it won't make the Auburn faithful feel any better about last season, but the BCS did work this year, clearly getting the top two teams in the title game. Southern Cal and Texas, both of whom dealt out open-handed smacks (with authority) to league rivals over the weekend, will square off in Pasadena with the national championship on the line.
For loyal readers of VegasInsider.com, you know that a number of books have had a line on this game for about a month, so it's no surprise to see the Trojans listed as 6 1/2-point favorites at most spots. Our friends at Las Vegas Sports Consultants have the total at 68 but a number of offshores have chimed in with 71 or 71 1/2. Gamblers can jump on Mack Brown's team to win outright for a plus-210 payoff (bet $100 to win $210).
The 'Horns and Men of Troy will collide on Jan. 4 at the Rose Bowl. ABC will have the telecast at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Between now and then, the hype machine for this game will be at a fevered pitch. Texas will be back at the Rose Bowl for the second straight year. In fact, the tone for this season was set by Vince Young's brilliant performance last year when the Longhorns beat Michigan 38-37 in a thriller.
The rest of the BCS matchups are fairly ho-hum, especially with previously once-beaten LSU and Virginia Tech losing Saturday in their respective conference championship games. Alabama's late-season collapse also put a damper on the attractiveness of the other bowl games.
On Jan. 3, Penn State and Florida State will square off in the Orange Bowl at Dolphins Stadium in Miami. The story of this game will be the coaching matchup between the two winningest sideline stalkers in college football history.
The Nittany Lions nearly went unbeaten with their lone defeat coming at Michigan when the Wolverines scored the winning points as time expired. Meanwhile, FSU lost each of its last three regular-season games by a combined score of 89-36. However, the Seminoles bounced back in a season-salvaging 27-22 win over Viriginia Tech to win the ACC title.
Bobby Bowden's bunch won outright as a 14-point underdog, cashing monster money-line tickets in the plus-500 (bet $100 to win $500) range. Perhaps the victory has given this team new life, especially when you consider the toll injuries have taken on this squad. Joe Pa's team has been installed as the 8 1/2-point favorite with the total in the neighborhood of 47-48 points.
Georgia and West Virginia will collide in the Sugar Bowl that'll be played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta due to the ongoing rebuilding project in New Orleans. The Dawgs dominated LSU in the SEC Championship Game, capturing a 34-14 win as 1 1/2-point underdogs.
Meanwhile, West Virginia won the Big East thanks to a 10-1 record. The Mountaineers' lone loss was against Virginia Tech. They knocked off South Florida 28-13 Saturday night in Tampa.
West Virginia hasn't been to the Sugar Bowl since 1994 when it brought an 11-0 record down to the Big Easy. We remember because we were there. The Mountaineers went home with a 41-7 loss after Errict Rhett ran wild and Lawrence Wright found paydirt on an interception return for a touchdown that still stands as one of the most stirring plays in Gator football history.
West Virginia also went to the Sugar Bowl in 1954 when Pepper Rodgers led Georgia Tech to a 42-19 win. As for UGA, this will be its eighth Sugar appearance. Of course, the Dawgs captured their only national title when Vince Dooley's 1980 squad beat Notre Dame 17-10.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will meet in the last of the BCS games, the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe. The Buckeyes are 4 1/2-point favorites with the tally in the mid-50s at most books.
Ohio State has won six straight games since losing to Penn State. Its other loss was a 25-22 defeat to Texas in Columbus back in September.
Notre Dame will be making its first BCS appearance in five years. Sun Devil Stadium also marks the spot where the Fighting Irish won their last national title in 1989.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
--Paterno has a 6-1 edge against Bowden, beating him each time when he coached at West Virginia in the early 1970s. Bowden's only win over Joe Pa was a 24-17 triumph in the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl.
--Bowden owns a 19-8-1 record in bowl games, while Paterno is 20-10-1.
--The Outback Bowl in Tampa will be a rematch of the Capital One Bowl two years ago. Iowa destroyed Florida 37-17 in Orlando that day. The Gators are three-point favorites this year even though they haven't won a bowl game since thumping Maryland 56-13 in Steve Spurrier's final game as head coach in the 2001 Orange Bowl. We remember because we were there.
--Notre Dame has lost seven consecutive bowl games.
--Michigan had been to a January bowl game nine straight times, but that run will end when it plays Nebraska at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Dec. 28. The Cornhuskers are back in the postseason after missing a bowl game last year for the first time since 1968.
--When you talk about contrasting styles, Texas Tech and Alabama are polar opposites. The matchup between 'Bama's defense and the Red Raiders offense should be interesting to watch.
--Bettors should keep their eyes on the status of three banged-up quarterbacks, Colorado's Joel Klatt, Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst and LSU's JaMarcus Russell. All three are "questionable" at this point.
--Will some small school PLEASE hire Jim Donnan so that we don't have to listen to him on television anymore. The former coach at Georgia and Marshall is absolutely abysmal as a football analyst.
--If there was a playoff system, I'd give Georgia and Auburn a puncher's chance against anybody.
BCS Breakdown
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