The dream season for Gus Malzahn and Auburn will officially continue in the Vizio BCS National Championship Game against No. 1 Florida State from Pasadena, CA. in a matchup that could extend the SEC title streak to eight.
Furthermore, the SEC west has played in the last five BCS Championship Games, and this is remarkable considering Auburn received zero votes in the AP top 25 in the preseason and needed Ohio State to lose for the first time in two years to get here.
Now that they are here, how does Auburn match up against Jameis Winston and the Seminoles?
The opening line for this game favors Florida State by a touchdown, and has since moved up to nine according to oddsharks.com, with a total set at 65. The point spread is designed to get some action on the “team of destiny” in Auburn, who has been as hot as any team in America over their last two games.
The Tigers are fresh off a two-game performance where Nick Marshall, Tre Mason and company have scored a combined 93 points and gained 841 rushing yards against two top five teams, including No. 1 Alabama.
Meanwhile, Florida State has faced a much easier road to navigate to get to this point. I mean, they had to beat Duke to get to the title game. Think about that – Duke was what stood in the way of them getting to Pasadena.
Although their schedule has been a cakewalk compared to Auburn’s, they have outscored their competition by more than 42 points per game on average. They have the No. 2 scoring offense (53 ppg) and No. 2 defense (10.7), and the overwhelming favorite in Winston to capture the Heisman trophy.
Florida State has more talent from top to bottom on their roster than Auburn, but the best teams don’t always win, as we’ve seen time and time again this season in college football.
This is going to shape up as a great game, with some believing the Cinderella season is about to come to an end for Auburn against the superior team, or it will be the first time Florida State faces a legit competitor and run game that is on a historic stretch.
With a month to prepare for this game, the momentum Auburn has built the last two weeks could be quelled. But I believe giving Malzahn a month to prepare for anyone is bad news for the opposition, and it’s awfully hard to bet against the team of destiny.
My early prediction for the BCS Championship Game is that the SEC makes it eight in a row with a 45-42 win over Florida State.
Patrick’s a college football writer for Rant Sports and radio host on Sportstownchicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt and Google and email him at for media inquiries.
Get our content customized for you directly to your inbox!
