It was the second that rattled Alabama, its aftershock felt all around the college football world.
Auburn’s heroic 100-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown Saturday will go down as this generation’s greatest play, rivaling only untouchables like California’s kickoff-return score — “The band is out on the field!” — against Stanford in 1982.
The play not only ended the title hopes of supposedly unbeatable Alabama, it imploded everyone’s title game projections and further sparked a race for the season’s final No. 2 spot, which comes out Sunday.
But for now, it’s time to play devil’s advocate with the Bowl Championship Series system.
If Florida State and Ohio State win their respective conference championships Saturday, does that mean they deserve a shot to play in the National Championship Game on Jan. 6?
Sure, both teams are undefeated, but are they truly the two best teams in America?
As an undefeated team (like Florida State, Ohio State AND Northern Illinois), the only thing you can do is win all of the games listed on your schedule. The problem: that may not be good enough.
Those who oppose an Ohio State National Championship Game appearance are quick to point out its relatively weak schedule. Ganging up on Florida A&M, Penn State, Purdue and Illinois is hardly anything to boast about. On top of that, a last second death-or-glory-move by Michigan this past Saturday almost shattered the Buckeyes’ hopes. They almost lost to Michigan, a mediocre Big Ten team.
Another pertinent question also comes to mind: How can you not have a Southeastern Conference team play in the title game?
The conference dominates college football and has churned out seven-straight national champions.
Saturday’s thrilling conclusion to the Auburn-Alabama game made it clear Auburn deserves a shot at the crystal football. The only thing holding Auburn back, with the exception of a loss to Missouri on Saturday, would be its week four loss to Louisiana State.
The fact of the matter is there is no right answer to the national championship puzzle. The BCS system is flawed and will be fixed with the implementation of next year’s four-team playoff. Of course, for this crop of current student-athletes, that’s one year too late.
gh181212@ohiou.edu
@charliehatch_
