NEW ORLEANS &045; You want to tell those who lined up nose hair to nose hair from each other at the Nokia Sugar Bowl BCS National Championship game Sunday that it didn’t matter?

You want to say, &uot;Hey, you know last night was great and everything, I had a good time, really I did &045; but let’s just be friends. It’s not you, it’s me.&uot;

If you’ve got a death wish, go right ahead and explain to these Tigers and these Sooners that USC had already wrapped up an outright national title with its 28-14 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl Thursday.

Try convincing that to the 79,342 that bought a seat as well. That, by the way, is the largest attendance for a sporting event in Superdome history and the biggest Sugar Bowl crowd since the 1973 matchup between Notre Dame and Alabama held at larger, and now extinct, Tulane Stadium.

Otherwise, get on the porch and recognize the heroics of two teams, No. 2 LSU and No. 1 Oklahoma, for pouring their respective hearts out in a 21-14 Tiger victory, which gave LSU the BCS national championship, its first title since 1958.

&uot;This game wasn’t any different than a lot of other games we played this year,&uot; LSU head coach Nick Saban said. &uot;I can’t tell how pleased I am that our football team can do something that the state of Louisiana can be proud of.&uot;

Saban took over as head coach in Baton Rouge for the 2000 season, with a mantra of playing for 60 minutes and the moniker of a defensive-minded coach after getting some NFL experience as a secondary coach for the Houston Oilers from 1988-89 and then as a defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-94.

And it was his defense that took shape during this run to the split national title, including Sunday night when Oklahoma had several chances to tie the game deep in Tiger territory in the fourth quarter.

&uot;We’ve been proving ourselves all year long &045; this was a total team effort,&uot; said LSU junior defensive end Marcus Spears, who returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown to put LSU up 21-7 early in the third quarter. &uot;We don’t have one player who steps out more than the other. That’s they way we’ve played all season.&uot;

Redshirt freshman Justin Vincent extended his coming-out party from the Southeastern Conference championship game by running for 117 yards on 16 carries to capture the Sugar Bowl’s most outstanding player award.

He opened a the game with a 64-yard gallop to serve notice, but his 18-yard touchdown run with 4:21 left before the break was the scamper to remember.

Vincent took quarterback Matt Mauck’s handoff left, bounced back right, kept balance after being hit at the knees and housed it.

&uot;(Oklahoma was) in zone play, and I jumped back and all that was in front of me was open grass. The rest is history,&uot; said Vincent, who came into the year fifth on the depth chart at running back. &uot;I had the mind set that I was going to be the best special teams player LSU ever had. I couldn’t have scripted this any better.&uot;

LSU’s defense held Heisman Trophy winner Jason White and the nation’s top scoring offense to 154 total yards, as both touchdown drives came after turnovers.

Sooner running back Kejuan Jones had both scores on runs of 1 yard each time, the last of which came with 11:01 left in the fourth. That left plenty of time for Oklahoma to tie the score.

However, the Tiger defense never broke, holding White to 102 yards passing on 13 of 37, two picks and sacking the fifth-year senior five times.

&uot;I’d said that’s fair to say,&uot; said Sooner head coach Bob Stoops in regard to whether LSU’s defense was the best he’s faced in his four years in Norman. &uot;Against Kansas State, we had more yards, but we just had some drives that stalled out. Yes, overall I would probably say that.&uot;

They partied into the night in a city that never sleeps. For a city that hosts multi-millions each February for Mardi Gras, the streets of New Orleans were unlike anything that’s been seen.

In a state where 92,000 attend home games on a regular basis, the ante has just been raised. And Saban knows it.

&uot;You don’t want to know what I’m thinking,&uot; he responded when asked what it feels like to be a national champion. &uot;Because I’m thinking how this is going to get done again next year. When you look into the eyes of someone and see that pride, that’s the self-gratification you get.&uot;