The top 2 teams in the land have arrived in New Orleans, where on Monday January 9th they will clash heads in a rematch of their scintillating (cue the sarcasm) Game of the Century: a bone-crushing 9-6 offensive shootout, which sent offense back to the 40’s (hey look, there’s Tim Tebow and the Broncos!)

And while ESPN has the hype train rolling, trying to build anticipation for a game that only the analysts seemed to want, it’s hard to get jacked up for two teams that we’ve already seen.  Like that terrible old MTV reality show, Next, we’d like to stick this matchup back on the bus and try again.  But it’s what we’re stuck with, so what the heck.

After 4 BCS bowl games of pure, unadulterated offensive explosion, the final game of the 2011 college football season will be settled by two powerful defenses.  The two offenses were invited to come along, but they had to find their own ride, because it’s been the D that’s carried both of these teams to the last step.

So no, the 308 combined points we’ve seen in the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange (West Virginia just scored again!) will make the BCS Championship game look like the ugly duckling, but in a strange way, after the video game numbers we’ve been seeing, it might actually be — wait for it, wait for it, refreshing to see some real defense.  The 77 total points average per game is likely to be significantly lower when the Tide and Tigers meet for a second time, even if the two offenses have had a month to prepare (which they have).

We know the Tigers deserve their #1 spot, and the bowl season has only further cemented that lofty notion:

Just look at that schedule and drool over the remarkable strength of teams that LSU has plowed through.

Oregon just won the Rose Bowl.  West Virginia just won the Orange Bowl.  Mississippi State won the Music City Bowl. Florida won the Gator Bowl. Auburn won the ChicFilABowl. Alabama is in the national championship, Arkansas plays Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl tonight, and Georgia lost an epic 3 OT thriller to Michigan State in the Outback Bowl.

Which means of the 13 teams LSU played this year:

- 5 teams won their bowl game (2 won a BCS game)
-  1 lost their bowl game (Georgia)
- 1 plays tonight (Arkansas)
- 5 of their opponents failed to make a bowl game (Northwestern St, Kentucky, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, and Ole Miss).

If Arkansas wins tonight, LSU can lay claim to beating 3 of the AP’s final top 5.  That’s insane.

And that’s before LSU even takes the field.

That said it’s hard to argue — even with a loss — that anyone was better than LSU this year. The voters are going to have quite the dilemna if the Tide pull off the win.

West Virginia is not a football powerhouse.  But the soon to be newest member of the Big 12 next year, is a name.  They’ve been on the BCS stage before.  Remember their 13-9 loss at home to Pitt?  That cost them a berth in the national title game in 2007.  Pat White and Steve Slaton were prime-time names in college football for years.  West Virginia has been here before.

Plus, they’re 9-3 (respectable enough I suppose in the whacky world of BCS automatic qualifying) and they’re ‘wait for it, wait for it,’ actually ranked! Yeehaw.  So after the Mountaineers quietly held on to beat a disappointing USF team in Tampa last night, assuring them at last a share of the comedically mediocre Big East, it kept hope alive that the Big East wouldn’t be the first team to send not only an unranked team to the BCS, but an unranked 5 loss team.

Yup, Louisville completed their season by also beating USF 34-24, assuring themselves of a Big East title as well.  Louisville is 7-5, has losses to both Marshall and Florida International (though FIU is halfway decent this year) and lost 3 games in a row in October.  They might be a nice comeback story, but they’re the nightmare scenario the Big East and BCS has to to be dreading.

So here’s where we stand: All the cards appear to be in Cincinnati’s hands.  The Bearcats (remember them/wish you could go back in time Brian Kelly?) can also clinch a tie in the Big East with a win over Connecticut this Saturday, which would give us a three way conundrum in the Big Least.  Should Cincy drop the ball and allow the Huskies to prevail with a win, it would hand the Cardinals a BCS berth via the fact that they won the head to head matchup over West Virginia.

