Nick Saban’s Tiger Triumph: The Remarkable Story of LSU’s Rise to No. 1

This is the true story of how a head coach convinced a team, a university, a state, and, eventually, the country that LSU could be the best. For a football program that hadn’t won a national title since 1958, the road back to the top wouldn’t be easy, but hiring of head coach Nick Saban in 1999 changed all that. Four seasons after Saban’s arrival, LSU sits atop the college football universe. Winning its second SEC championship in three years after an outstanding regular season, LSU earned a shot at immortality against the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2004 Sugar Bowl for the BCS national championships. While few people outside of Baton Rouge gave the Tigers a chance to win, LSU knew it had a special team. It had been breaking school records all season by riding the accurate arm of quarterback Matt Mauck, the steady hands of receiver Michael Clayton, and the phenomenal talent of freshman running back Justin Vincent. LSU knew it could score. With its top-ranked defense, led by All American Chad Lavalais, LSU knew it could win. Just 90 miles from Tiger Stadium, LSU would use the Sugar Bowl as its stage to shock the sports world by knocking off a seemingly unbeatable Oklahoma Sooner team that was powered by a high-octane offense, awe inspiring defense and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.