BCS National Championship Game 2014: Was Florida State’s win over Auburn the greatest title game in BCS history?
By Jack Crosby
On Monday night in Pasadena inside the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Florida State Seminoles ended the BCS era by capturing their first national championship since the 1999 season, signaling the return to prominence for the once-dominant juggernaut of a program under head coach Jimbo Fisher.
It wasn’t the easiest of tasks, though, as the ‘Noles struggled mightily throughout the game against the Auburn Tigers of the SEC–the conference that had won seven consecutive titles going into this one–who came out firing, anc came out firing early.
In the second half, it was a different story. This Florida State team showed a resolve that many were looking for. Not many knew how this dominant force would respond late in the game with their backs against the wall. These starting Seminoles on the field had barely played second halves all season, blowing out virtually every one of their opponents on their way to this destination.
But with 13 seconds to go, their Heisman-winning QB , Jameis Winston, fired off a two-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin, capping off a seven play, 80-yard drive less than two minutes after Auburn had scored to take the lead, giving the SEC hope that that eighth consecutive title was on the horizon.
Instead it was the Seminoles of the ACC that were crowned kings in one of the greatest BCS title games in history.
But was it the greatest of the era?
As soon Winston hit Benjamin with that pass and Florida State all but secured the national championship, you could hear the comparisons being drawn around the nation to–well, to this…..
Yes, naturally, due to the circumstances, people immediately wanted to compare Winston’s game-winning drive to that of Vince Young leading Texas over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.
So, which one was better?
Not to disappoint any of the Florida State faithful that are obviously still riding an enormous high, but the short answer is–no.
As we usher out the BCS era–and in great fashion with Monday’s contest–we can all sit back and say that nothing will top what happened on the Rose Bowl field on January, 4 of 2006.
On that unforgettable evening, two of the best overall teams in the history of college football faced off against one another.
USC came into the game riding an insane 34-game winning streak and had most experts debating whether or not they were the greatest team in the history of college football. They had two Heisman winners on the offensive side of the ball in QB Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and one of the most talented defensive units in the game.
Texas came in also undefeated, rolling their way through the 2005 regular season to earn the date with the Trojans. USC may have had two Heisman winners on their side, but there was also a great majority of folks who believed that it was Young who was more deserving of that award for the 2005 season over Bush.
And as far as the actual game itself, we as fans could not have asked for anything more in our lifetime. It was a back-and-forth dogfight between two traditional powers that helped shape the game of college football as we know it today.
But that’s not to say that Auburn and Florida State didn’t give us something that we’ll be able to tell our grandchildren about one day.
It’s just, when they ask us one day about this “BCS Era” they hear about, we’ll point to the Trojans and the Longhorns first.