And now the waiting game begins.
Florida and Oklahoma both took care of business in their respective championship games, and while the crazy BCS machine could punch out an Oklahoma-Texas rematch, we appear to be headed for the SEC vs. Big 12, juggernaut vs. juggernaut BCS national title game matchup that we’ve been expecting.
Both teams suffered early season losses, and since those losses, have been absolutely dominant, leaving several opponents wondering what exactly just hit them, may it be the effect of Tim Tebow barreling through them, Percy Harvin/Jeff Demps/Chris Rainey/Brandon James blowing by them, or Sam Bradford robotically cocking and firing a long bomb over their heads to an open target time and time again.
If the BCS shakes out right and puts these two teams in the championship game, it shapes up to be an epic shootout that’s going to be hyped to high heaven from the time it’s announced until the moment before opening kickoff in Miami.
I should be a lot more excited about the potential Florida-Oklahoma matchup than I am right now, and that might partly be because I’m not counting chickens until the BCS standings come out.
Besides that, BCS title games have often offered great hype, but substance is another matter entirely.
Will it be more like the 2006 Rose Bowl, when we had a classic between Texas and USC? Of the first 10 BCS championship games, that was hands down the best one (with the 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami a close second), and it was a game that lived up to the hype that it received.
Or will it be like 2005 Orange Bowl? It looked like Oklahoma and USC would have the battle that the Trojans would have with the Longhorns a year later, but instead, USC just absolutely slaughtered the Sooners 55-19.
That was the second of four consecutive BCS defeats for Oklahoma, the fourth coming in the Orange Bowl in January, where they were favored but lost to West Virginia by 20.
With that in mind, as good as this Oklahoma team has been, recent history makes me question them, and so does the Texas game, where they went up against a team that could match them blow for blow, keep up with them offensively, and make enough plays defensively to overcome a big day from Bradford and win the game.
Like Texas, Florida won’t wilt or be intimidated, they can match the Sooners offensively, and defensively, the Gators have the ability to make enough plays to get the job done.
Of course, we can’t start breaking down any matchups in-depth for sure until Sunday evening, when the matchups are revealed. After that, roll out the hype machine, start the countdown, and cross your fingers.
