Just about two months ago I, like most other people, was imagining an Alabama-Oregon National Championship game. Auburn and Stanford, though, had other ideas. Stanford upset Oregon for the second straight year and Auburn defeated Alabama very shockingly. As crazy as college football can be at times, how many people can say honestly that when the season began they predicted an Auburn-Florida State National Championship game? I know that I didn’t…

Florida State and Auburn will be battling for this trophy come January 6th 2014 in Pasadena. By User:Nikonmadness from the English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons

Florida State Seminoles: (13-0, 8-0 ACC) Beat Duke in ACC Title game

Ranked #11 to start the season, not many people saw the Seminoles jumping to the #1 ranking by year’s end. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis “Famous” Winston is the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy and for good reason. He has posted 38 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 3,820 passing yards. His explosive offense ranks 14th in passing and 27th in rushing in all of college football. Florida State’s defense also ranks first in college football only allowing 10.7 points per game. People may question the level of competition that Florida State plays being in the ACC but not only does Florida State beat their opponents, they dismantle them. Two examples are a 51-14 beat-down of #3 ranked Clemson at Memorial Stadium in Clemson and a 45-7 win against Duke in the ACC Title game. The Seminoles deserve to be in the National Championship game and they will look to break the SEC streak of seven straight National Championships.

Auburn Tigers: (12-1, 7-1 SEC) Beat Missouri in SEC Title game

After going 3-9 overall (0-8 in the SEC) last season, nobody saw Auburn coming except for maybe Auburn. Being unranked normally doesn’t bode well to make the Championship Game but the last two seasons an unranked team has made it (Notre Dame and Auburn). Coach Gus Malzahn took over the Auburn program after such a disheartening season and has rebuilt them within a year to make them title contenders once again. Led by their top-ranked rushing attack, Auburn is a force to be reckoned with offensively and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Every season there seems to be a team of “destiny” in the national title mix, and Auburn is most certainly it this season.

After an incredible Hail Mary win over Georgia to keep their title hopes alive, nobody thought Auburn could pull out another miraculous win but to the disbelief of college football fans everywhere, they did. Trailing by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Auburn tied the game at 28. Alabama then drove the ball down the field only to set up what would be the game winning field goal. The field goal was wide right and was improbably returned for a touchdown by returner Chris Davis to win the game and stun the college football world. They would go on to face Missouri in the SEC Title game, beating them 59-42 to secure their place in the National Championship game. Auburn now has a chance to keep the SEC dominance alive and win the school’s second National Championship in four years.

Paul Brown Stadium would be a great home for Manti Te’o next season. by Derek Jensen, via Wikimedia Commons

Over the last ten years, the Cincinnati Bengals have taken chances on players. Most of the “chances” they’ve taken have been due to questionable character of their draftees. Some examples are Adam “Pacman” Jones and offensive lineman Andre Smith.  For years the franchise was mocked as the “Bungles” instead of Bengals for all the arrests of players on their roster combined with their average-at-best play on the field. But recently the “Bungles” talk has calmed down and the franchise has matured. Former quarterback Carson Palmer helped the Bengals by leading them to the playoffs in 2009, but never made the “next step” into being true contenders. After making the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since the early 1980s, this team is poised to make that true next step toward contention. Despite early playoff exits, both coming against the Houston Texans, the Bengals future looks bright and they can make it even more exciting during the upcoming NFL draft.

The Bengals defense is one of the best and youngest defenses in the NFL and showed signs of what they are capable of last season ranking seventh in allowed passing yards and twelfth in allowed rushing yards. With weak pass coverage from linebackers, many tight ends torched the Bengals for big yards including Owen Daniels of the Texans in the postseason. The middle linebacker position is one place the team should target in the draft. As I said above, the Bengals have had a history on taking chances with players and I think they should look into taking a chance on former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. After a great season on the field, Te’o and the Fighting Irish were embarrassed on national TV during the BCS Championship Game by Alabama, where many people questioned Te’o’s true ability. Yet Te’o did finish with ten tackles and you can’t blame the loss on him entirely. The entire Notre Dame team didn’t show up plus they were playing Alabama, who has won three of the last four National Championships. I didn’t think Notre Dame deserved to be in the title game in the first place and they showed exactly why, and thankfully the NCAA has taken measures to start up a playoff system in 2014.