A 7-5 team in the BCS?  While a team like Boise State (no chance for the BCS), South Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin perhaps etc. falls to a 2nd and 3rd tier bowl.  People have been clamoring for change.  This could be that moment.  If Cincy wins, thereby creating the afformentioned 3-way tie, the winner of the BCS berth would be awarded to the highest rated BCS team.  Since West Virginia is the only ranked team amongst the group, they’d get the trip to Sun Life Stadium, against either Clemson or Virginia Tech.  While far from a spectacular matchup, it’d be a heck of a lot better than say Clemson versus Louisville (yikes!)

People clamoring for the BCS to whisk their automatic qualifying status away from the Big East may actually get their wish, as the higher ups may be forced to take action should this embarrassment occur.

While far from a star, West Virginia brings credibility to the conference with a 9-3 record.  A 7-5 Louisville team in the Orange Bowl just might bring shame.  And the worst BCS ratings in … history?

We’ve been anticipating this one all season: #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama. Some are calling it the game of the century. We’re not quite ready to jump on that bandwagon… yet. It’s LSU’s speed vs. Alabama’s power in the no name QB showdown. Who would you rather have to coach one game: Nick Saban or Les Miles? Speaking of Miles, would the Mad Hatter succeed at the next level as an NFL coach? Nick Saban sure as heck didn’t.  Plus, whose #3?  Does it matter?  Does the media’s love affair with Andrew Luck have any chance to affect Oklahoma State? Cue the debate.

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SCOTT JACOBS

There’s no BCS and college hoops fans have to be incredibly thankful for that.  Because after a week where the top 4 in college hoops all went down, allowing #5 Duke (the only team that was able to get out of its own way) to leapfrog all the way back to #1, this sure would have been a lot scarier for teams title dreams if computer numbers dictated who goes to the championship.

Thankfully they don’t.  Which presents an interesting question: In actuality (a shout out to new NCAA Tournament partner TruTV) does being #1 matter?  Like at all.  Besides having bragging rights, and the chance to put it in your media guide and history books, does being #1 really mean anything in college hoops?

To which, I say no.  And a strong no at that.  Bet on College Basketball at BetUS, and you’ll see that most teams within the top 10 are all pretty close.  Especially in a year where there is nothing close to a dominant team.  While Ohio State stayed undefeated the longest, they have come back to the pack, and their young team no longer looks like the world-beaters they appeared to be.

The last time the top 4 teams all lost during the same week?  That would be November 2003, when Connecticut, Duke, Arizona, and Michigan State all lost.  The irony of course is that none of those teams made the Final Four, which doubly ironic, was won by yours truly Carmelo Anthony and his Syracuse Orange.

So what’s the message here?  Just get in.  The higher the seed the better obviously, but the number one overall seed in the tourney hasn’t claimed the title since that 2001 Duke team.  And they were flat out awesome.

There’s no flat out awesome team to note in this year’s field, just a bunch of very good teams who tend to slip up.

Now, if there is a trend that smaller-conference schools have to be wary of, it’s this one:  no non-BCS conference has laid claim to winning the tourney since 1990.  UNLV cut down the nets that year, and that was two decades ago.

Butler (2010), Memphis (2008), George Mason (2006), Utah (1998), UMass (1996), and UNLV (1990, 1991) are the only non-BCS schools to even make it to the Final Four in those 20 years.  So the odds are stacked against the likes of the San Diego States and BYU’s of the world, even though they have an equal opportunity to win it, if they can get in it.  Which getting in has never been more realistic, considering that 68 teams now get a crack at the ruckus that is the NCAA Tournament.

But that doesn’t make it easy.

Even during their glory run, Gonzaga only once made the Elite Eight.  Saint Joseph’s in their dream season with Jameer Nelson leading the way, only made the Elite Eight as well, and they were a #1 seed.  Of course in the past few years teams like Memphis and Butler have made the championship game, so it’s not exactly unfathomable, and it’s a hell of a lot easier than making it as a non-BCS school in college football.

But the Aztecs and Cougars will have their shot to win 6 in a row come March and that’s all you can ask for as a fan of the sport.  Even though there’s only usually a handful of teams that seem capable of winning a championship come April, anything can happen, as George Mason can attest to, when they shocked the world all the way to the Final Four.

