By: Danny Morales
Pasadena- Jameis Winston has won the Heisman, the Florida State Seminoles have won the ACC, the Auburn Tigers shocked the SEC and now it’s time for the two teams to meet in the 2014 BCS National Championship on Monday, Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif.
FSU will go into the championship game behind the arm of their Heisman winning quarterback, the nation's 2nd best offense and the No. 1 defense in the country. The Noles have allowed an average of 10.7 points a game this season and have held teams such as Clemson, Miami and Duke to two touchdowns or less.
“It is a very challenging thing.” said FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher about the layover til the National Championship. “It's the one thing about bowl games that is very unique because at the end of the year, you have 30 days left. That is the unique challenge of bowl preparation.
“We feel like we have a good system in which we can get our guys ready, and time will tell.” added Fisher.
Auburn on the other hand are a horse of a different color, as they will go into Pasadena with the nation’s best rushing offense, averaging 335.7 rushing yards per game. The Tigers are led by Heisman-finalist Tre Mason, who rushed for 1,621 yards and 22 touchdowns this season.
Mason has rushed for over 100 yards in five-straight games leading up to the National Championship, including a 304 yard game against Missouri in the SEC Championship Game.
“They can run the ball inside with great power and the quarterback can run it and play action off of it, which is like a four headed monster” said Fisher about Auburn's rushing offense. “You talk about a three headed monster, they have a four headed monster and they have an excellent offensive line.”
But the Tigers may be most notably known for the way they beat the then-No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl. It was Chris Davis’ 100+ yard missed field goal return for a touchdown as time expired that shocked not just the Crimson Tide, but the college football world.
The Seminoles punched their ticket to Pasadena after routing Duke 45-7 in the ACC Championship, while Auburn earned their shot at the National Championship after winning a high-scoring SEC Championship game against the Missouri Tigers.
“We've got a huge challenge against their offense.” said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn about his opponent. “Their quarterback is unbelievable, the receivers are unbelievable. They can run the football. So it'll be a huge challenge for our defense. So we've got our work cut out for us.”
Now the two teams are set to meet in the final BCS National Title game before the new College Football Playoffs system goes into effect next season.
“He'll handle it very well.” said Fisher about Winston, who will be playing against a team from his home state of Alabama when they face off against Auburn. “We played in a lot of emotional games, going to Clemson this year, playing in the Miami game. There were a lot of games that way and you learn from your experiences and we all learn as we go forward and that is the one thing you can't simulate is game and game pressure and things that happen,
“I think he's a very quick learn, he's proven that in everything he's done and been able to handle and I think he'll deal with that situation once we get out there.” added Fisher.
The BCS National Championship game will be on Monday, Jan. 6 and can be watched on ABC.
Kick-off between FSU and Auburn is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST, 5:30 p.m. PST.
FSU will go into the championship game behind the arm of their Heisman winning quarterback, the nation's 2nd best offense and the No. 1 defense in the country. The Noles have allowed an average of 10.7 points a game this season and have held teams such as Clemson, Miami and Duke to two touchdowns or less.
“It is a very challenging thing.” said FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher about the layover til the National Championship. “It's the one thing about bowl games that is very unique because at the end of the year, you have 30 days left. That is the unique challenge of bowl preparation.
“We feel like we have a good system in which we can get our guys ready, and time will tell.” added Fisher.
Auburn on the other hand are a horse of a different color, as they will go into Pasadena with the nation’s best rushing offense, averaging 335.7 rushing yards per game. The Tigers are led by Heisman-finalist Tre Mason, who rushed for 1,621 yards and 22 touchdowns this season.
Mason has rushed for over 100 yards in five-straight games leading up to the National Championship, including a 304 yard game against Missouri in the SEC Championship Game.
“They can run the ball inside with great power and the quarterback can run it and play action off of it, which is like a four headed monster” said Fisher about Auburn's rushing offense. “You talk about a three headed monster, they have a four headed monster and they have an excellent offensive line.”
But the Tigers may be most notably known for the way they beat the then-No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl. It was Chris Davis’ 100+ yard missed field goal return for a touchdown as time expired that shocked not just the Crimson Tide, but the college football world.
The Seminoles punched their ticket to Pasadena after routing Duke 45-7 in the ACC Championship, while Auburn earned their shot at the National Championship after winning a high-scoring SEC Championship game against the Missouri Tigers.
“We've got a huge challenge against their offense.” said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn about his opponent. “Their quarterback is unbelievable, the receivers are unbelievable. They can run the football. So it'll be a huge challenge for our defense. So we've got our work cut out for us.”
Now the two teams are set to meet in the final BCS National Title game before the new College Football Playoffs system goes into effect next season.
“He'll handle it very well.” said Fisher about Winston, who will be playing against a team from his home state of Alabama when they face off against Auburn. “We played in a lot of emotional games, going to Clemson this year, playing in the Miami game. There were a lot of games that way and you learn from your experiences and we all learn as we go forward and that is the one thing you can't simulate is game and game pressure and things that happen,
“I think he's a very quick learn, he's proven that in everything he's done and been able to handle and I think he'll deal with that situation once we get out there.” added Fisher.
The BCS National Championship game will be on Monday, Jan. 6 and can be watched on ABC.
Kick-off between FSU and Auburn is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST, 5:30 p.m. PST.