NEW ORLEANS (AP) - One of the finest seasons LSU has ever had ended with coach Les Miles sitting somberly on a podium, his head tipped down slightly so the bill of the cap he wears on game days cast a shadow over his eyes.

The 2011 season will long be remembered as one in which LSU came within a victory of going down as one of the greatest college football teams.

The dream ended with the program's most lopsided loss in several years in a stadium and city the Tigers have long considered a second home.

The Tigers knew Alabama was good enough to beat them. But they never expected to lose 21-0 after the extraordinary season they had leading up to the BCS title game in New Orleans.

"I told my team that it should hurt," Miles said. "We fight like hell and we finished second. ... It's supposed to be painful.

"The good news is that there will be more resolve," Miles added. "We've had a nice run here. We won a lot of games. ... You cannot enjoy it any more than we have. In the same vein, it was painful as anything we've been through."

LSU (13-1) has much to be proud of, holding a No. 1 ranking much of the season while winning the Southeastern Conference championship.

With the exception of the Tigers' 9-6 overtime victory at Alabama on Nov. 5, all of their other wins came by at least 13 points.

Heading into their rematch with the Crimson Tide, the Tigers were averaging 38.5 points and giving up 10.5.

At that point, it was the most dominating season many around LSU could remember.

Most of their victories were so overwhelming that receiver Rueben Randle was confident the 2011 team would always have a special place in LSU history.

"I'm pretty sure we're still going to considered one of the best," Randle said. "We left some things out there, but we fought hard."

LSU overcame its share of distractions and won impressively while playing a schedule full of ranked opponents.

Jordan Jefferson's early season suspension stemming from his arrest in a late-August bar fight was mitigated by consistent and largely mistake-free play by Jarrett Lee through LSU's first eight games.

When Lee faltered against Alabama, throwing two interceptions, Jefferson returned to help LSU win that first meeting with the Tide. Jefferson then started in four more wins after that.

Lee never complained publicly, saying he understood the needs of the team came first and that he would not question the coaches' decisions.

Miles, however, opened himself to questions about his decision to marginalize Lee, particularly when Jefferson struggled in the first half of the SEC title game against Georgia and throughout Monday night's BCS title game.

Miles did not want the accomplishments of his players to get lost in the Tigers' season-ending setback.

LSU beat five teams that finished the season ranked inside the top 20 in the AP Poll, including three in the top five: Alabama, Oregon and Arkansas.

"We think we had a great year; that this football team had as quality a run as there is in this country," Miles said. "This team accomplished a lot."

Miles and many of his players echoed the idea that the loss to Alabama would be a learning experience, which it very well could be for a team full of standout sophomores and freshmen.

The biggest star on the team, Tyrann Mathieu, was a true sophomore this season and is expected back, along with safety Eric Reid and defensive back Tharold Simon.

The big loss from the defensive backfield likely will be star cornerback Morris Claiborne, a widely projected top 10 draft pick.

There is also a lot of returning depth on LSU's defensive line, even if end Sam Montgomery, the team's sack leader and a redshirt sophomore, decides to turn pro, though that appears unlikely.

The strength of LSU's offense, a running game that averaged more than 200 yards, should return fully intact.

Top three rushers Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue were all sophomores, while Kenny Hilliard and Terrance Magee were freshmen.

There are also high expectations on quarterback Zach Mettenberger, a former Georgia recruit who overcame trouble with the law to make it back to the SEC as a junior college transfer.

He spent his sophomore season learning behind seniors Jefferson and Lee with the expectation of taking over in 2012.

If he does, he'll have a receiving group that is expected to feature Odell Beckham Jr., who shined as a true freshman, along with Russell Shepard, who'll be a senior, and Jarvis Landry, who is expected to compete for a starting job as a sophomore.

The offensive line will be experienced as well, losing only one full-time starter in guard Will Blackwell and one part-time starter in interior lineman T-Bob Hebert to graduation.