But being #1?  Why, that’s hardly necessary.  In fact, it’s probably more pressure than it’s worth.  Kansas got caught in the mousetrap that is top overall seed when they fell to Northern Iowa in the secound round last year.  Remember when Kentucky fell to U.A.B?  And the beat goes on.

The moral to the story: when it comes to college hoops there is hardly a difference being a 1, 2, or even a 3 seed.  The competition is slightly harder the lower your seed, but you’re talking about top 12-top 15 caliber teams, who can beat anyone on a given day.  That my friends, is why it ain’t what you’re seeded.  It’s what you do once the tourney starts.  Like the Packers proved in their historic playoff run.  Just get in.  Anything can happen from there.

Photo: AP

SCOTT JACOBS

It’s been nearly 40 days since Kenjon Barner used his lightning fast speed to scamper 23 yards into the endzone, putting the Oregon Ducks up 30-13 over their bitter rival, the Oregon State Beavers. It’s been nearly 900 hours since DeVonte Holloman reached up and corraled in Cam Newton’s hail mary prayer at the end of the 1st half in the SEC Championship, to put Auburn up two touchdowns, a deficit South Carolina never recovered from.

Mock the layoff all you want, and it is ridiculous that we had to wait over 5 weeks for this much bally-hooed National Championship game affair, but tonight the wait is over. Oregon. The number two team in the land and the high flying, we run our offense faster than you ever could dare, Ducks put their undefeated season on the line in Glendale where the charmed Tigers await. Despite numerous close calls throughout the season, Auburn and their much maligned star Heisman winning, where did he come from– o wait, nowhere!– quarterback are also undefeated. They’re the number one team in this system the NCAA likes to call the BCS.

Tonight the talk ends. Tonight they play the game.

Tonight we get two explosive offenses. West versus South. Pac10 (soon to be Pac12) versus SEC in a title game matchup the likes of which the BCS has never seen. A pair of second year coaches, in Chip Kelly and Gene Chizik, both of whom were greatly criticized when they were hired.

Cam Newton’s dad will be at the game. Along with a whole lot of green and yellow and navy and orange. Oregon will showcase yet another new look– think neon and space age, as Auburn will wear their traditional blues. It’s new age versus old school. Star quarterback versus star running back. East coast versus West coast.

This game should be amazing.

Oregon scored less than 40 (yeah 40) just twice this year. Auburn scored 50 (yeah 50) in 7 of their 13 games. This isn’t your blue collar versus white collar. This is speed versus more speed. Don’t blink, you’ll miss something.

This is Cam Newton (2589 passing yards, 48 touchdowns combined). Michael Dyer. And o yeah, did we mention Cam Newton?

This is LaMichael James (1682 rushing yards). Daron Thomas. And a bunch of other guys who can run so fast it’ll make your head spin.

This is that “High Life!” 2 second commercial on overdrive. One, two, here we go, round and round the field. Expect 30, maybe even 40 points each from both combatants, assuming the long layoff hasn’t relegated themselves to being rusty.

This is what a bowl season, largely forgettable this year, and banking on the big money BCS Championship finale is banking on. This is what we’re all banking on. Who won the Orange Bowl? O yeah, Stanford. That was a week ago. The Sugar Bowl? Ohio State. But tonight is the show. It’s why they gave it nearly a week to its self. Unless you consider the Compass Bowl and the Fight Hunger (Fight Boredom) Bowl noise in between.

But the time has come. We’ve read all we can read. Listened to enough of Tom Rinaldi’s clever one word narratives over a montage of the desert. Undefeated. Unblemished. Unbelievable really that either one of these teams is going to go home champs.

In the preseason polls Oregon wasn’t even in the top 10. Auburn? Not even in the top 20. Iowa and Texas were higher than the Ducks. Miami and and Pitt were thought of in a better light than the Tigers.  Seems silly now, given all that we know. But who saw this one coming? Answer: nobody.

No one saw Cam Newton’s rise from JuCo prospect to headline dominator. When Jeremiah Massoli was kicked off Oregon’s team in what looked like a crushing off-season who could have seen Darron Thomas to just slide right in and keep the machine rolling?

