This is it. The final game of the season. The last game of the controversial BCS. #1 Florida State vs #2 Auburn squaring off in the best venue in all of sports (in my humble opinion) the Rose Bowl.
It’s interesting that we have two of the hottest teams in the country facing off for college football’s ultimate prize considering the long layoff they had to endure. Florida State beatdown every opponent by at least 27 points and are loaded on both sides of the ball. They are obviously led by Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston who passed for 3,810 yards and 38 TDs but don’t forget that their running backs Devonta Freeman had 13 TDs and Karlos Williams had 11 TDs. Their trio of WRs Greene, Benjamin, and Shaw each had over 900 yards. I’m not saying Jameis wasn’t great, but he has no shortage of weapons around him.
Auburn’s offense is no slouch either averaging 503 yards and 40.2 points per game. They are led by the duo of QB Nick Marshall and RB Tre Mason who combined for 2647 rushing yards and 33 TDs. This rushing attack of Head Coach Gus Malzahn’s has been basically unstoppable even against very good rushing defenses like Alabama and Missouri. The concern I have about Auburn on offense against a dynamic FSU defense is that they are completely one-dimensional. You are fine to do that when you can run it down people’s throats but what happens if Nick Marshall is forced to win the game with his arm?
Florida State’s 13th ranked defense in the nation against the run will be tested but if they can slow the run game down just enough, this could get ugly. The reason? If Florida St. forces Nick Marshall and company to throw the ball, they have perhaps the best secondary in the country waiting on them. The ‘Noles are allowing just 152 ypg through the air which is the best in the entire country. On the flip side, Auburn is 102/125 against the pass facing the Heisman Trophy winner who is a 67% passer.
If Auburn wants a shot in this one, keep an eye on their offensive line and defensive line. If they start dominating the line of scrimmage, they can run the ball and get pressure on Jameis with the front 4. I just don’t see that happening though. I’m sorry to the SEC but the streak ends tonight. I got Florida State winning this one big, 52-24 and we will start talking about this FSU team as one of the best of the BCS era.