There won't be many big holes to fill across the lineup, while the consistently high ratings of Miles' recruiting classes makes it likely that new standouts will emerge at several positions.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Boos rained down from a corner of the Superdome dominated by purple-and-gold clad fans as LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson trotted onto the field for a crucial third-quarter drive.

One more victory in the final game of his career could have made Jefferson the toast of Baton Rouge and completed a stirring story of personal vindication after an early season defined by trouble with the law and a four-game suspension.

Instead, his most memorable play was an unfathomable interception in a 21-0 loss to Alabama (12-1) in Monday night's BCS title game, marking the first time LSU (13-1) had been held scoreless since the Tide did it to them in 2002.

"It feels like a nightmare, but it's a learning experience," Jefferson said. "I'm facing reality. LSU finished second today. We all have to take the situation and learn from it, but still in all we still had a great season. I had a pretty good career at LSU. This last game really was something we wanted to win but we fell short.

"Everybody on this team is going to learn from it and I'm quite sure LSU will get back to the national championship once again."

There will be a lot to learn for the teammates Jefferson leaves behind.

LSU's offense was even more inept than it had been in 9-6 overtime victory in Tuscaloosa. Every first down - all five of them - seemed like an epic struggle. Series after series ended with Jefferson taking a frustrated walk to the sidelined while punter Brad Wing trotted past in the other direction to send the ball back to the Crimson Tide.

LSU was outgained 384-92. The Tigers' running game, which consists in part of Jefferson's option runs, managed a meager 39 yards.

The quarterback had to try to beat Bama with his arm, but struggled to find open receivers down field.

"I was seeing everything clearly. Making decisions wasn't an issue," Jefferson said. "We just didn't get it done on offense. Some defenses have your number and Alabama had our number."

Jefferson finished 11 of 17 for 53 yards and one interception that could have been far more costly than it was. Yet the play seemed to symbolize Jefferson's night.

Unable to find a receiver, he began to scramble, then changed his mind, flipping the ball forward toward Spencer Ware just as the running back had turned to block. There might have been room to run if Jefferson had kept the ball tucked away and followed Ware. Instead, the ball floated right over the head of the unsuspecting Ware and into the waiting arms of linebacker C.J. Mosley. Jefferson immediately made the tackle, which left Mosley injured and also gave the Tide the ball on the LSU 27-yard line.

Only a missed field goal try prevented even more damage. But that only allowed LSU to maintain a slim chance of a comeback - which was gone once Jefferson was sacked and fumbled on a critical fourth-and-long with a little over 6 minutes left and the Tide leading 15-0.

"It's hard making those plays when you don't have the protection up front," receiver Rueben Randle said. "They brought a lot of blitzes. We didn't pick it up and make the reads we needed to make. When we do that, our offense really can't get rolling. ... I don't think it would have mattered who was back there."

After that play, while the crimson colored sections of the stands went wild, the fans who had booed Jefferson quietly began to file out and many more were following after Trent Richardson's 34-yard touchdown run a few plays later.

Jefferson was suspended because of his alleged involvement in a bar fight in late August. He was initially arrested on a charge of second-degree battery and suspended a little more than a week before the season was set to begin.

He was reinstated when a grand jury reduced the charge to a misdemeanor, but did not start until the 10th game of the season.

He continued to struggle intermittently, but with LSU winning the Southeastern Conference title behind a dominant defense and running game, Jefferson was never forced to beat anyone throwing.

When LSU was 13-0 and ranked No. 1, Jefferson's 684 yards passing and six touchdowns looked more like the product of efficient and fittingly conservative quarterback play on a team that did not really need to throw much to win.

But when LSU's running game got bogged down in the biggest test of the season, there was no answer in the passing game.

"He's been through a lot," Randle said. "You've got to give it to him. He kept pushing. He came back off the suspension and led us to the national championship (game). We just weren't quite as good as we needed to be to win this game."

Jefferson finished his career 24-8 as a starter, seven wins short of Tommy Hodson's LSU-high 31.

He had said just days earlier that if the Tigers beat Alabama on Monday, that his team would have to be considered the greatest ever fielded by LSU.

Instead, the Tigers' pursuit of perfection ended in a shutout.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)