2007 Sugar Bowl

2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl
2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl
BCS Bowl Game; 73rd Sugar Bowl
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	LSU Tigers
(10–2)	(10–2)
Independent	SEC
14	41
Head coach: ; Charlie Weis	Head coach: ; Les Miles
Date	January 3, 2007
Season	2006
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	LSU QB JaMarcus Russell
Favorite	LSU by 8½
National anthem	Irvin Mayfield
Referee	Tom Walker (Big XII)
Halftime show	LSU and Notre Dame Marching Bands
Attendance	77,781
United States TV coverage
Network	FOX
Announcers	Kenny Albert, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long
Nielsen ratings	9.3
Sugar Bowl
< 2006	2008 >

The 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game, which formed part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played on January 3, 2007, in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, it was the 73rd Sugar Bowl. The game matched the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the LSU Tigers and was televised on Fox.

This game received extra attention because it was the return of the Sugar Bowl to New Orleans. In 2006, the game was played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the Superdome (that game also featured a virtual "home" team, the Georgia Bulldogs). LSU won the 2007 contest 41–14, tying the Notre Dame-LSU series at 5–5 (with LSU taking a 2–0 lead in bowl game meetings).

With the loss, Notre Dame lost a record-setting nine bowl games in a row,^[2] including losing their three BCS bowl games by wide point margins.^[2]

Teams

Notre Dame

Notre Dame, a Division I FBS independent, finished the regular season at 10–2. The Fighting Irish entered the season ranked at no. 2 in the AP Poll before losing 21–47 to no. 11 Michigan in week three. The team won its next eight games, reaching no. 6 in the AP Poll, but lost the regular season finale 24–44 to no. 3 USC. The Fighting Irish entered the Sugar Bowl ranked no. 11 in all three polls.

LSU

LSU, from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), finished the regular season at 10–2. The Tigers entered the season ranked at no. 8 in the AP Poll before losing 3–7 to no. 3 Auburn in week three. The team won its next two games before losing to no. 5 Florida 10–23. The Tigers won their next six games, including victories over no. 8 Tennessee and no. 5 Arkansas. LSU entered the Sugar Bowl ranked no. 4 in all three polls.

Game summary

2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Notre Dame	7	7	0	0	14
No. 4 LSU	14	7	13	7	41

at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana

Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. CST)
Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
Game attendance: 77,781
Referee: Tom Walker
TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Terry Bradshaw (analyst) and Howie Long (sideline)

Game information

First quarter

LSU – Keiland Williams 3-yard run (Colt David kick), 11:16. Tigers 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 34 yards, 0:49.
LSU – Dwayne Bowe 11-yard pass from JaMarcus Russell (Colt David kick), 6:03. Tigers 14–0. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:40.
ND – David Grimes 24-yard pass from Brady Quinn (Carl Gioia kick), 1:26. Tigers 14–7. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:37.

Second quarter

ND – Jeff Samardzija 10-yard pass from Brady Quinn (Carl Gioia kick), 2:25. Tied 14–14. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 2:39.
LSU – JaMarcus Russell 5-yard run (Colt David kick), 1:15. Tigers 21–14. Drive: 5 plays, 82 yards, 1:10.

Third quarter

LSU – Colt David 26-yard field goal, 9:34. Tigers 24–14. Drive: 13 plays, 73 yards, 5:26.
LSU – Colt David 37-yard field goal, 3:49. Tigers 27–14. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 4:06.
LSU – Brandon LaFell 58-yard pass from JaMarcus Russell (Colt David kick), 1:26. Tigers 34–14. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 1:38.

Fourth quarter

LSU – Keiland Williams 20-yard run (Colt David kick), 7:27. Tigers 41–14. Drive: 9 plays, 76 yards, 4:11.

Statistics

Statistics	ND	LSU
First downs	17	31
Plays–yards	66–291	71–577
Rushes–yards	31–143	37–245
Passing yards	158	345
Passing: comp–att–int	15–35–2	21–34–1
Time of possession	28:14	31:46

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Notre Dame	Passing	Brady Quinn	15/35, 148 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Darius Walker	22 rushes, 128 yards
	Receiving	Jeff Samardzija	8 receptions, 59 yards, TD
LSU	Passing	JaMarcus Russell	21/34, 332 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Keiland Williams	14 rushes, 107 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Early Doucet	8 receptions, 115 yards

Aftermath

Neither team has returned to the Sugar Bowl. However, LSU has played three national championship games in the Superdome since, defeating Ohio State for the 2007 BCS title, losing to Alabama for the 2011 BCS crown, and defeating Clemson in the College Football Playoff title game following the 2019 season. LSU also defeated Tulane in a 2007 regular season game in the Superdome.

LSU and Notre Dame met in the 2014 Music City Bowl and 2018 Citrus Bowl, with the Fighting Irish winning both. Brian Kelly, who led Notre Dame to those wins, became the Tigers' coach in 2022 after 12 seasons in South Bend.

References

^ Sugar Bowl Sweet for FOX Wednesday - Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2007
^ ^a ^b "Irish Fall In Sugar Bowl". UND.com. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on September 10, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2007.

[1] Sugar Bowl Sweet for FOX Wednesday - Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2007

[Notre_Dame_BCS-2] "Irish Fall In Sugar Bowl". UND.com. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on September 10, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2007.

[1]

[2]

v t e 2006–07 NCAA football bowl game season
Poinsettia (Dec. 19) Las Vegas (Dec. 21) New Orleans (Dec. 22) PapaJohns.com (Dec. 23) New Mexico (Dec. 23) Armed Forces (Dec. 23) Hawaii (Dec. 24) Motor City (Dec. 26) Emerald (Dec. 27) Holiday (Dec. 28) Independence (Dec. 28) Texas (Dec. 28) Music City (Dec. 29) Sun (Dec. 29) Liberty (Dec. 29) Insight (Dec. 29) Champs Sports (Dec. 29) Meineke Car Care (Dec. 30) Alamo (Dec. 30) Chick-fil-A (Dec. 30) MPC Computers (Dec. 31) Outback (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Gator (Jan. 1) Capital One (Jan. 1) International (Jan. 6) GMAC (Jan. 7)
Bowl Championship Series games: Rose (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 2) Sugar (Jan. 3) BCS National Championship (Jan. 8)
All-Star Games: North–South All-Star Classic (Jan. 13) Hula Bowl (Jan. 14) East–West Shrine Game (Jan. 20) Senior Bowl (Jan. 27) Texas vs. The Nation Game (Feb. 2)

v t e Sugar Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Caesars Superdome College Football Playoff Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 (Jan) 1972 (Dec) 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (Jan) 1995 (Dec) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (Jan) 2022 (Dec) 2024 2025
Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972, 1995 and 2022. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024 editions.