There weren’t going to be seven overtimes this time.

No. 2 LSU made up its mind that it was going to settle some scores in Saturday night’s 50-7 victory over Texas A&M at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers weren’t going to let this one be close enough where any officials’ calls could alter the outcome. Not after they believed just that happened when a series of close calls went Texas A&M’s way in a 74-72 victory in seven overtimes last season in College Station.

Even though they had no control over how the College Football Playoff committee was going to react to their performance, the Tigers weren’t going to display any obvious flaws that could be held against them.

Not when a 36-point victory last week wasn’t good enough to keep them in the top spot, because Ohio State beat Penn State.

The Buckeyes might well stay in the top spot after whipping No. 13 Michigan, 56-27, on Saturday.

But the Tigers were going to finish an unbeaten regular season emphatically.

With a game against No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday – on the day Ohio State plays No. 12 Wisconsin for the Big Ten title – there’s time for LSU to reclaim the No. 1 spot before the playoff spots are set.

This Saturday night in Tiger Stadium was equal parts vindication and celebration.

It was about getting the seven-overtime loss out of LSU’s system once and for all. It was about sending a message to the CFP committee.

You want to apply an eye test?

Does this look like the No. 1 team in the country?

Maybe y’all are the ones that need to pass an eye test.

As for the celebration, this was a night for celebrating the second 12-0 regular season in LSU history.

It was for celebrating an SEC West title before sending the Tigers off to Atlanta in search of a bigger prize.

It was saying goodbye and thanks to a group of seniors playing their final home game even though they could have as many as three more games as Tigers.

Joe Burrow, the quarterback who grabbed control of first-year passing coordinator Joe Brady’s scheme and transformed LSU’s passing game as well as the perception of the program locally and nationally, was the valedictorian of this class.

The adopted Cajun ran onto the field during pre-game introductions with a faux “Burreaux” name affixed to the back of his jersey.

It was a nod to the South Louisiana family that embraced the native of Ohio and former Buckeyes player.

Then Burrow, who broke the SEC single-season record for passing yards and tied the league mark for passing touchdowns on Saturday, went to work. He really did not need to show anything more to Heisman Trophy voters but determined to show more to those CFP voters.

He drove LSU 75 yards, ending in Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s 5-yard touchdown run, on the first possession of the game.

Then he threw a 12-yard touchdown to Justin Jefferson, then a 78-yarder to Ja’Marr Chase.

That made it 21-0 after one quarter, then Burrow and his teammates showed some love to the Tigers fans in the other end zone, marching to Tyrion Davis-Price’s 4-yard touchdown run.

Things slowed a bit after that, but Cade York added a 51-yard field goal for a 31-0 halftime lead. (The sometimes shaky freshman hit a 50-yarder in the third quarter to become the first Tiger to kick multiple field goals of 50-plus yards in one game.)

At that point, the Tigers could have given head coach Ed Orgeron a Gatorade bath, but after last year’s game the restraint was wise.

The loudest message came from the LSU defense, which swarmed the Aggies offense from the first play. That set the tone for the defense’s signature performance in SEC play.

Burrow had 352 yards and 3 TDs passing. His 4,366 yards this season broke the mark set by Tim Couch, who had 4,275 for Kentucky in 1998. Burrow’s last TD pass of the night was his 44th this season, tying the SEC mark Drew Lock set with Missouri in 2017.

The Tigers have four victories against teams that were ranked in the Top 10 when LSU played them. They moved to No. 1 after the third of those four Top 10 wins.

But even after the most significant of the Top 10 wins – a 46-41 victory on Nov. 9 at then-No. 1 Alabama – solidified their hold on No. 1, the committee took it away.

They gave up too many yards in a three-touchdown win at Ole Miss, the committee seemed to say. They have had too many defensive lapses to pass the eye test as the best team in the country, the committee seemed to add.

But on Saturday night, LSU’s offense, defense and special teams all passed anyone’s eye test with flying colors.