2004 Sugar Bowl
| 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| BCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 4, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Nielsen ratings | 14.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl, the
Set-up
BCS #2 ranked LSU came into the national championship title game 12–1, with their one loss at home to #17
Once the game commenced, LSU's #1 ranked defense held the country's most prolific offense, which had averaged 45.2 points and 461 yards per game, to 154 total yards (32 in the first half) and just one touchdown until midway though the fourth quarter. The Sooners' Heisman Trophy-winning QB Jason White completed only 13 of his 37 passing attempts for just 102 yards. He was also sacked seven times and intercepted twice. LSU's offense was largely supplied by freshman running back and Sugar Bowl MVP Justin Vincent, who rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown.
As a result, LSU won their second national championship and first since
Scoring summary
| Scoring play | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st quarter | |||||
| LSU - Skyler Green 24-yard run (Ryan Gaudet kick). 11:38 | LSU 7–0 | ||||
| 2nd quarter | |||||
| OU - Kejuan Jones 1-yard run (Trey DiCarlo kick). 7:31 | Tie 7–7 | ||||
| LSU - Justin Vincent 16-yard run (Gaudet kick). 4:21 | LSU 14–7 | ||||
| 3rd quarter | |||||
| LSU - Marcus Spears 20-yard interception return (Gaudet kick). 14:13 | LSU 21–7 | ||||
| 4th quarter | |||||
| OU - Jones 1-yard run (DiCarlo kick). 11:01 | LSU 21–14 | ||||
Relevant bowl records
- The attendance of 79,342 became the largest ever to see a game in the Superdome. That figure has since been surpassed by the 2008 BCS National Championship Game (79,651[1]).
- The team that led at halftime had won 10 of 11 Sugar Bowl games.
- LSU improved its record to 5–7 in Sugar Bowl games.
- The SEC improved its record to 34–29–1 in Sugar Bowl games.