It's here. It's finally here.
After weeks of sampling the appetizers of the other 34 bowls, the main course is at hand.
Alabama is looking to avenge its only loss of the season when it lost in overtime to visiting LSU in November. The Bayou Bengals are looking to finish out a perfect season and capture their third national title in 9 years.
So from Nick Saban's close call as a young man to the goofy (and terrific) punter from LSU, here are 25 other things to know about tonight's BCS title game:
1 . Left tackle Barrett Jones is the third Alabama player to win the Outland Award as the nation's top lineman. Jones, a junior, already has his degree in accounting and is working on his master's. He'll be well-prepared for the millions the NFL will be throwing his way.
2. Jones has spent the last two spring breaks in Haiti helping victims of the catastrophic earthquake in January 2010.
3. According to a recent study by Forbes magazine, LSU ranks fourth in most valuable football program to the overall university. Texas, Notre Dame and Penn State are the top 3. Alabama (sixth) is one of five SEC schools in the top 10.
4. Alabama is wearing a No. 77 decal on its helmets in memory of offensive lineman Aaron Douglas, who died of a drug overdose in May.
5. LSU cornerback/punt returner Tyrann Mathieu was fifth in the Heisman voting. He has grown to enjoy the nickname "Honey Badger," which sounds effeminate, but is really one of the most ferocious animals in the world.
6. Mathieu, whose father is in jail for murder, was raised by an aunt and uncle after his grandfather died when Mathieu was 5. Riveting stuff.
7. Mathieu and partner Morris Claiborne became the first teammates in history to be named first-team All-America cornerbacks. Amazing when you consider last year's top corner, Patrick Peterson, left a year early and was one of the NFL's top rookies this season.
8. Alabama junior linebacker Dont'a Hightower, one of the best in the nation at his position, missed most of the 2009 national title run when he ripped up his knee in the fourth game of the season.
9. LSU guard Will Blackwell was the team's co-MVP on offense. He missed nine games last year with a broken leg.
10. Alabama won three of its last four national titles (1978, 1979, 1992) at the Superdome. Ditto for LSU's two most recent championships (2003, 2007).
