two missed extra points and a blocked field goal, LSU tacked on field goals of 35 and 22 yards backup Ryan Gaudet and a safety by Alley Broussard after a muffed punt snap by Georgia.

Georgia starting quarterback David Greene completed only 17-of-41 passes for 199 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown. One of Greene's interceptions was returned 18 yards for a touchdown by LSU linebacker Lionel Turner.

The Bulldogs rushed 25 times for 50 yards including six sacks for minus-53 yards.

LSU, the home team based on conference record, won the toss and elected to defer its decision until the second half. Georgia took the ball and defended the East endzone.

Georgia picked up a first down deep in its own territory before runningback Kregg Lumpkin missed what would have been a huge gain into LSU territory. Greene found Lumpkin behind the LSU linebackers, but the freshman from Lithonia, Ga., dropped the ball at the Georgia 40 with at least 20 additional yards of open space ahead of him.

LSU's Green took the Georgia punt 11 yards to the Georgia 46-yard line, however, the Tigers were forced to attempt a long field goal. Freshman placekicker Chris Jackson's 48-yard attempt was blocked by free safety Sean Jones and returned 38 yards to the LSU 31 by linebacker Tony Taylor.

On the next play from scrimmage, Greene's underthrown pass in the direction of a double-covered tight end Ben Watson was intercepted by freshman safety LaRon Landry at the LSU 8-yard line.

Neither the Tigers nor the Bulldogs were able to pick up a first down on consecutive possessions, and each were forced to punt after sacks by Georgia defensive end David Pollack and LSU's Marquise Hill.

Georgia punted the ball to the LSU 13-yard line, where the Tigers were able to strike first. On first down, Vincent ran 87 yards around the right side for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead. Despite Jackson's first missed extra point in his LSU career (21 straight entering the game), the third-longest touchdown run in school history and the longest in SEC Championship game history gave LSU the momentum with 4:49 left in the first quarter.

The run was the longest for a touchdown since Sal Nicolo ran 94 yards to pay-dirt against Rice on Oct. 4, 1952. Vincent also passed Harvey Williams (700) and Garry James (710) into third place in single-season rushing yards as a freshman. Dalton Hilliard (901) and Kevin Faulk (852) remain ahead of the Parade All-American from Barbe High School in Lake Charles, La.

Georgia's kickoff return to the 15-yard line put the Bulldogs in its first difficult field position of the evening, which worked right into the hands of the top-ranked LSU defense. After going three-and-out, Georgia punter Gordon Ely-Kelso attempted to punt from the goal line but muffed the snap and took a safety when tackled by Alley Broussard.

The safety was the first by an LSU individual since James Gillyard did so against Auburn on Sept. 16, 1995.

LSU led 8-0 with 3:11 to play in the quarter.

After Green returned the kickoff to the LSU 29, the Tigers marched into Georgia territory with an 11-yard pass from Mauck to Clayton on third-and-3. On the next play, Mauck chose Clayton from a virtual buffet of receivers behind the Georgia secondary for a 43-yard touchdown.

LSU led 14-0 when Jackson's second PAT of the game was unsuccessful. This time, it was blocked by nose tackle Kedric Golston with 14:51 to play in the half.

With the catch, Clayton became the fourth receiver in school history to record 1,000 yards in a single season.

Georgia punted from its 5-yard line after going three-and-out, setting up another short field for LSU.

With the recent kicking troubles, the Tigers elected to attempt a fourth-and-2 from the Georgia 29. After converting and pushing to the Georgia 17, LSU then settled for a field goal by backup redshirt freshman Ryan Gaudet. Gaudet's high kick was good from 35 yards to give LSU a 17-0 lead with 9:29 to play in the half.

Through 20 minutes of play, LSU had a 196 to minus-8 advantage in total offense.

Georgia was able to break through the LSU defense and into Tigers territory after a 29-yard reception by split end Reggie Brown to the LSU 34. However, they would go no further before Billy Bennett tied a SEC Championship Game record with a 51-yard field goal.

The SEC-record 28th field goal of the season by Bennett cut the lead to 17-3 with 6:38 on the clock.

The Tigers took the ball to start the second half, however, Mauck pass to tight end Eric Edwards was tipped into the air and intercepted by Bruce Thornton on third-and-7 from his 34.

Georgia took over at the LSU 44 but went nowhere after a sack by linebacker Eric Alexander on first down. Ely-Kelso's punt was fair caught by Green at the LSU 12-yard line.

The Tigers, too, were unable to move the ball and punted from their 9-yard line after a sack of Mauck. The Bulldogs took over at the LSU 43 and gained one first down, but were forced to settle for another Bennett field goal. The 29th of his career from 49 yards tied an NCAA record and brought the Bulldogs within nine, 17-6.

Georgia was able to stop the Tigers short of Bulldogs territory and force a Donnie Jones punt that was fair caught at the Georgia 11.

Two plays later, Greene was intercepted by LSU linebacker Lionel Turner who bobbled then returned the ball 18 yards for a touchdown. LSU led 24-6 after the Gaudet PAT with 4:171 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs answered the score with their first touchdown of the game, an 18-yard pass from Greene to Watson only 37 seconds later. The score was set up by a 35-yard end-around by Brown and a 15-yard face mask tacked onto the end of the play.

Georgia trailed 24-13 after the PAT with 3:40 to play in the third quarter.

Undaunted, LSU continued the scoring with another touchdown drive of its own that was highlighted by a 33-yard catch by Devery Henderson to the Georgia 5-yard line and two acrobatic catches by Clayton. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Vincent ran around the left side for a 3-yard touchdown for a 31-13 lead with 14:54 to play in the game.

Georgia's attempt to answer the Tigers' score came up short on fourth-and-2 from the LSU 6-yard line. The Bulldogs' tried a quarterback thrown-back pass, but failed when linebacker Adrian Mayes stayed with Greene to keep Cooper from throwing the ball.

A 62-yard run by Vincent put him over 200 yards for the game and set up LSU's final score, a 22-yard field goal by Gaudet with 7:12 to play. LSU led 34-13.