Back on September 4th when we kicked off this grand ole party who would have thought that the Alabama team to go undefeated would not be the one in that catchy ESPN commercial, the roll tide one.

But that’s what makes this game great. It’s what makes sports great. It’s why year in and year out we watch. The human drama, the thrill of it all. Playoff, BCS whatever the case may be, nothing is more spectacular then unscripted sports. It’s why we’ll pass our love of sports on to our kids, who will then pass it on to their kids, and down on the line we go.

Tonight we finally make it through a cluttered and mostly pointless bowl season to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Make no mistake about it this should be as close to as good as it gets. There is no college football for a while after this. This is the end. The last hurrah to another season that offered countless memories and entertainment like nothing else could.

This is the BCS National Championship Game. Live from Glendale, AZ.

This is the night the Ducks validate Stanford’s success. The night Oregon brings home the shiny crystal football. There’s no logic after a nearly 40 day layoff. Just a prediction. Just a gut.

Call it Oregon 41 Auburn 35.

Graphic Scott Jacobs

SCOTT JACOBS

All season long the debate was whether Boise State belonged amongst the nation’s elite. Whether they were worthy of being the first non-automatic qualifier to break through to the BCS National Championship game. Well, stick a fork in em, cause last night night, in a wild, instant classic thriller, Nevada (yes Nevada) rendered that argument moot.

With a couple missed kicks from their normally reliable kicker, a miracle wasted, and a big halftime cushion squandered, Boise State not only fell from the ranks of the unbeaten on Friday night, they fell from grace. Their cushy pedestal as king of the non-AQ’s relinquished to TCU, A likely Rose Bowl berth in the Grandaddy of them all, relinquished as well.

Yes, Boise State may have one of the best teams in the country. But it no longer matters. Because in one half and an overtime, the Broncos went from “the team that could,” to “the team that couldn’t.” Blame the kicker, blame a normally polished set of receivers, blame a defense usually as sturdy as a rock, it doesn’t matter. Boise State had the BCS locked up, until a game Wolf Pack team came and snatched it from them.

Just like that, the one loss-Broncos slid into a shocking three way WAC tie with other titans of the conference, Hawaii and Nevada. More amazingly, the Broncos will freefall from BCS busters to either the Humanitarian Bowl or the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Boise State, their kicker especially, is going to have a hard time fighting nausea after losing to the Pack, who had come close to knocking off mighty Boise in recent years, but always fell short.

Notching their first ever win over a top 10 team, and by far the biggest win in school history, Nevada pulled off a win that everyone said they were capable of all season long, but no one thought they would. Not to mention their first win over the Broncs since 1998.

With their raucous 34-31 triumph over the Men of Blue Turf, in front of a jacked up Reno sell out, the Wolf Pack finally got a program defining win, and validation that not only are they top 25 caliber, but that they can compete against the big boys. Okay, so maybe not on a weekly basis, but on this night, they were good enough.

It took them awhile, and that slow start almost cost them. But climbing back slowly from an early 17-0, and then 24-7 hole, the Pack slowly began cutting up Boise’s usually stout D with their potent running game, led by their fearless leader Colin Kaepernick.

But even after tying the game up at 24, Boise State came right back on a screen pass to Doug Martin who weaved his way to a 79 yard touchdown. That briefly sucked the life out of the crowd, but not the spirit of Nevada, who worked their way down-field, securing the touchdown they needed with just 13 ticks on the clock.

But back came the resilient Broncos. On the next play from scrimmage Kellen Moore hit Titus Young on a 53 yard missile, as Young sprawled out to make the incredible, seemingly-game sealing catch. Young quickly rolled to the ground before calling Boise’s last timeout, and on came the normally reliable Kyle Brotzman to attempt a chipshot.

He missed wide left. His 26 yard attempt sailing asunder, as Nevada’s snake-bitten faithful broke into pure bedlam. In overtime, after a failed drive by Moore and Co. Broztman was given a second chance, and the NCAA’s active points leader, shanked another chippie, this one a 29 yarder.

