Can Auburn complete the miracle season with a BCS national title win over Florida State?

For the Auburn Tigers, this football season has been the most remarkable achievement of all time. After going 3-9 last year, the team hired a new coach and quarterback and had little hope of success. Until about halfway through the season, Auburn wasn’t even ranked, and they really only entered the BCS national title conversation two weeks ago with their sensational win over Alabama.

Their title game opponent, Florida State, meanwhile, began the year with high hopes and a decent ranking. Although starting quarterback EJ Manuel had carved a big hole at the top position on offense, the Seminoles featured strong defense and great skill-position talent. Incoming freshman Jameis Winston showed great potential, but would be a huge question mark heading into the year. He did well, throwing for nearly 4,000 years and 38 touchdowns. He, too, has shown great maturity for a youngster, throwing just 10 interceptions, and is now a Heisman Trophy finalist. The team is also home to the #2 scoring offense in the nation. Defensively, they have been a strength and are the highest ranked team in points scored against them. How can this Auburn team compete?

The biggest thing for Auburn is their ability to control games through their top-tier running game. They have 3 capable running backs including Heisman contender Tre Mason (1,621 rushing yards, 22 TDs), Corey Grant (650 rushing yards, 6 TDs) and Cameron Artis-Payne (609 rushing yards, 6 TDs).

But what makes the team more threatening is its multi-talented quarterback, Nick Marshall. The Junior experienced a rocky start to his college career, was fired by Georgia, and had to earn his way back to Division I soccer through a year at Garden City Community College. But he’s done it and he’s a key member of this Auburn team. He routinely executes the option with flying colors, and even himself has put up some serious numbers on the ground (1023 rushing yards, 11 TDs) in between his respectable throwing numbers (1759 passing yards, 12 TDs and just 5 interceptions). Also, with the team’s tendency to run rush offense, his rush attack takes advantage of exploiting mismatches and wearing down opponents’ defenses. Another big factor about Auburn’s fast-paced rushing attack is that they can continue to run even when they’re behind a game. They did this with marvelous success against Alabama in the Iron Bowl when they were several scores behind. Gus Malzahn has clearly worked magic with the Auburn Tigers, taking them from an SEC winless record in 2012 to the BCS National Championship game this year!

Now, facing one of the nation’s best defenses, the Tigers are sure to be put to the test. But they will also be the strongest matchup Florida State has faced all year. While FSU’s average scoring this year has favored them 50-10 over their opponents, those ACC teams aren’t the most challenging teams. Only Clemson and Miami really stood a chance, and an argument could be made that they were severely overranked when those matches occurred. And so while FSU went undefeated and is statistically favored in this game, Auburn should be pretty even. And as evidenced by their ridiculous results in recent games, the Tigers seem to have luck on their side. They even benefited from Ohio State’s recent loss just to earn a spot in this game. If there is a team of destiny, this is it. Remember, a SEC team has won the title for 7 straight years. The real question should be: Does Florida State have any chance of winning a title with a freshman quarterback about to play his first game against a serious SEC contender?