NEW ORLEANS — Well past midnight, Les Miles wanted to make one more stop.

So when the LSU coach left the Superdome, he made a beeline for Bourbon Street. With his wife, he climbed onto a crowded hotel balcony, hoisted a glittering trophy and gave it a kiss.

Let others claim they could've won the crystal football that goes to the BCS national champion. No matter, it belongs to his Tigers.

Matt Flynn threw four touchdown passes and LSU made it look easy Monday night with a 38-24 win over No. 1 Ohio State, turning the title game into a horrible replay for the Buckeyes.

Now the debate begins: Is LSU tops?

"Certainly there will be some argument as to who's the best team. But I think the national champion has been crowned tonight," Miles said.

In a season of surprises, this was hardly an upset: Ohio State once again fell apart in college football's biggest game, having lost 41-14 to Florida last year in the Arizona desert.

But this was unprecedented. Playing at their home-away-from-home in the Big Easy, the Tigers (12-2) became the first two-loss team to compete for the title.

Still, LSU was a runaway No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. The Tigers received 60 of 65 first-place votes from a national media panel. Georgia, Southern California, Missouri and Ohio State rounded out the top five. Georgia had three first-place votes while Southern Cal and No. 7 Kansas each had one.

The top six teams in the final AP poll all had two losses and Kansas had one.

"I have to give great credit to some divine intervention that allows us to be in this position," Miles said.

LSU rallied from an early 10-0 deficit, taking a 24-10 lead at halftime that held up. Two key plays on special teams helped shift the game — Ricky Jean-Francois blocked a field goal, and LSU took advantage of a roughing-the-kicker penalty.

Shouts of "SEC! SEC!" reverberated around the dome as the Tigers won their second BCS crown in five seasons. They are the first school to win a second title since BCS rankings began with the 1998 season.

"My team is the No. 1 team in the land," said All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who passed up the NFL draft to return for his senior season.

When it was over, Miles unleashed an ear-piercing whoop, then leaned back and exhaled as if he had been holding his breath all night.

"I just had to do that," he said.

Ohio State (11-2) had little to celebrate after Chris "Beanie" Wells broke loose for a 65-yard TD run on the fourth play of the game.

"It's unbelievable to know you've failed two years in a row," Wells said.

Jacob Hester bulled for a short touchdown, Early Doucet wiggled loose for a touchdown and Dorsey led a unit that outplayed the top-ranked defense in the nation.

"We just didn't do the things you need to do to win a ballgame of this nature. We're very aware that LSU's a deserving champion," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

LSU, whose two losses both came in triple overtime, became just the fourth favorite to win in 10 BCS championship games. The Tigers added to the crown they won in 2003 — their other national title came in 1958.