SUGAR BOWL

Site: New Orleans.

Series history: Florida State leads, 2-0.

Bowl records: Florida State 16-8-2, Ohio State 13-16.

How teams got there: Neither team expected to be in the Sugar Bowl, but both wound up here after their national-championship hopes were derailed. An undefeated run through the Big Ten probably would have brought Ohio State a No. 1 ranking and a trip to the Rose Bowl. But the Buckeyes lost to Penn State on Oct. 11, then suffered their near-annual loss to Michigan to end the regular season. Florida State also ended its regular season with a loss to a rival. In this case it was a 32-29 defeat at the hands of Florida in The Swamp, which ended the Seminoles’ one-week stay atop the coaches’ rankings.

The game: Both teams seem intent on dispelling myths. “You think of the Big Ten, you think of hard-nosed players, three yards and a cloud of dust, Woody Hayes, bang-you-in-the-face football,” Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. “You think of the ACC, you think of speed, talent, finesse. I don’t think we got to where we are by just speed, talent and finesse. . . . We don’t have any finesse practices.” As for Ohio State, “Coach Hayes has not been with us for a while,” offensive coordinator Mike Jacobs said. Most of the talk this week has been about the Buckeye system of rotating quarterbacks Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine. Jackson is quicker to scramble, while Germaine is more of a drop-back passer. The Seminoles are concerned about the big-play potential of receivers David Boston and Dee Miller. Florida State’s emphasis on the pass could limit the effectiveness of the heart of the Ohio State defense, linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer, who excels at stopping runners from sideline to sideline. The Seminoles have plenty of big-play threats of their own in receivers E.G Green and Peter Warrick, plus running back Travis Minor.

FLORIDA STATE (10-1)

at USC: W 14-7

Maryland: W 50-7

at Clemson: W 35-28

Miami: W 47-0

at Duke: W 51-27

Georgia Tech: W 38-0

at Virginia: W 47-21

North Carolina St.: W 48-35

at North Carolina: W 20-3

Wake Forest: W 58-7

at Florida: L 32-29

OHIO STATE (10-2)

Wyoming: W 24-10

Bowling Green: W 44-13

Arizona: W 28-20

at Missouri: W 31-10

Iowa: W 23-7

at Penn St.: L 31-27

Indiana: W 31-0

Northwestern: W 49-6

at Michigan St.: W 37-13

at Minnesota: W 31-3

Illinois: W 41-6

at Michigan: L 20-14