TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Just four months ago, Jordan Jefferson found himself facing a second-degree battery charge, the possibility of missing his senior season and much vitriol from Louisiana State fans. While the charges were reduced Sept. 30 and he found himself back on the team, his contributions had been minimal.
Saturday night, Jefferson found himself under center as the starting quarterback on the No. 1 team in the land in college football’s biggest game of the regular season.
Jarrett Lee trotted onto the field as the Tigers’ starter, as he usually does, but he threw two interceptions and appeared rattled. Before Saturday, Lee boasted a 13-1 touchdown-interception ratio and hadn’t tossed the ball to the opposing team in 118 attempts.
After the second interception, Jefferson stayed in the lineup for good. And he came through, going 6 for 10 passing for 64 yards and rushing for 43 yards on 11 carries. The statistics weren’t showy, but his ability to stretch the field, particularly on the option with Michael Ford, proved effective against Alabama’s defense. Ford led the Tigers in rushing, with 72 yards on 11 carries.
On a first-and-16 from Alabama’s 42-yard line, Jefferson dropped back and met a flurry of pressure from the Crimson Tide. Jefferson eluded tacklers, hopping around the pocket until he found a wide-open Russell Shepard 34 yards downfield at the Crimson Tide 8-yard line. The heave set up Drew Alleman’s 19-yard field goal to tie the score at 3-3 as time expired in the first half.
Jefferson, a native of Destrehan, La., didn’t play a stellar game; he didn’t need to. With Mo Claiborne intercepting passes, Eric Reid flying to the ball and Brad Wing sharpshooting punts inside the 20, Jefferson did what Lee had been doing all season — managing the Tigers’ offense.
With 4 minutes 33 seconds remaining, Jefferson and Company were pinned on their 5-yard line, with the score tied at 6-6.
On first down, with the Bryant-Denny Stadium about to reach new heights on the decibel level, Jefferson calmly found tight end Chase Clement for a 14-yard gain. Jefferson sprinted through a truck-sized hole two plays later for 18 yards, and for a moment it seemed as if the Tigers had a shot to win in regulation.
“We felt like — in this game — that the couple of scrambles Jefferson had made the difference and moved the chains,” L.S.U. Coach Les Miles said. “That gave us a huge advantage.”
In overtime, Jefferson didn’t do much but hand off. His wise option toss to Ford on the second play appeared to win it for the Tigers, but Ford stepped out of bounds. Jefferson handed off the ball a few more times before Alleman kicked the game-winning field goal.
It was a long journey after Jefferson’s dust-up at a Baton Rouge bar in late August, with accusations that Jefferson kicked a man in the face outside amid a brawl. The police searched his house, removed 49 pairs of shoes and administered DNA tests. The charges were eventually reduced to a simple battery charge, and Miles immediately reinstated him.
After Saturday’s performance, it would be difficult to deny Jefferson the starting job for the rest of the season — or until he flounders. Nevertheless, Saturday was the culmination of a troubled, puzzling and much-discussed 2011 season for Jefferson.
Top-ranked L.S.U. will face Western Kentucky, Mississippi and No. 7 Arkansas, which is probably the only obstacle between L.S.U. and a date in the SEC title game in Atlanta on Dec. 3.
Coming into the season, it was Jefferson who was tabbed to lead the Tigers into this “Game of the Century.”
And in the end, he did. Just under a few different circumstances.
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