By Mike Corasaniti

Game: 2014 VIZIO BCS National Championship Game
Location: Pasadena, California
Date: January 6, 2014
Teams: Ohio State Buckeyes, Florida Gators

How Ohio State gets there

Last season was as close to a national championship Ohio State could get to. The opening undefeated season was as good a start The attitude will be even hungrier in Columbus this season now that there is more than a Michigan demolition to look forward to.

The Buckeyes will enjoy some of the best leadership in the country next season even if Urban Meyer's presence on the OSU sidelines may still be underrated by some. What more, having a Heisman candidate entering his senior season for a schedule that may include just two ranked opponents at the most could lead to one of the easiest repeat undefeated seasons in a long time.

What's scary is that the Buckeyes are going to be even better than they were last season. What's scarier is that even if they cruise to the National Championship Game, people won't look at them twice until they score first on an SEC team once they get there.

How Florida gets there

This upcoming seasons will be a good opportunity for Will Muschamp that he belongs with Urban Meyer in the class of great Florida coaches. Getting through the SEC East shouldn't be too difficult for the Gators despite maybe a few rough hits taken at the hands of Jadeveon Clowney when they head to Columbia Nov. 16. Their toughest midseason stretch will come in early October with an Arkansas-LSU-Missouri string, but their season will ultimately be decided by their likely spot in the SEC Championship game come Dec. 7.

What will define this season for essentially the rest of the country is the SEC Championship game and whether Florida (or possibly Missouri or South Carolina) can trip up Alabama. Texas A&M did it last season with an all out aerial attack, which for now will have to be the game plan for anyone playing the Tide (until anyone else comes close to beating them). 

Nothing is more easier said than done than getting past Alabama's defense, so Florida's hopes will absolutely ride on  if Jeff Driskel's growth is as good as advertised. Nothing says though that Florida's defense will be any pushover though. An NFL-ready defensive core led by Dominique Easley should be enough to slow down even the best SEC offenses.

The Matchup

It's hard to tell what sounds better: Urban Bowl or Meyer Bowl. Regardless, there is a lot to make anyone believe that picking against the SEC–any SEC team–is naive and stupid and you should just crawl back into your little hole because the SEC is going to win every championship from now on ever. No.

Are the country's best football teams still found in the SEC? Yes. But that doesn't mean that a legitimate contender still can not come out of the Big 10 or Pac-12. Ohio State is going to have an easier season than the likes of Florida, but they are still going to end up being tested on multiple fronts through some very close games.

Florida is going to have a big chip on their shoulder as they get closer to the postseason after the embarrassing (sorry, "fluke") loss to a Big East team in last year's Sugar Bowl. Ohio State, on the other hand, will just be looking to say that they are worthy of national respect for the second year in a row.

Off probation and with the firepower to go off on any SEC team, the Buckeyes just might have what it takes to end the southern national title rule.

Prediction

Ohio State 35-26

By Mike Corasaniti

College football fans are still about a year away from getting what they want, and probably still a lifetime away from getting what they really want.

In about fourteen months, four teams will go into January still with the hopes of calling themselves national champions. 

It's an improvement from the sport's current format (which will almost surely crash and burn in the coming months when K-State, Oregon, and Notre Dame all finish their seasons without a loss), but it still leaves a lot to be desired from fans all across the country. 

What about the one or two-loss SEC teams, that (although hard to admit) are still better than some of the undefeated teams left? What about the undefeateds that accusingly "sneak by" in easier conferences and never get a shot at proving their real worth? 

This year is no exception in considering the awesome potential an 8-team BCS playoff would hold for college football. So while we're sitting and waiting, hoping that the flawed system somehow at least works for this year and hopefully improves next year (please God don't let there by 5 undefeated teams), let's take a look at 5 story lines that would be just awesome to see unfold in a sports event that would be like no other.


National Semi-Final: No. 8  Texas A&M v. No. 4 Alabama

Think Alabama fans are the ones that to see this rematch? Think again.

Nothing would solidify Texas A&M's place in the SEC more, or set up a rivalry for years to come, than if the Aggies showed up at Alabama's doorstep and crushed the Tide once more. This time though, it would be an even more direct shot at the Tide's championship hopes.

BCS National Championship: No. 3 Notre Dame v. Anyone

This one is simple.

It announces the return of one of college football's most storied programs back to national prominence (despite how many people might have been happy to see them at the bottom of barrel). But, more importantly, it would give the opportunity for this years "odd man out" to play for something more than a Rose Bowl banner. 

Obviously, a four-team playoff would be enough for Notre Dame or any other left-out undefeated team to get a shot at a title. But the eight-team format is even more just to prove that, not only are they undefeated, but they beat two more top teams in the country to prove. 

And although I joked about it before, the college football karma gods say that it's only a matter of time before the season ends and seven or eight teams finish their campaigns without a loss. What will we do then?

BCS National Championship: No. 6 Florida v. No. 5 Georgia

How big do you think this cocktail party would get if a national title was on the line?

BCS National Championship: No. 7 LSU v. No. 4 Alabama

Admittedly, this match-up has become less and less exciting for people outside of the SEC football realm. The country doesn't love 9-3 or 10-6 or 3-0 final scores. But the country does, or at least should, love the fact that these two teams rose from the ranks of the stingy new playoff format to face off against each other once again for the championship.

And just to put it out there, a lot of people were annoyed when these two teams played for the title last season, saying the rematch was boring. But just think of the "earned" concept. If Bama proved they could beat Georgia and then, say K-State, and LSU proved they were better than both Oregon and, say, Notre Dame, people would be a lot more excited to see this southern brawl fold out.

BCS National Championship: No. 2 Oregon v. No. 1 Kanas St.

The best part about increasing the playoff field in college football is that when the two top teams in the country end up coming out of it, it gives closure, and it makes everyone happier with that fact that they even more so earned  their spot to play for the title.

This is looking more and more like the match-up we are going to see for the national title this year. It is going to be fast-paced, exciting, and with a ton and ton of scoring. It's the game anybody that's played Madden or likes classic gun-slinging football wants. 

So just imagine, when these two teams steamroll through the playoffs to meet each other for a title, how even more intensified the final meeting would be.