Got controversy?

The Bowl Championship Series does. After two years of relative peace, this year’s BCS title game might be the most controversial since the system was implemented in 1999.

Whether you agree with it or not, the Ohio State Buckeyes will face the Louisiana State Fighting Tigers on Jan. 7 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Ohio State got in as the only one-loss conference champion among those schools that earned a BCS bowl berth. The Buckeyes went 11-1 this campaign, with their lone setback coming against Rose Bowl-bound Illinois. 

LSU’s qualifications are a little more murky. The Tigers were selected over six other two-loss teams playing in BCS bowls. Its win over Tennessee in the SEC championship game was just enough to jump to No. 2 in the BCS ratings, ahead of West Virginia and Oklahoma.  

That means the Purple and Gold are back in the title game for the first time since the 2003 season when they beat Oklahoma for the national championship. The Buckeyes make their third appearance in six years in the national final, though they’d like to forget their most recent visit.

Ohio State was thrashed by Florida in a 41-14 drubbing in which the Buckeyes were favored by seven points. OSU managed just 82 yards of total offense that night and an otherwise sensational season was smeared for Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith.

But that was then. The Buckeyes look like they could be a more complete unit this season, minus the Troy Smiths and Ted Ginns. Ohio State owns the best statistical defense in the nation, leading the way in total defense (227.6 yards against per game), scoring defense (10.7 points per game), passing defense (148.2 yards per game) and ranks third in rushing defense (79.4 yards per game).   

Bronko Nagurski finalist James Laurinaitus anchors the unit with 103 tackles, five sacks and two interceptions. He is just a year removed from winning the award outright as the nation’s top defensive player and might well be the most recognizable name on the Buckeyes roster.    

The offense doesn’t have anyone with quite the same star appeal. If there’s one player who comes close, it’s running back Chris Wells. Wells gave Ohio State’s rushing game a much needed boost this season when he ran for over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Last season the Buckeyes lacked an explosive tailback like Wells that could knock a defense back and keep it on its toes. Wells has both the power and speed needed to give his team a true dual-threat offense. Ohio State was only 4.2 yards shy of averaging more than 200 yards both in passing and rushing per game.

Todd Boeckman took over as quarterback this season and didn’t look much like a first-year starter. He was a poised decision-maker in the pocket and managed over 2,000 yards with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Now Boeckman faces his toughest test against an LSU defense that doesn’t sit far behind the Buckeyes in the stats department. The Tigers rank third in the nation in total defense and 20th in scoring defense with 19.6 points per game.

LSU’s defense also ranks fourth in the nation in turnovers gained and is fifth in interceptions with 21. It helps when you have the nation’s best defensive player, Glenn Dorsey, hurrying the quarterback every down. Dorsey edged out Laurinaitis for this year’s Bronko Nagurski award despite battling through a knee injury for much of the season. 

On offense, LSU is hoping starting quarterback Matt Flynn will be healed in time for Jan. 7. Flynn suffered a shoulder injury against Arkansas that kept him out of the SEC championship game.

Flynn is a senior starting for the first time this season. He tossed for 2,233 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but he can also scramble when he has to. Flynn has rushed for 204 yards and four touchdowns. That should concern an Ohio State squad that struggled against mobile quarterbacks like Illinois’ Juice Williams this year.

Flynn’s backup, sophomore Ryan Perrilloux, can also pick up yards on the ground and will pose the same kinds of threats if the No. 1 QB is unable to play. Perrilloux threw for 243 yards in the season-ending 21-14 win over Tennessee. 

The Tigers have a pile of other weapons like 1000-yard running back Jacob Hester and shifty receiver Early Doucet. The 22-year-old Doucet is one of five LSU players with more than 200 yards receiving and three touchdowns this season. 

LSU averaged 38.7 points and 448.2 yards per game this season, which ranks the team in the top 25 in the nation in both categories.

Those kinds of numbers helped the Tigers win football games but also attracted large pointspreads from Las Vegas oddsmakers. LSU covered only two spreads in its final 10 games.

Ohio State was more profitable with a 7-4 against-the-spread record this year. The last time the Buckeyes were underdogs in a national championship game was in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl when Miami was a 12-point favorite. The Buckeyes won that game 34-31 in double overtime.