Buckeyes battle Tigers for BCS National Championship

Jan 7, 2008 /By Rob Gerein

The Ohio State Buckeyes, the No. 1-ranked team in College Football, take on the No. 2 LSU Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game tonight at the Louisiana Superdome.

The Tigers are 3½-point favorites at Sportsbook.com, while the over/under is 47.

Ohio State and LSU have met just twice previously, the last time being nearly two decades ago.

The teams squared off in a Southeastern Conference-Big Ten home-and-home series on Sept. 26, 1987 and Sept. 24, 1988.

In ’87, the teams played to a tie, while the following year the Buckeyes overcome a 13-point deficit in the final two minutes to get a 36-33 win in Columbus.

This is the Buckeyes’ second consecutive national title tilt, and they’ll have plenty of motivation after being blown out 41-14 by the Florida Gators in last year's game.

Ohio State (11-1 SU, 7-4 ATS) opened the season by winning its first 10 games, before suffering a 28-21 upset loss to Illinois. The Buckeyes beat rival Michigan 14-3 in the final game of the regular season, covering the 4-point spread, and finished atop the BCS rankings.

Ohio State is 18-20 SU in bowl games all-time and had won four straight before the loss to Florida last year. The Buckeyes won a national championship with an overtime win against Miami-Florida in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.

LSU (11-2 SU, 4-7-2 ATS) won the Southeastern Conference this season with a 21-14 victory over Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game.

The Tigers won the national title when they beat Oklahoma 21-14 in the 2004 Sugar Bowl. LSU is making its eighth straight bowl appearance and is 19-18-1 in 38 previous bowl matchups.

Ohio State is 23-2 SU in its past 25 games, and 5-2 ATS in its past seven. LSU is 18-2 SU in its past 20, and 1-7-2 ATS in its past 10.

The game can be seen at 8 pm ET on FOX.

» Sports, Gambling and Betting Articles Archive «