• By JOE MACALUSO AND JAY MARTIN
• Advocate staff
• Published: Jan 6, 2008

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Let the game begin

After a long wait and a lot of talk, kickoff is almost here

Today ends The Advocate’s 25 Day Countdown to the Showdown.

So Monday’s the big day, the biggest for LSU and Ohio State in this much-too-long college football season.

LSU fans have been waiting four years for a shot at what could be the school’s third national championship — four l-o-o-o-o-n-g years. What was it before Jan. 4, 2004, 45 years between football national championships? That was a long wait.

It’s been 12 months for Ohio State and, when you ask the Buckeyes, most of them admit it’s been the longest year of their young lives.

Yes, an 11-1 season in 2007 went a long way toward erasing Florida Gators 41, Ohio State Buckeyes 14 last January.

The OSU eraser has got a little more rubber left: It wasn’t so much that Florida, a 7-7 1/2 point underdog, won. It was how the Gators won.

Ohio State came into the 2006 national championship matchup with Heisman Trophy winner quarterback Troy Smith; two first-round NFL draft picks, wide outs Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez; and, All-Big Tenrunning back Antonio Pittman.

Firepower galore, except Florida was holding all the matches and wasn’t about to share any of them so that the Buckeyes could light the fuse.

The Gators held the Buckeyes at every turn after Ohio State got up 7-0 when Ginn ran the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

It was all downhill after that: Florida’s defense allowed 47 rushing yards, and Smith hit 4 of 14 passes for 35 yards.

That’s it: 82 yards from the No. 1 team in all the land!

No, that’s not all of it, because Florida had the ball for 40 minutes, 48 seconds after Ginn’s score and hung 41 on the Buckeyes.

Right now, no matter what numbers you throw up and out, offensive production, defenses’ rankings, penalties per game, All-Americans, tradition, number of fans and bowl history, nobody has as good a crystal ball to predict Monday night’s outcome to match the crystal football that will go to Monday night’s winner.

By now, you know Michigan beat Florida and Tennessee beat Wisconsin in this bowl season’s SEC-Big Tenmatchups. You know SEC teams are 6-2 and the Big Tenis 3-4 in bowls.

By now, you’ve heard that Ohio State is 0-8 in bowl games against SEC teams. The law of averages is that the Buckeyes have to win one of these one day.

By now, you know that Les Miles has taken his Tigers to two bowl games and blew by the opposition — 40-3 over Miami and 41-14 over Notre Dame.

By now, you’ve read that Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel gave his players a DVD to take home for the Christmas holidays. The disc was replete with talking heads dissing his s-l-o-o-o-w Buckeyes after Florida’s dismantling job. And, you know how the Buckeyes reacted?

Offensive tackle Alex Boone said he watched it with his grandmother and, “She got really angry. She’s a crazy lady, but I love her to death. It’s just 10 minutes of people talking smack about us. She wanted to kill someone. She was yelling at the TV, saying that man’s a liar, you’re not slow.”

Fact is, and despite an 11-2 record, the Tigers made far too many mental mistakes this season to think they can replicate September’s 48-7 whipping they put on Virginia Tech.

Just last week, the talking heads are assuring all of us that Tressel’s team learned from the same 51-day layoff the Buckeyes had between the final game of their last two regular seasons to the BCS title games.

Fact is, the 51 days didn’t make the Buckeyes slow last year in Arizona, and a different approach to this season’s 51-day layoff won’t make them faster.

What does that mean Monday night?

All this is laid out before you to illustrate just how little stock you can put into pregame hype, all the tripe any college football analyst can dish out and the interminably long wait LSU and Ohio State players and coaches have had before this game will be played.

No matter how you want to break this game down, these will be two great football teams playing on the biggest stage college football has to offer.

For the players, the coaches, the staffs, the schools, the fans, the former players, the cities and the states, that should be enough.

We know it isn’t, but it should be.

And, LSU is faster than Ohio State. Florida was, too.

