One loss each. No questions asked.
Florida and Oklahoma each won conference title games Saturday virtually to assure themselves a showdown for the national championship on Jan. 8 — a matchup hardly anyone outside of Texas can argue with.
“After what happened tonight, I would go so far as to say Texas doesn’t have much of an argument, either,” said Jerry Palm, the BCS analyst and blogger.
Led by Tim Tebow, No. 2 Florida defeated top-ranked Alabama, 31-20, to win the Southeastern Conference.
Later, Sam Bradford — a top Heisman contender just like Tebow — led No. 4 Oklahoma to a 62-21 victory over Missouri to take the Big 12. The Sooners became the first team to score 60-plus for five straight games in 89 years.
“I don’t see how we could not be No. 1 tomorrow,” Bradford said.
Barring some kind of computer meltdown when the final BCS rankings come out today, the Gators (12-1) will be ranked second, paired against the top-ranked Sooners (12-1) for the championship game in Miami.
Call it the Unstoppable Force vs. the Unstoppable Force: Oklahoma’s offense is ranked first in the nation in scoring and set the NCAA record for points in a season (702). The Sooners became the first to reach 60 in five straight games since Tulsa in 1919.
Florida’s offense averaged more than 49 points over the last nine games.
The point spread won’t come out until the game is officially set. But chances are that over-under number will be a big one.
Had Florida not had a late extra point blocked in a 31-30 loss to Mississippi in September, Tebow and the Gators might be a victory away from joining the debate as possibly one of the best teams ever. Their scoring defense is ranked fourth in the nation, one notch below their scoring offense.
Had the Sooners not had a bad day in a 45-35 loss to Texas in October, they might be part of the same argument.
Both teams got second chances, however, and both took advantage.
