Joey Johnston

Ohio State over Florida by two touchdowns.

There, I said it. Look for the No. 1 Buckeyes to win big in tonight's BCS Championship Game.

The Florida Gators, riding the momentum of an SEC championship — not to mention a well-timed defeat late in the season by the USC Trojans — made it to the big game when the BCS number-crunchers announced the suspense-filled verdict.

Good news for the Gators, who must be the luckiest big-time program in America. Remember 1996? The Gators were propelled to their only national championship when Texas upset Nebraska in the Big 12 title game (then Ohio State topped unbeaten Arizona State in the Rose Bowl).

Their 12-1 season in the SEC, although not pretty at times, was an impressive body of work. Now they get a trip to the desert. And if they see grandeur in the BCS Championship Game, believe me, it’s a mirage.

Ohio State, going for its 20^th consecutive victory, has the nation’s best player with Heisman Trophy senior quarterback Troy Smith.

Ohio State has the nation’s best big-game coach in Jim Tressel, who will figure out a way to get the Buckeyes ready, despite an astounding 51-day break between its regular season and bowl game. It has playmakers all around, and a nail-chewing defense that just won’t quit.

I see something like Buckeyes 34, Gators 20 in Glendale, Ariz.

I see the Buckeyes running it out to 13-0 for their second national title in five seasons (and their fourth BCS bowl win in four attempts under Tressel).

This season belongs to the Buckeyes. The future may well belong to the Gators, who are a year ahead of schedule under coach Urban Meyer. But the pace has accelerated, due in large part to Meyer’s outstanding recruiting efforts, which, perhaps not coincidentally, come during the dramatic downturn for Florida State and Miami.

These are not Steve Spurrier’s Gators, a devil-may-care, mad-bombing bunch that dented the scoreboard on a weekly basis. Meyer’s Gators do what is necessary. They play superb defense. Special teams, despite the ongoing struggles of place-kicker Chris Hetland, have come up big. Senior quarterback Chris Leak has been good (not great) and freshman dynamo Tim Tebow has been deployed perfectly, providing a bullish running threat on short-yardage situations that must be respected.

BCS Championship game Starters for Florida, Ohio State

Florida is well-prepared for any test after weathering a rigorous SEC schedule, which had one of the best seasons in its history (four 10-win teams). Florida beat a pair of 10-win teams (LSU, Arkansas) and another with nine victories (Tennessee).

Florida emerged from its gauntlet (Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Georgia) with a 3-1 mark, although the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, particularly, did not perform as advertised.

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Well, that sounds like quite a commercial for the Gators, doesn’t it?

Ohio State can’t claim quite as formidable a competitive level in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes did defeat Michigan, which would’ve been a worthy national-championship opponent, but it missed Wisconsin (11-1) on the Big Ten schedule. Penn State was average. Iowa sunk to 6-6. After that, the league’s profile was disastrous.

But let’s remember the early 24-7 win at Texas, a place where the Longhorns rarely lose, a start-to-finish domination that left little doubts about the Buckeyes’ overall strength.

What are the chinks in Ohio State’s armor? We don’t see many.

The Buckeye defense, which had replaced nine starters, was supposed to be a potential weakness, perhaps the factor that would prevent Ohio State from playing for college football’s ultimate prize.

Wrong.

Slide show   BCS title-game stars Offensive standouts to watch for when Ohio State, Florida meet on Jan. 8.

Out went A.J. Hawk. In came James Laurinaitis.

In some ways, this season’s defensive edition of the Buckeyes has even more muscle. Critics will point to the season-ending 42-39 victory against Michigan, which looked more like a midnight WAC shootout than the tradition-laced Big Ten grinder.