After a great statistical season and finishing second in the Heisman race, Te’o seemed to have high stock in the draft. But after a very strange scandal dealing with his fake girlfriend and him getting catfished, Te’o has seen his likeability and credibility drop. He went from being one of the most loved players in America to being one of the most hated in a matter of mere moments and I feel for the kid. I’m not going to say that I know what happened but I believe he was victim of a terrible prank that went terribly wrong. Being said, I don’t think that Te’o and his football career should take a hit just because he was a little too trusting and let his stupidity get in the way of his emotions. He still is a good football player and his off-the-field issue should be looked at as second rate to his actual skills. The Bengals drafted middle linebacker Rey Maualuga in 2009 out of USC in hopes of him being their linebacker for the future. Maualuga has been decent but decent isn’t enough for the Bengals this year. Both Te’o and Maualuga had similar college careers statistically with Te’o edging Maualuga by a slight margin. The Bengals like the type of player Maualuga is and Te’o is a very similar type player to him, only better. Te’o would not only bring his skills to the Bengals but also his leadership. You don’t lead a team to a National Championship Game without some leadership qualities. Here is a look at the final colligate statistics for both players:

Manti Te’o:

437 total tackles

34.0 tackles for loss

8.5 Sacks

7 Interceptions

Rey Maualuga:

273 total tackles

22.5 tackles for loss

9.0 Sacks

5 Interceptions

1 Interception returns for TD

The Bengals should take a risk and select Manti Te’o with their 21^st overall pick in the upcoming draft, assuming he is available then. He would be a great addition to an already-good defense and I believe he is worth the risk. In the case that he didn’t pan out as a player in the NFL then at least the Bengals took a risk and selected him. The alternative is not good for them. What would happen if they miss out on him and the championship game and the odd scandal were minor bumps in his career and he turns out to be a great player. It’s a higher reward than risk for the Bengals who are used to taking chances. It may not be the “sexy” pick at this time but I believe in a few years if the Bengals were to take him, they wouldn’t regret it. For now all we can do is wait and see if Manti gets his name called in the draft and hopefully for the Bengals sake, they do it before some other team does.

What do you think? Is Manti Te’o even a first rounder in your mind? Give us your thoughts below.

Manti couldn’t help but hold his breath after last Monday’s blowout defeat in BCS Title to Alabama. By Shotgun Spratling/Neon Tommy [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Alabama blew-out Notre Dame 42-14 in last Monday’s BCS National Championship Game, ending a miraculous season for the Irish. That kind of ending was definitely not what star linebacker, Manti T’eo had hoped for.

But it was the kind of ending to a year my friend Tommy hoped for.

As much as a championship for his beloved alma mater would have meant to him, Tommy and his dad took on a challenge the last year I pray none of us will ever have to face: Cancer.

And they won.

Larry, the man with the perfect curve ball, lover and knower of all things baseball, for a year made due with a questionable future. Despite losing weight, his appetite, and his stoicism he remained a steadfast family man amidst great turmoil.

Notre Dame’s ascension back into a football elite, was more than a metaphor, it was a sign.

“The journey of the Irish this season helped us put a lot of bad stuff behind us – bad Notre dame teams of the past decade and a tough year for the family,” said Tommy after Monday’s defeat.”My whole life my pops has always been “into” at least one thing I’ve been into as well. Baseball cards, baseball, and even collecting pint glasses at a certain point. But more than anything else, we have shared our love for Notre Dame.”

Most Irish fans with that kind of fansmanship must have woken up with a wicked metaphorical (and perhaps real) hangover on Tuesday. But for Tommy, not the case.

For Tommy and Larry, the National Championship Game meant more than Notre Dame vs. Alabama.

Tommy, did the incredible thing, taking his father on a four day excursion to Miami to see the game in-person. It was a trip that moved me to tears, considering the way this year has gone and knowing the family. The last I knew they had traveled together just as father and son, came in the Summer of 1996, when the two lovers of America’s greatest past time, boarded a train and went to as many baseball games as they could in three weeks.

Quietly, and in classic Larry fashion, the hardworking former CHP officer, desired more than anything that his son attend a school like Notre Dame after high school.

“As I found out well after I started going to [Notre Dame], my mom told me that when I was born he told her that one day his son would go to Notre Dame. She thought it was a bit odd because he wasn’t a big Notre Dame fan, so she sort if shrugged it off thinking he was being weird like he sometimes is. And when it came time to apply to college, he didn’t say a word. But he was apparently overjoyed that I chose to go there. Call it Notre Dame magic, but that’s how it happened. Anyway, the game was not just a fun trip, but a way for us to keep connecting on a shared passion and also a way to unofficially celebrate overcoming the past year,” said Tommy.

As unofficial as the celebration was, I’m certain for Larry it meant the world. 2013 rang in renewed health, and an elongation of life that can now be spent with his son, daughter and his beloved wife Nancy– a longtime teacher.

Despite his alma mater’s defeat, Tommy sees the brighter side of things.

“The ironic big is that my dad’s recovery essentially coincided with the season,”said Tommy. “When we went to the game, tailgated, and soaked it all in, I think we both got a little teary when we got to our seats, saw the field, hugged and said that we loved each other.  We were happy to be there, both because the team went undefeated and because he COULD be there. And the team really being back to prominence with coach and program that is just beginning is much like my dad. He got a new lease on life and this is just the start of our new relationship as a dad and his adult son. Not dad and his kid, or his teenager, or his young adult son. It’s something new that we still need to figure out but it’s really fun. Coming home with a win would have been incredible, but just being there with my dad was 99 percent of it. Just like Notre Dame making the National Championship Game was 99 percent of the joy.”