BCS TRIVIA

TODAY’S FACT: The winner of Monday night’s LSU vs. Ohio State matchup will be the first team to hold two BCS national titles.

SATURDAY’S QUESTION: Who holds the record for the longest pass reception in a BCS bowl games?

Santonio Holmes, Ohio State, 85-yard pass from Troy Smith. Holmes scored on the play. Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20, Jan. 2, 2006 Fiesta Bowl.

NOTEBOOK

The governors

The governors of Louisiana and Ohio finally have declared their wager on Monday night’s game.

“Is a king cake good?” Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland asked.

“I sure am going to enjoy the wine,” Gov. Kathleen Blanco declared.

If she does, then there’s some whine that will come with Ohio’s wine, but she won’t get it first hand. Strickland said he’s disappointed that he won’t attend the game.

“I’ll be around to wait on that king cake to be delivered,” he said. “Come Monday night, we hope to have our cake and eat it, too. Go Bucs!”

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO

“It’s always important to put our best foot forward, and athletics is one of those vehicles that allows us to do that on a national stage.

“What I like about the BCS is that we have a powerful Louisiana team playing in it. I’m pulling for LSU and hoping they can pull this one out. I want to see it happen.

“For our state, I think what happens in these times of recovery is that it reminds the nation of Louisiana’s extraordinary experience over the last two years.

“Having this game in our state, and having our team play in the game, says that we’re back, that we can host big events.

“It says, ‘Don’t count us out.’ It says we’re viable. We know we still have a lots of work to do and we just want to stay in the minds around the country.

“I know the nation is sensitive to what happened with the two storms, and this will give us a chance to show appreciation for the help that we got nationally.”

GOV. TED STRICKLAND

“Ohio State makes me feel proud.

“Ohio is a very diverse state, racially, ethnically, culturally and economically. We have big cities, small towns and rural areas, and the one thing that seems to pull Ohioans together like no other is devotion to Ohio State football.

“One thing every Buckeye can agree on is that Ohio State football makes us proud Ohioans. It’s a terrific tradition.

“Ohio State football is one of the most wonderful sports traditions in our country.

“I hope everybody has a good time, that there are no serious injuries, and that the Buckeyes win.

“I’m proud of them regardless of the final outcome. They’ve had a good season. LSU is a terrific team. I think it will be a great game.”

BREAKING DOWN THE SHOWDOWN

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

GLENN DORSEY

6-2, 303, Sr., Gonzales

Most decorated LSU defender since 3-time All-America Tommy Casanova (1969-71) … Outland Trophy, Lott Trophy, Lombardi Award & Nagurski Award winner and Bednarik Award finalist … two-year consensus All-America … SEC Defensive Player of the Year … two-time first-team All-SEC … played in 12 games in 2004 true freshman season, 13 more in sophomore year ... both years behind All-America tackles Kyle Williams & Claude Wroten … 11 stops vs. Ole Miss and 8 tackles vs. Auburn top 2006 games … played senior year despite knee injury vs. Auburn … top game 8 tackles vs. South Carolina …64 tackles, 11.5 tackles for losses, 6 sacks this year.

CAREER: 51 games, 174 tackles, 26 tackles for losses and 12 sacks for 206 total yards.

“He’s a passionate player, extremely strong, extremely quick … he’s going to make offenses have nightmares.”

James Laurinaitis, Ohio State All-America

DOUG WORTHINGTON

6-7, 271, Soph.

Athol Springs, N.Y.

Took redshirt in 2005 … played in 7 games in 2006 redshirt freshman season … replaced 3-year starter & All Big TenQuinn Pitcock in D-line … worked both DE and DT spots in 2006 … coming off knee surgery … injured in practice before last season’s BCS title game … sat out spring drills … Parade All-America at St. Francis Prep … 22 tackles this year in 12 games … top games vs. Illinois & Michigan … splits time with Louisiana native Nader Abdallah

CAREER: 21 games, 25 tackles, 2 tackles for losses, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble.

“Another of our defensive linemen who have excelled as a unit. They are steady and relentless.”

Jim Heacock, assistant coach