Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has proven to be one of the finest big-game coaches in college football. David Maxwell/Getty Images

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3) The vest -- or at least the guy who's sporting it. When it comes to big games, there are few coaches who can rival Tressel's ability to deliver.

In Tressel's seventh year at Ohio State, the Buckeyes are making their fifth BCS appearance (surpassed only by Florida State's Bobby Bowden, USC's Pete Carroll and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, who have all made six BCS games). Tressel is 3-1 in those games and 4-2 in bowl games, including a 33-7 win in the '04 Alamo Bowl against an Oklahoma State team coached by LSU's Les Miles. Tressel is also 6-1 against archrival Michigan and has collected eight wins over top 10 teams in his tenure in Columbus.

And he's done it with an almost stately demeanor that has earned him the nickname "Senator Tressel." That approach will be key with the Buckeyes playing in a pro royal-purple-and-old-gold crowd; a less-than neutral site that Barton has likened to Rocky IV, in which Rocky Balboa travels to Russia to train and fight Ivan Drago.

"[Tressel] gets you fired up in a different sort of way," Boone said. "He's not off the wall, bonkers, you really don't even know if he's happy, sad, anything."

4) Just like in 2003, the pressure is off Ohio State. A year ago, the Buckeyes entered Glendale, Ariz., unbeaten behind Heisman Trophy winner Smith, and were seven-point favorites against the Gators. It created an acknowledged lackadaisical approach to the game and ended up costing OSU.

Back in '03, when Ohio State won its first national championship since 1970, it was a 12-point underdog against No. 1 Miami. Fast-forward four years and the Buckeyes, despite being No. 1, are back in that role as four-point underdogs. The fact that they've done it minus the key ingredients of '06's potent offense has given this team a workmanlike mentality.

"Last year people kept saying, you're going to win, you're going to win," Boone said. "You start to think, We're going to win. Maybe we don't have to practice as hard as we are. This year it's the opposite. [People say,] 'You're too slow, you're not going to make it, you don't hit hard enough.' We've been taking practices up another level and running and hitting as hard as we can, and I think it's going to be different."

5) The most telling stats in recent years are both in Ohio State's favor. Five times in the last six BCS title games, the team with the defense that has allowed fewer points that season has gone on to claim the crystal trophy. The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the country in scoring defense, yielding 10.7 points per game, while the Tigers have allowed 19.6 a game (21st).

Ohio State, which is in the top-six in the country in seven categories, is also No. 1 in total defense (225.3 ypg), pass defense (148.2) and pass-efficiency defense. While Ohio State hasn't faced an offense as potent as LSU's No. 20-ranked attack, which averages 448.2 yards and 38.7 points per game (12th), being an offensive juggernaut hasn't necessarily guaranteed winning a national championship either.

Four of the last five champions have ranked lower than their opponents in total offense, and the Buckeyes enter the Superdome with the nation's 57th-ranked attack (397.1 yards per game). Ohio State is 36th in scoring (32 ppg).

Of course, there is always the fact that the one team to buck (no pun intended) both of those trends was last year's Gators.

Prediction: Just like Ohio State did last year, LSU will get on the board first by feeding off the quasi-home crowd. But behind Gholston and fellow end Cameron Heyward, the Buckeyes will pressure inconsistent QB Matt Flynn into a key mistake or two, while OSU will ride the steady game management of QB Todd Boeckman and a heavy helping of Beanie Wells to redemption.

Ohio State 27, LSU 21