BATON ROUGE, La. - Defending co-national champion Louisiana State rallied late in regulation against unheralded Oregon State to tie the game, then beat the 18 1/2-point underdogs 22-21 in overtime Saturday night.
No. 4 LSU thus avoided becoming the first defending champion to lose its opener since 1998 when Michigan lost to Notre Dame.
Marcus Randall ran 6 yards for a touchdown in overtime to give LSU a 22-15 lead.
Oregon State responded with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Derek Anderson to Joe Newton to make the score 22-21, but Alexis Serna missed his third extra point of the game to end it.