2012 BCS National Championship Game
The 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers, and determined the national champion of the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season on Monday, January 9, 2012, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game was part of the 2011–2012 Bowl Championship Series and a rematch of regular season foes. Alabama beat LSU 21–0 to win their 14th national championship, marking the first shutout in a national championship game since the 1992 Orange Bowl and the first ever shutout in a BCS bowl game. The game had the third-lowest TV rating, 14.01, in the 14-year history of the BCS National Championship game.
| 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCS Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 9, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offense: A. J. McCarron (QB, Alabama) Defense: Courtney Upshaw (LB, Alabama) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Alabama by 1.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Scott Novak (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band Million Dollar Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 78,237 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$21.2 million | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brent Musburger (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sidelines) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 16.2 (24.2 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
It was LSU's first loss in a game played in New Orleans (which is near the LSU campus in Baton Rouge) since the 1987 Sugar Bowl. From 1987 through the 2011 regular season, LSU was 4–0 in bowl games in New Orleans (three Sugar Bowls and the 2008 BCS National Championship Game) and 5–0 in the city vs. Tulane.