OSU will atone for last year's debacle by riding Beanie

Ohio State RB Chris Wells ran wild on Michigan, finishing with 222 yards and two TDs. Harry How/Getty Images

MAILBAG Have questions or feedback? E-mail Cory McCartney. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

RELATED • MANDEL: Five reasons LSU will win • Ohio State's Road to the BCS Title Game • LSU's Road to the BCS Title Game • TALE OF THE TAPE: LSU vs. Ohio State

Click here for five reasons why LSU will win.

Earlier this season, the numbers "4114" served as the key pad code to enter Ohio State's practice facility. The team whose reputation had been drastically altered by those very numbers hasn't had to look hard to find motivation after the debacle in the Arizona desert last January.

Last year's 41-14 BCS title-game loss to Florida has been the basis for every knock against a fabled program and a conference that has been written off as nothing more than slow and plodding. On Monday night, Ohio State will make a repeat title game appearance, against LSU, and redemption is weighing heavy on these Buckeyes.

"I look at it as if we're an army going to battle for Ohio State pride once again," running back Chris "Beanie" Wells said.

While coach Jim Tressel may, at least publicly, be a little gun shy about using the "R" word as motivation -- telling beat writers in mid-December, "I don't know if I embrace redemption" -- he sent his players home for Christmas break with a gift that reeks of it. Tressel had the team's video coordinator put together a 10-minute DVD that opened with the Gators celebrating on the University of Phoenix Stadium field after last year's title win and followed with a montage of talking heads belittling the Buckeyes and saying they don't belong in New Orleans.

The message was well received.

"Obviously you watch films like that and you realize just how much everybody hates you," offensive tackle Alex Boone said. "But at the end, who cares? Who cares what anybody thinks but us. This is our team. None of those people are going to play come Monday night."

Knocking off the Tigers would go a long way toward debunking the Big Ten's inferiority, while a loss would only strengthen that theory (and turn that DVD into college football's version of The Ring). Can OSU pull it off?

Here are five reasons why the Buckeyes will be hoisting the crystal football on Monday night:

1) Speed? Believe it or not, the Buckeyes do have it. Ohio State can indeed run, but the Gators' quick defensive line had its way with the Buckeyes (who can forget a helmetless Earl Everett chasing down Troy Smith) last year. While everyone seems to be expecting LSU's Glenn Dorsey-led front to cause similar problems, don't forget that the Tigers, who allowed 29 sacks, will have their hands full with Ohio State's equally fast defense.

"We have speed to match up against them," safety Kurt Coleman said.

Buckeyes junior defensive end Vernon Gholston has emerged as one of the nation's premier pass rushers, totaling 13 sacks (fourth in the country), while junior linebacker James Laurinaitis has 103 tackles (8 1/2 for loss) in leading a defense that is sixth nationally with 100 tackles for loss.

The increased speed on defense, and throughout the team, came with the help of someone who knows a thing or two about picking up the pace. The Buckeyes worked on their quickness with speed coordinator and Olympic gold medalist Butch Reynolds, and at random points during practice, OSU would run the ironically named "SEC Tiger Drill" in which they would run the width of the field three times, take a 20-second break and do it again.

2) Beanie Wells will be able to run against LSU's defense. Yes, Dorsey is the most decorated defensive player in Tigers' history. Yes, he leads a unit that some mock drafts say could have four first-round picks. But as Wells said: "I think if you really look at the film, teams could run on LSU."

Well, at least part of the season they could. The Tigers' third-ranked defense allowed just two yards per carry in the first 10 games, including 0.9 yards per carry during the opening three weeks. But over the last three games the banged-up unit was yielding 6.2 yards per carry, the brunt of which came from Arkansas, which totaled 385 yards.

In Wells, the Tigers will face a big body along the lines of the Razorbacks RB Darren McFadden (206 yards vs. LSU). The 6-foot-1, 235-pound sophomore rushed for 1,463 yards (821 in the last five games) behind a hulking offensive line led by NFL-caliber tackles Kirk Barton and Boone. It averages 6-5, 316 pounds per lineman. The group allowed 14 sacks all season and can hold its own against LSU's vaunted front.

1 of 2