NEW ORLEANS - The vendors along this city's popular Canal Street were holding inventory reduction sales yesterday morning, less than 12 hours after Ohio State got blitzed by LSU 38-24 in the BCS national championship game.

Ohio State's stock plummeted, and so did the prices for anything in scarlet and gray that was connected with the title game. In contrast, LSU's bright purple and gold attire was still flying off the shelves at the full retail price.

The Buckeyes had the ignominious distinction of being the fastest BCS team to make it to the 50 percent-off rack. Ohio State, which suffered the self-inflicted paralysis of three turnovers and five personal foul penalties in the game, closed an outstanding season with a stuttering whimper.

"It's tough, because we had a great season, and it just didn't end up the way we wanted," Ohio State junior linebacker James Laurinaitis said.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who saw his team lose in the title game for the second year in a row, tried to bandage the wounds with a little perspective.

"It was a clean, hard, tough football game, and our kids played hard to the bitter end," Tressel said, using a word many of his players called on to explain the taste of the convincing loss. "We just didn't do the things that you need to do to win a ball game of this nature."

The Buckeyes had a field goal blocked, a touchdown pass dropped, and could not count on their defense like they had all season. Ohio State had been one of the best in the country at getting its defense off the field by shutting down the opposition on third down more than 70 percent of the time. Not so Monday night, when LSU converted 11 of its first 14 third-down plays.

"They were very good on third down, and that hurt a lot because it allowed them to keep drives alive," said Ohio State junior linebacker Marcus Freeman. "They didn't do anything that surprised us. They just did a lot better job of executing and we made the little, costly mistakes. And those things cost you a chance at a national championship."

LSU coach Les Miles rejected the notion that Ohio State could not compete with the teams from the Southeastern Conference, which had its champion beat the Big Ten champ Buckeyes for the second straight year. Florida routed Ohio State in last year's title game.

"I want to congratulate Ohio State because it's a quality program," Miles said. "That's a tremendous team - very talented - and they fought and clawed and competed extremely well. We were fortunate to win, and we certainly enjoyed competing against them."

Ohio State defensive back Malcolm Jenkins said the seven penalties for 83 yards, along with the two interceptions and the lost fumble, were too much to overcome against an opponent with LSU's talent and experience. He said the Buckeyes needed to build on the early 10-0 lead they had in the game, but instead watched LSU gain its footing and then roll to 31 straight points.

"This game is about momentum, and we started off with the momentum, but then we gave it away," Jenkins said. "We tried to get ourselves back in the game but we kept giving it away with penalties and turnovers. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot."

Tressel said the environment inside the Louisiana Superdome, along with the intense spotlight the game is played under, created a pressure cooker that affected both teams. He attributed the rash of personal foul calls on his team to just aggressive play.

"That was a tough football game and it was very demanding," Tressel said. "And I'm sure there were moments where we weren't perfectly on cue as we should be, and I'm sure there were moments that LSU felt like they lost their equilibrium, if you will. But I don't think we ever lost our composure."

Ohio State tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells had a dominant performance with 146 yards on 20 carries, and upped his season total to 1,609 yards. That pushed Wells past Ohio State's two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin with the most yards ever by a Buckeyes sophomore, but Wells was so despondent over the loss that he did not want to think about any record.

"Today's not the day to dwell on that. As you can see, we took a loss, and it's unbelievable," Wells said. "It hurts tremendously. I mean, the pain, you really can't compare it to anything. To go to the national championship twice and lose, I mean, it's incredible."

Contact Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6510.

First Published January 9, 2008, 7:33 p.m.