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The topsy-turvy, upset-filled college football season finally comes to a close tonight when No. 1 Ohio State meets No. 2 LSU in the Bowl Championship Series title game at The Superdome in New Orleans.

Ohio State (11-1) is making its second straight appearance, and hoping to end its string of bad luck against Southeastern Conference schools.

In last year's national title game, the Buckeyes were drubbed by Florida 41-14. That result is largely why they are a four-point underdog to LSU (11-2) despite their higher ranking and better record.

"I like this side better with the world saying we're not worthy," Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. "Last year, all we heard was the people telling us how great we were."

Both teams are trying to showcase a performance legitimizing their worth in the title game.

They earned their spots when No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia both lost on the final night of the regular season.

LSU, the first two-loss team to reach the title game, may want to avoid prolonging the season much longer.

Both of the Tigers' losses this year came in triple overtime, and Ohio State's 2002 national title was a double-overtime victory over Miami.

LSU won the BCS title the following season with a win over Oklahoma.

So which team walks off the field with BCS title No. 2?

In a season when the top-ranked team lost four times and the No. 1 and 2 teams lost on the same weekend three times, sure bets are not applicable.

For five storylines you should know about tonight's BCS Championship, see D4.

Receiver Early Doucet and the Tigers will try to grab LSU's second national championship in five years.

Rather than posting newspaper articles on the locker room walls, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel went the modern route to provide his team with a little motivational fodder.

Tressel provided his players with an early Christmas gift in the form of a 10-minute DVD featuring disparaging remarks about Ohio State made by commentators. They criticized the Buckeyes' schedule this season and how badly Ohio State performed in its blowout loss to Florida in last year's national title game.

The vitriol was enough to make the 71-year-old grandmother of Ohio State offensive tackle Alex Boone cry.

"She wanted to kill someone," Boone said. "It was people just talking smack. It makes you humble."

Ohio State wide receiver Brian Hartline hopes the Buckeyes will make all the smack talkers eat their words in the end.

"Sitting there looking at it, I'm thinking, 'OK, so if we win, how many of these guys are going to actually accept it and apologize and admit they were wrong?' " he said. "I would say the majority of them never would."

Myth or reality?

If speed kills, Ohio State is dead on arrival.

That's the prevailing stereotype regarding matchups between Southeastern Conference teams and Big Ten teams.

The perception is the SEC features quicker, faster athletes, while the Big Ten consists of a bunch of plodders.

Both coaches say it's only a myth. But the Buckeyes haven't don't much to disprove the notion. Ohio State is 0-8 all-time against SEC teams in bowl games, including last year's loss to Florida.

"I don't buy this speed gap thing at all," LSU coach Les Miles said. "It might have been true last year, I don't know. But when you watch the tape of this year's [Ohio State] team, you don't see it."

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel says NFL scouts wouldn't spend so much time in Columbus if his players ran slow 40-yard times. Thirty-four Ohio State players have been drafted in the last four years - 14 more than Florida and 12 more than LSU in that span.

The leading men

The vest vs. The hat.

Mr. Conservative vs. the Riverboat Gambler.

Ohio State's Jim Tressel and LSU's Les Miles possess contrasting dress styles and sideline demeanors, but they do have a few things in common.

Both are Ohio natives - Tressel was born in Mentor and Miles in Elyria - and both win a lot of games.

Tressel is more measured in his approach while the emotional Miles is not afraid to put all his cards on the table.

Miles went for it on fourth down five times in a win against Florida this season, and his team pulled out a stunner against Auburn by scoring a touchdown with one second remaining.

Tressel is trying to win his second national title at Ohio State after winning four Division I-AA titles at Youngstown State.

Miles is going for his first and hoping it further distances him from comparisons to former LSU coach Nick Saban.

Stay true to your school

The lure of the NFL and potential riches is hard for some college players to ignore. But two major factors on opposite sides of the line in tonight's game resisted the temptation to leave.

LSU defensive end Glenn Dorsey and Ohio State offensive tackle Kirk Barton returned for their senior seasons and were rewarded with a chance to win a national title.

And in a few months, they will be rewarded again in the NFL draft.

"This is the most fun season of football I've ever been a part of at any level," Barton said. "It's the best decision I ever made."

Despite playing injured much of the year, Dorsey still managed to gather a bundle of postseason awards as the nation's most dominant defensive lineman.

Many juniors on both teams are facing the same decision Barton and Dorsey did last year. Dorsey offered a few words of advice.

"You've just got to weed out all the outside influences," he said. "You can't let people get in your ear. Just make the right decision for yourself, your family and your team."

Making travel plans

LSU holds the home-field advantage for tonight's game in terms of proximity and familiarity.

The Superdome is a mere 80 miles from LSU's Baton Rouge campus. In 2004, LSU beat Oklahoma in the Superdome to win the national title.

The Tigers trounced Notre Dame 41-14 in last year's Sugar Bowl and beat Tulane on there earlier this season.

Ohio State last played at the Superdome in 1999, when it defeated Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl.

Ohio State lineman Kirk Barton noticed the LSU flavor in the French Quarter last week.

"I mean, it was kind of like in 'Rocky IV' when he goes to Russia, gets off the plane and the KGB is with him," Barton said. "As far as running my laps around the city tonight, I'll probably have some people chasing after me with their flags and stuff. They love their Tigers down here. It's very evident."

Ohio State changed its travel plans from last year's title-game appearance, when the Buckeyes lost to Florida in Arizona. Instead of arriving 10 days before the game, the Buckeyes arrived five days prior.

"The environment is a lot more businesslike," Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins said. "A lot of guys are not out and about. We can approach this a little differently. The only place I have gone so far is Walgreens."