On Nov. 5, 2011, No. 1 LSU visited No. 2 Alabama in a game billed as the Game of the Century. Neither team scored a touchdown. Alabama missed four field goals, and LSU's Drew Alleman won it 9–6 in overtime with a 25-yarder.
That should have been the end of Alabama's title hopes. Instead, upsets elsewhere moved the 11–1 Tide up to No. 2 in the final BCS standings. Plenty of people thought Oklahoma State deserved the spot. Alabama got it anyway, and the rematch was set for New Orleans.
The kicker's redemption
Jeremy Shelley had been part of Alabama's kicking misery in November. In the rematch he made five field goals, from 23, 34, 41, 35 and 44 yards, a bowl record. The 44-yarder was the longest of his career, and he scored 15 of Alabama's 21 points.
LSU couldn't move
Alabama's defense was even better. LSU managed one first down in the first half and didn't reach midfield until the fourth quarter. When it finally did, Dont'a Hightower sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble.
A few plays later, Trent Richardson broke a 34-yard touchdown run with 6:15 left, the only touchdown either team scored in eight quarters against each other that season.
LSU finished with 92 total yards and five first downs. Alabama's defense had 11 tackles for loss, four sacks and an interception.
The first of its kind
Alabama 21, LSU 0. It was the first shutout in any BCS bowl game. AJ McCarron, who completed 23 of 34 passes for 234 yards, was named offensive MVP, and Courtney Upshaw won the defensive award.
It was Alabama's 14th national championship and Saban's second in Tuscaloosa. LSU had won the first game. Alabama won the one that counted most.