Needing just a field goal to pull off the stunner of the season, Nevada calmly drove down the field, positioning their red-shirt freshman kicker Anthony Martinez for a 34 yard attempt. He wasn’t going to miss. He didn’t. Nevada had been through too much in this quiet under-appreciated rivalry (The 10:30 pm Eastern time start didn’t help either).

It wobbled gently, but o so beautifully through the uprights, setting off a celebration that surely went well into the Nevada night.

And on a day, where Oregon outgunned Arizona, and Auburn held serve in a comeback Heisman winning campaign for embattled quarterback Cam Newton, it was Boise that fell on Playoff Friday, a Black Friday to forget for those who love blue turf.

But what a game. What a nightcap to a tremendous day in college football. And for those arguing the greatness of college football’s regular season, Friday only gave them fuel to light the playoff argument on fire.

Where ever you stand on the debate, there’s no debating this: Boise State’s lack of close games cost them in the end. Call LSU’s Mad Hatters what you will, but when push comes to shove the Tigers know how to win the close ones.

On Friday Night Boise’s unbeaten bid fell short. And with it, their hopes for being the first to crash college football’s ultimate party, died with it.

Photo: AP

SCOTT JACOBS

Duck, duck, duck, bull.

The Oregon Ducks thrashed UCLA at home 60-13  on Thursday night and somehow didn’t end up number 1 in the latest BCS standings.  Who is number 1?  Well, you guessed it!  An SEC team.  Auburn, a team that no one had in the national title race, never mind the drivers seat before this season started.  And even though many will argue that Oregon is sitting pretty at number 2, just needing to win out most likely to secure a berth in Glendale, Arizona, I think there’s more at play then that.

The west’s reputation is at stake here.  Boise State doesn’t play anyone, so it’s Oregon that’s left as the torchbearer for the Golden Coast’s college football dreams.  I think you’re going to find out in the next few weeks (assuming Oregon continues to win) that a lot of people don’t respect the Pac10 like they do some of the more heralded conferences (like the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12).  While undefeated, number 1 in the polls, and consuming much of the college football world’s attention, I still think a lot of people don’t quite believe in Oregon as a national title caliber team.

And I think it has to do with the perception that the Pac10 doesn’t play any defense.  And that the SEC takes football more seriously.  I had a chance to talk with a defensive coordinator recently, who left the west to go coach back in the east, and he basically told me that football out west is a whole lot different then it is east.  While he pointed out things like passion, it was also clear he was referring to style.  And I think Oregon’s high flying, run you off the field games are actually hurting their national perception.

The Pac10 is definitely a spread it out, toss the ball around, speed, speed, speed, and more speed baby kind of conference.  While the top teams aren’t considered as elite as those in maybe the SEC, the conference as a whole is tougher and more balanced, making every game (whether it’s a ranked opponent or not) a challenge.  Sans Wazzu.  They don’t count.

Oregon can only play the teams on their schedule, and I think their credibility takes a hit when they schedule a bunch of non-conference cream puffs like they did this year.  But come on people: eye test.  Oregon is pasting teams into oblivion, and showing it has the talent and the speed to compete with anyone.

But once again, the perception is that they couldn’t do this on a weekly basis in the SEC because that conference actually plays defense.  Who’s to say they couldn’t hang 40 something on some SEC schools?  They crushed Tennessee, didn’t they?  And that was at Neiland Stadium.  Unfortunately for them, the Vols aren’t very good.  Though using phony logic you could make the argument that Oregon killed Tennessee, which should have beat LSU: therefore meaning Oregon could thump the Tigers by at least a few scores.

I just think that football out west isn’t taken as seriously as it should be.  Time zones play a big part.  But the Pac10’s reputation as a video game-esque conference always seems to hurt it, unless the school competing for a national title is named USC.  Ironically it’s the Trojans who can knock Oregon from the ranks of the unbeatens and avenge a humiliating blowout loss last year in Eugene, which would render this entire argument moot.

The Pac10 can stand on its own two feet.  Arizona beat Iowa.  The same UCLA team that the Ducks clobbered did beat-up Texas, which let’s face it, would have been a huge win on Oregon’s resume had they themselves gone into Austin and beat the Horns.  Oregon State hung with two of the top 4 teams in the nation in Boise State and TCU. The point is, the Pac10 is a quality conference.  Oregon probably gets to the title game if they win out.  I’m hoping they do.  So that west coast football has a chance to speak for itself in the national title game.

