Last year in the Iron Bowl, Alabama steamrolled Auburn 49-0. This year was a completely different story.
Auburn came back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to tie the ball game up at 28-28 with less than a minute to play. Alabama drove down, and with a second remaining attempted a 57-yard field goal with a backup kicker.
The kick fell short, when Chris Davis started the play that shocked America. Taking the ball from the depths of the end zone, he tiptoed the sidelines and returned the missed field goal 109 yards to topple the juggernaut, Alabama Crimson Tide.
Ohio State also played a thriller in Ann Arbor, Mich., against the Michigan Wolverines. Ohio State intercepted a two-point conversion attempt by the Wolverines with less than a minute to go to seal its 42-41 win.
This solidified the Buckeyes’ second straight perfect regular season under coach Urban Meyer, and sent the Buckeyes to the Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan State.
The current BCS rankings have Florida State at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Auburn at No. 3 and Alabama No. 4. The top three teams all have tough tests this weekend in their conference championship games, with Florida State facing the upstart No. 20 Duke Blue Devils, who are fresh off of their first 10-win season. Ohio State faces Michigan State, and Auburn will matchup against No. 5 Missouri. If one or two of the top three teams lose their conference championship, it will open up Pandora’s box.
Personally, I don’t think that Ohio State is deserving of its No. 2 ranking, and I think that it will likely lose to a talented Spartan team Saturday, opening the door for Auburn to take the No. 2 spot.
However, if Ohio State and Florida State both emerge from this weekend undefeated, they will play for the BCS Title and if that is the case, Ohio State could be in for a rude awakening lining up against the Seminoles.
Ohio State has not played any team with the talent level close to the teams Auburn has played, yet barring a loss to Michigan State, Ohio State will play Florida State.
This is not a biased statement. Auburn plays in the SEC, the best conference in college football. The Tigers just beat the No. 1 team in the country. Ohio State plays teams like Purdue and Indiana, and my high school football team could probably compete with those teams.
Likely we will have a repeat of the 2012 National Title game, where Alabama blew out my beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Florida State will walk away with the coveted Crystal Football.
ANDREW KALATA
