Baton Rouge, La. ? LSU’s defense had withstood too many close games to get rattled – even under threat of blowing a berth to the Southeastern Conference title game.

A trick play had Arkansas within 33 yards of erasing a two-point deficit and scoring a stunning upset in the waning minutes Friday, but the third-ranked Tigers drove the Razorbacks backward to seal a 19-17 victory and a spot in the SEC championship game Dec. 3.

“I was saying, ‘We’ve been here before. Don’t put your head down, just fight through it,'” said safety LaRon Landry, whose interception in the end zone ended the Hogs’ final drive. “Why should you get nervous? Just make it happen. When you find yourself getting nervous, that’s when bad things happen.”

JaMarcus Russell threw a touchdown pass, and Justin Vincent ran for a score to help LSU win the battle for “The Boot” for the third straight year.

The Tigers (10-1, 7-1 SEC) also registered their second safety in as many games after forcing Arkansas to punt from its own end zone late in the first half. The bad snap by the Razorbacks gave LSU two critical points, but Arkansas (4-7, 2-6) refused to relent after falling behind 19-3 early in the second half.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt was proud of his team – 171â2-point underdogs – for not giving up, but Arkansas had a few key errors. The safety came on a bad snap, and kicker Chris Balseiro missed field goals of 41 and 28 yards.

LSU running back Justin Vincent (25) breaks away from Arkansas' Rickiel Vaughn (31). LSU beat Arkansas, 19-17, Friday in Baton Rouge, La.

“When we had to make some plays, when you go back and look, we missed some opportunities,” Nutt said. “That’s what hurts. There were one or two plays if we just could have gotten three more points, as y’all know, it’s a whole different outcome.”

LSU had to have the victory to clinch the SEC West and now will face No. 13 Georgia in the conference championship game in Atlanta, the second time in three years those two teams have met to decide the SEC.

Five of LSU’s victories this season – including those over Florida, Auburn and Alabama – came by four points or fewer.

The Tigers held Arkansas standout freshman Darren McFadden to 57 yards on 24 carries, leaving McFadden at 1,113 for the season.

But McFadden still made his presence felt. His 13-yard gain on a third-and-nine play kept alive a drive that got Arkansas back in the game, at 19-11, on Casey Dick’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Washington in the third quarter.

Trickery got the Razorbacks even closer when Dick threw a backward pass to Washington, who then found Peyton Hillis all the way across the field for a 45-yard gain to the LSU four. McFadden’s one-yard touchdown made it 19-17 with 10:43 to go, but the Razorbacks’ two-point conversion attempt was intercepted by Chevis Jackson.

LSU’s defense, which has held opponents to 20 points or less during every game of its nine-game winning streak, closed the game out from there. It started with an impressive stand after Vickiel Vaughn’s interception for Arkansas near midfield. The Hogs’ next three plays went for minus-13 yards. LSU did not allow a first down on Arkansas’ next drive, either.

“Time and time again we had to turn to the defense and the defense came through,” first-year LSU coach Les Miles said. “There were miscues on the offense … but the defense came to play and we won.”

The Razorbacks got the ball back once more with 3:44 left at midfield. The Razorbacks stayed alive on a fourth-and-six with a successful halfback pass from McFadden to Marcus Monk for 13 yards to the LSU 33.

LSU locked down Arkansas after that. Melvin Oliver sacked Dick back at the 41, and a fourth-and-18 pass was intercepted by Landry in the end zone.

“We’ve played in a lot of tough games this year. It came down to us knowing that we had been in that situation before and we know how to get ourselves out of it,” LSU strong safety Jesse Daniels said. “We’re a great team. We know how to comeback together and communicate – just making sure we know where we’re supposed to be at the end of a play.”

It was the last game in Tiger Stadium for 21 LSU seniors. The Tigers now are 50-13 during the past four seasons, including a BCS national championship.