NEW ORLEANS – For three quarters, LSU was making one heckuva case for the No.1 ranking in the country. Certainly, the Tigers defense was playing better than any other in the land.

It had shut down Oklahoma’s running game by sending an assortment of blitzes and Jason White was black and blue from the number of hits he’d absorbed. The nation’s highest scoring team had just 14 points.

And then Oklahoma remembered it has a couple of power running plays in its book. The Tiger defenders, exhausted from playing three quarters of Nick Saban’s blitz-crazy scheme, were spent.

Fortunately for LSU, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Chuck Long and running game coordinator Kevin Wilson suffered a brain spasm and went away from the run. On fourth-and-10 from the 12, Lionel Turner dropped White for the fifth and final time.

LSU had upset Oklahoma, 21-14, to win the Sugar Bowl and the BCS national championship. USC, which crushed Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl, was crowned national champs by the media.

If the Tigers and Trojans were to meet next week – I hear Giants Stadium is dormant these days – LSU’s defense wouldn’t own the game until the fourth quarter. The Trojans, the Post’s national champion, have exactly what it takes to beat LSU, say, 27-17.

LSU’s blitz often leaves its defensive backs in man coverage. USC’s dazzling receiving corps led by Mike Williams would have burned the Tigers on quick slants, fade stops and hooks.

The Trojans’ offensive line, led by tremendous tackle Jacob Rogers and bodacious guard Lenny Vandermade, would protect quarterback Matt Leinart and open holes for backs LenDale White and Reggie Bush. The Trojans’ running game is much more potent than Oklahoma’s.

Southern Cal would make the Tigers pay for all that risk-taking. And the Trojans would know exactly what risks LSU was taking. Like Saban, Pete Carroll earned his stripes in the NFL. He knows the intricacies of the zone blitz and flooding zones.

The edge Saban enjoyed over Bob Stoops he wouldn’t have held over Carroll. And the pressure LSU was able to bring with the blitz, USC can generate with its front four, led by end Kenechi Udeze. Matt Mauck was sacked five times by Oklahoma. Michigan quarterback John Navarre, who had been sacked 15 times all season, was dropped nine times by the Trojans.

The two best things to happen to LSU this postseason are that the BCS title game was in New Orleans. And the opponent wasn’t Southern Cal.