NEW ORLEANS — Ohio State’s defense has been here before.
The Buckeyes entered last year’s BCS Championship Game flying high with a heralded unit that had met every regular-season challenge.
What it got them amounted to next to nothing, when Florida exposed them on a grand scale during a humiliating 41-14 defeat in Glendale, Ariz.
The task is much the same this time around, with another SEC opponent standing in OSU’s way in LSU, which, like the Gators, features an explosive offense and a two-headed monster at quarterback.
“The word I keep thinking about is multiple,” OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said of LSU’s offense, the 12th-ranked scoring unit in the country at 38.7 points per game. “I think we feel like (the quarterbacks) both run well, and really, they both throw well. Then you add five tailbacks that are a little bit different and very talented. Then you add a stable of wide receivers that are big and strong and fast and certainly an offensive line that’s very physical.
“So they’re very multiple. They do a lot of different things. They give you a lot of problems.”
They start with senior Matt Flynn and sophomore Ryan Perrilloux, LSU’s answer to Florida’s quarterback tandem of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, two players OSU had trouble containing in last year’s title game.
Flynn, the starter, can move his feet, but is considered the passing quarterback, while the large (6-foot-2, 222 pounds) and speedy Perrilloux, who has a big arm, is the running threat. Perrilloux made his way into 11 of LSU’s 13 games, starting twice in place of an injured Flynn, including a win over Tennessee in the SEC title game, when he was named the game’s most valuable player.
But the Tigers might not need their quarterback to leave the pocket, not with the behemoth offensive line and multifaceted rushing attack they employ.
Calling on five tailbacks that carried the ball at least 33 times apiece, LSU has averaged 218.0 yards per game – good for the 13th in the country – to outdo the vaunted Buckeye running game’s 200.7 average.
“I think it presents a huge challenge,” said junior linebacker Marcus Freeman, a second-team All-Big Ten selection. “You have definitely a talented running back like Jacob Hester, a powerful guy, but one that also has deceptive speed. Then a little guy like the (Trindon) Holliday guy. He has very, very good speed. And they have a lot of other talented running backs.
“That presents a huge challenge to this defense and something that we have to prepare for.”
Though the Tigers can turn to a number of backs, Hester has been the most impressive. The senior throwback does a little of everything, rushing for 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns, while catching 14 passes for 106 yards and a score.
“You can tell watching him play that he has a passion for the game,” Heacock said. “He plays every play hard. I’m sure as a coach I’d love coaching him, because you know he’s going to give you all he’s got.”
When they throw, LSU QBs will be looking for Early Doucet on most occasions, a speedy senior who was an All-SEC performer as a return man last year and led the Tigers with 50 receptions this season, despite missing four games with an injury.
But again, the Tigers mix it up in this department, with four receivers catching at least 28 passes and combining for 17 TDs.
Whether it is an advantage or not remains to be seen, but the Buckeyes’ defense (ranked first overall in the country) is also a versatile one, with a few standouts — defensive end Vernon Gholston, linebacker James Laurinaitis and cornerback Malcom Jenkins — surrounded by plenty of young talent.
“Everybody on our defense has made plays, even if they aren’t even starting,” said Jenkins, who, like Gholston and Laurinaitis, was an All-American selection this season. “Guys come in and make plays all over the place. I don’t think there are too many highs and lows as far as talent.
“There’s not many positions if any that you can just look at on film and say we’re going to exploit this certain person.”
It’s not as if LSU, just as Florida did, won’t try to find some holes nonetheless. But the Tigers will most likely stick with what’s got them this far on offense, which figures to present another top-shelf SEC challenge for the Buckeyes.
“We’re excited,” Jenkins said. “We’re rated the No. 1 defense in the nation. This is our chance to prove it versus one of the best offenses in the nation in the biggest game of the year.
“I think anybody who is a competitor would lick their chops at this opportunity.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

WHO: Ohio State vs. LSU
WHEN: Monday, 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Superdome, New Orleans, La.
TV: Channel 8

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