Enough of this Big 12-SEC hoopla.  The Pac10 has something to say too.  And that is: Fear the Ducks.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

First we took over your TV for 10 seconds.  Now we are raiding your computer speakers. I was a guest today on the Big 12 Conference Call: an excellent, very-in depth twice-a-week podcast done by two very enthusiastic and smart college football fans and I’m excited to be able to put it on the site.  We talked for over 22 minutes about BCS Projections, Rankings, UNC’s nightmare, and lots of Big 12.

So here it is.  In it’s entirety.  The Big 12 Conference Call, with yours truly, Juiced Sports. Also, you can download all of their great podcasts on iTunes.  Enjoy.

Photo: AP

MITCH BLATT

UPDATE: As I mentioned in the first version of this post: “However, Boise State is staking their season, to some degree, on how well Virginia Tech finishes the season.”

Well, now Virginia Tech lost to James Madison, so Boise State’s national title hopes might already be falling apart. If there’s a 1-loss team from the SEC or Pac-10, they would deserve the nod over Boise State, at the rate the team got a quality win over is going.

Boise State beat Virginia Tech by 3 last night, but their season isn’t over just yet. They still have previously ranked #24 Oregon State on September 25, then after that, their season might be over. Does a team whose schedule includes Wyoming, New Mexico State, Toledo, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and Idaho deserve to play in a national championship?

I guess if they’ve gone undefeated two years in a row–with 20 starters returning–and there aren’t two more deserving undefeated teams from BCS conferences, then Boise State has earned it. We know they usually step up to the challenge of who they face. However, they are staking their season, to some degree, on how well Virginia Tech finishes the season.

As for TCU, which also finished the 2009 regular season undefeated, they just finished this season in the first week with a 30-21 win over Oregon State. Now if they can just hold on against Tennessee Tech, Colorado State, Air Force and UNLV, they will finish undefeated again, but they won’t have earned any consideration as our nation’s best team.

Sorry, TCU, but how can anyone know how good a team is if it never plays a team against which we can measure it?

Even just playing one top tier team isn’t a measure of strength when teams in BCS conferences play higher quality teams each week and have to keep it up all season. In the WAC and the Mountain West, you don’t have to play Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, and Florida all in the same season.

If Boise State is a long-term good football team, they should join the Pac-10. This year, they announced they were joining the Mountain West, but the Mountain West still has such featherweights as UNLV, Wyoming, San Diego State, New Mexico, and Colorado State.  TCU and Utah are tough, but BYU is leaving the MWC for Independence.  O and Air Force.

Photo: Getty

Now I know the BCS is kind of unpopular, but I wasn’t aware of any provision in the Constitution that makes it unconstitutional:  Justice Department: Obama May Take Action on the BCS

As a governing note, Congress or the President can claim that the “interstate commerce” clause allows for regulation of college football, but essentially that clause could be said to allow for regulation of anything. I mean, why not use the federal government to install a DH in the National League or change the overtime rules in the NFL?

The BCS system is how college football has decided to structure their postseason. Now the MLB has decided to structure it differently: They only allow 8 teams to make the playoffs. Perhaps that’s an anti-trust violation because it always favors rich teams and doesn’t give enough teams a chance like the NBA playoffs, where half the teams make it, and where the first two rounds don’t matter at all.

Guess the feds need to force more leagues to adopt an NBA-style playoff system so the league can make more money at the “expense” of the fans. Bore everyone with pointless games.

In a letter to Megalomaniac Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Assistant Attorney General wrote:

“The administration shares your belief that the current lack of a college football national championship playoff with respect to the highest division of college football … raises important questions affecting millions of fans, colleges and universities, players and other interested parties,” Weich wrote.

For fans who think that these “important issues” make the game unenjoyable, DON’T FREAKIN WATCH IT!

Other important issues in sports: injuries, trades, free agency, salary caps, whether or not Brett Favre will play next year…

Photo: Reuters