Well, it’s finally over. I went 4-2 on predictions…again. That brings my season total up to 53-37. Not a terrible season. I went +16, so I’ll take it. I’ll do bowl picks sometime this coming week after it’s announced tonight.
Nothing to do now but sit back and wait for the championship game to be announced between Florida State and Auburn. Alabama will come in at a solid #3, with Stanford, Baylor, and Michigan State fighting for 4th. Although the final BCS title game is set, imagine how it would be if there was a 4-team playoff this year.
As I listen to analysts break down the championship game, and many of them say they aren’t so sure Alabama is the definite worse team between them and Auburn, it got me to thinking what it would be like in the playoff. Going into this week, if things had stayed in place, Alabama would have played Florida State in the first round in a 1v4 match-up, with Auburn and Ohio State playing in the 2v3. Now things have changed, and Auburn would face Alabama, but this time on a neutral field.
Lou Holtz even said he thinks Alabama should get in over Auburn. While I wouldn’t have a problem with that obviously, I think it was past Lou’s bedtime and he was a little off his rocker. Not that that would be any different for him from any other night. But while listening to all sorts of analysts talking about it, they are all saying Auburn should get in on head to head, but they have never said Auburn is the definitive second best team in the country.
I know Alabama lost to Auburn. Auburn won the match-up and deserves to be in the title game this year. No question. But move the game to a neutral field, and let the angry Alabama team get back at them, and who knows what will happen. The game went down to the wire the first time with Alabama blowing it at the end. The last time that happened, then Alabama got a rematch in the same year, they won the title 21-0 over LSU. Also their loss was at home, which was even worse than losing on the road at their biggest rival’s stadium. Just throwing that tidbit out there.
So what would a playoff look like, and would the winner of Iron Bowl 2 move on and win the title game? Who knows. The biggest question would be who would be the 4th place team.
On eye test alone, and who I think the best team is, I’d have to go with Stanford or Michigan State. I think Michigan State might have played their way in with the Big 10 title game win. Stanford is a good team, but those 2 losses will be killer. Although Condoleezza Rice is on the committee, so who knows?
Baylor would be the only other logical choice. The other teams who would have been there are Missouri (lost to #3 Auburn), Oklahoma State (lost to #17 Oklahoma), and Ohio State (lost to #10 Michigan State).
You might could make an argument for South Carolina, and maybe Oregon or Clemson. But I don’t think there is any way they jump a 1-loss Baylor Big 12 champ, and a 1-loss Michigan State Big 10 champ. Or a Stanford Pac-12 champ, even with 2-losses.
I’d say Michigan State would get the nod with their stout defense up against FSU in the first round.
So here is what I think a 4-team playoff would be like this season:
#1 Florida State vs. #4 Michigan State
#2 Auburn vs. #3 Alabama
The big question here is what bowl game would host who (if it was the 2014 bowls, which have been predetermined). No one is close to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, but Michigan State, being in the Big 10, might have more familiarity with it. Florida State wouldn’t want to go to Pasadena as the 1-seed if the Sugar Bowl is not far away.
So that means that Alabama and Auburn could possibly play each other…in the Rose Bowl. How crazy is that?
Either way, we are heading toward an Auburn vs. Florida State BCS championship game, and the SEC will have a chance for #8 in a row. Here are my BCS bowl projections for tonight, along with what match-up I would like to see in these games in italics under Alternate 1. Most of these are probably pretty set in stone, but I would like to see Ohio State and Oklahoma switched such as I’ve indicated below. Also, a couple of other changes could be possible as well, indicated with Alternate 2.
BCS Championship
Florida State vs. Auburn
Sugar Bowl
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Alternate 1: Alabama vs. Ohio State
Alternate 2: Alabama vs. UCF
Rose Bowl
Stanford vs. Michigan State
Fiesta Bowl
Baylor vs. UCF
Alternate 2: Baylor vs. Clemson
Orange Bowl
Clemson vs. Ohio State
Alternate 1: Clemson vs. Oklahoma
Alternate 2: Ohio State vs. Oklahoma