Which is more than true.  1 percent of anything is the actual outcome, the 99 percent the steps it took to get there. For Tommy and Larry the steps to get here now, today, still alive, was an arduous one, a task prayed and fought for with sweat and tears, and a little Irish luck.

The best conferences in the sport are packed with potential champions, and even though there is no organized post-season bracket, it doesn’t mean the regular season can’t serve as a form of a week to week ‘win or go home’ from national title contention. The best of the best are so head and shoulders above the rest that the regular season clashes between the uber-dominant can be viewed as a playoff system. Try it, you’ll like it.

Teams like LSU and Alabama are so elite within their own conference that the only possible game they could lose during the regular season is the one in which they face off against each other. This in itself makes this Saturday’s clash the first round of the de facto (there’s that word again) playoff system. To say the winner of this contest is in the driver’s seat for the national championship game would be an understatement. It’s almost down-right guaranteed the winner will be there in the end.

So with all that we know to this point in the college football season, what scenarios are available to decide the possible national championship opponent that will end up facing the LSU/Alabama winner?

Oklahoma State is ranked 3rd in the BCS standings currently behind LSU and Alabama. They tangle this Saturday with the 14th ranked and previously unbeaten Kansas State Wildcats in Stillwater. Most see the Cowboys getting by the ‘Powercats’ at home without much resistance, but the real test for Okie State will be the annual Bedlam game on the final week of the regular season versus Oklahoma. If OSU gets by KSU, the Bedlam Game will undoubtedly serve as another de facto (and again!) playoff game.

If the ‘Pokes win the penultimate face-off with their in-state rival, they will get their shot at the crystal ball against the LSU/Alabama winner. However, what if the Sooners play spoiler and ruin Okie State’s run to the title game? This would be more than just possible, maybe even probable, due to Oklahoma’s big-game experience advantage over the up-and-coming Cowboys. If Boomer Sooner gets over, who then would be next down the totem pole to step into the National Championship game?

If Oklahoma State loses and 4th ranked Stanford wins out, they would be the next program to step into the big game versus the Alabama/LSU winner. There is one roadblock however to that possibility. The Cardinal face the 6th ranked Oregon Ducks next weekend, albeit in the friendly confines of the Farm in Palo Alto.

Oregon’s only loss was a kickoff weekend defeat at the hands of the top team in the land, LSU. This game was played at what was considered to be at a neutral site – the Jerry Jones compound in Dallas – but let’s be quite frank, Baton Rouge is a hop, skip and a jump from Dallas when compared to the distance from Eugene, Oregon. This was basically an LSU home game, and if it weren’t for turnovers due to opening night jitters, the Ducks might have very well knocked off LSU.

Oregon is no slouch and is extremely high powered. Their track-meet style of offense and scoring ability could cause major problems for Andrew Luck and Stanford. So what if Stanford falls at the hands of Oregon and has their national title hopes dashed as well?

If all the series of events described above were to unfold, who would then be next on the list to step into the national championship top-contender role? The simple answer are two words most BCS detractors have wanted to utter in the national championship discussion for quite some time – Boise State.

It would be a very long time coming, as over nearly the past decade the Broncos have had numerous undefeated seasons and has come out victorious when pitted against every big opponent that has been put in front of them. The argument for keeping them out has always been their weak schedule due to them competing in the WAC and Mountain West conferences. A valid point, however Boise has done everything possible in its power to schedule the very toughest of out of conference road trips. In recent years past they have gone on the road in September to both Virginia Tech and Georgia, and both times came away with a victory.

I am of the opinion that if Okie State and Stanford were to both lose and Boise ends up going undefeated, they would undoubtedly deserve a shot at winning it all. The Broncos going undefeated however is no guarantee. Boise has to get by a formidable TCU team a week from this Saturday on the blue turf.

Let’s get crazy. What if Oklahoma State, Stanford and Boise State all lose? You then get into the bizzare world of ‘one-loss’ and might as well let the real mind-boggling begin!

Oregon’s only loss would be to LSU and if LSU beats Alabama, who would want to see an Oregon/LSU rematch? Not many. There is even talk of an LSU/Alabama rematch if there is a garble of one-loss teams in the end. The argument behind that premise is that the loser of this Saturday’s game will have the ‘best loss’ of all one-loss teams.

The only problem with rematches? Where would things stand if the team who lost the first matchup won the second? Yes, they won the “bigger” game, but the fact would still remain that overall, the two teams would end up 1-1 against each other. The vast majority of fans don’t want to see a rematch, they want to see newer and more intriguing matchups in the end.

The day the transparent gestapo of greed that is the BCS finally gets taken down will be a great day, quite possibly the best day in the history of college athletics. But until that time the current unfortunate circumstance can in fact be shoved aside. Forget about the injustice of the BCS and slam that pig back into the trough for the time being.

Go ahead and feel free to appreciate and celebrate the de facto. What did you do as a kid when you wanted the real thing but couldn’t have it? You made the best of it. Instead of getting that motorcycle you wanted but couldn’t have, you simply stuck a playing card in the spokes, remember?

Vroom! Vroom!