It has been a month since the end of the college football regular season. After weeks of waiting, the #1 Florida State Seminoles from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the #2 Auburn Tigers from the Southeastern Conference will meet in Pasadena's Rose Bowl Stadium for the VIZIO BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. ESPN's coverage of tonight's game will start 8:30 PM Eastern but because of the pregame festivities, I am not sure when the game will actually start. One thing is certain, though. Every second that ticks off the game clock puts the college football world closer to the end of the much-maligned Bowl Championship Series. Next season, the BCS system will be replaced with the four-team College Football Playoff to determine a national champion. I plan to discuss this development at a future date. For now, let us focus on tonight's game.
Florida State, the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, comes into tonight's game as the country's last undefeated team. The Seminoles defeated four ranked opponents: #25 Maryland on October 5th, #3 Clemson on October 19th, #7 Miami on November 7th, and #20 Duke in the ACC Championship, and they are the highest ranked team in the country in terms of points scored (53.0 ppg) and points allowed (10.7 ppg). Their quarterback is current Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, and the Seminoles have won every game except one by a margin of at least 27 points. Florida State will be playing for its first BCS title since 1999, the season they beat Virginia Tech (then a member of the Big East) in the Sugar Bowl.
The Auburn Tigers, the champion of the Southeastern Conference, enters the Rose Bowl Stadium as what many are calling "The Team of Destiny." I am not sure if any team is really "destined" to win a National Championship. However, given the ways in which Auburn won its last two regular season games against Georgia and Alabama, one could argue that fortune, luck, or some deity was smiling on the Tigers. After all, first-year head coach Gus Malzhan turned around a program that went 3-9 in the 2012 season. Now, Auburn is playing in its second BCS National Championship game in four seasons. What Auburn brings to Pasadena, besides its War Eagle, is the nation's best offensive line in rushing (335.7 yards per game). The Tigers are 9th in the country in scoring (40.2 ppg) and they have beaten five ranked opponents: #24 Ole Miss on October 5th, #7 Texas A&M on October 19th, #25 Georgia on November 16th, #1 Alabama on November 30th, and #5 Missouri in the SEC Championship. A loss to then #6 Louisiana State on September 21st was what prevented the Tigers from having an undefeated season. The one problem that Auburn may have going into this game is the fact that its defense has allowed 24.0 points per game. How they will fare against a Florida State offense that has averaged more than fifty points per game remains to be seen.
Both teams have had a month-long layoff since their respective conference championship games and that development could help or hinder either team. ESPN's Mark Schlabach gives Florida State an eleven-point advantage (projected final score: 34-23) but I think the game will be a little closer. I don't really like to guess but since this is the last BCS National Championship I will make an exception: I pick Florida State to win by eight.
Enjoy tonight's game, everybody!!
No comments:
Post a Comment