The Florida State Seminoles came all the way back to beat the Auburn Tigers for their first National Championship since 1999.

Auburn dominated the entire first half and raced out to a 21-3 lead with five minutes left in the half. At this point the entire south must have been rejoicing over the score. FSU freshman quarterback Jameis Winston was struggling mightily and the offensive line was not protecting him. Commentator Brent Musburger even said, “Nick Marshall looks like the best passer in this game.” As soon as it looked like the ‘noles were done they came storming back.

FSU got a big score just before halftime to cut the lead 21-10. Without this score it would have been nearly impossible for the Seminoles to win this game. They followed that up with a field goal to make the score 21-13. Then after an ill-advised pass by Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall was picked off by FSU’s P.J. Williams, they would score on the next possession to cut the lead to 21-19. FSU Head Coach Jimbo Fisher wanted to go for two but they were called for unsportsman-like conduct penalty after one of their recievers taunted the Auburn sidelines. The two-point try would have been from the 17 yard line. Fisher instead opted for the extra point to make it 21-20.

FSU had closed the gap, but Auburn still had the lead and the ball. Auburn was able to take the hits from the Seminoles and drove down and hit a field goal to make it 24-20. Tre Mason seemed impossible to stop and Nick Marshall was hitting his receivers down the field.

Then FSU took the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown. Replays showed (and Kirk Herbstreit exclaimed) that one Auburn defender appeared to collapse of a cramp in the middle of the play that allowed FSU kick returner Levonte Whitfield to break free for the go-ahead score. FSU had come all the way back from 18 points down and a nightmare-ish first half to claim the lead. But, this is college football and this is the BCS. There is always drama.

Auburn would take the ball all the way down the field. Tre Mason carried the load as Auburn made the FSU defense look gassed. Even FSU All-American Defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan was exhausted. He was on the sideline and could only watch the tandem of Marshall and Mason blast the ‘Noles. The Tigers drove 75 yards on 8 plays as Tre Mason steam rolled Freshman Cornerback Jalen Ramsey en route to the end zone. One could hear the roar of not only the Tigers but all of SEC-country. The SEC was going to win their eighth national title in a row. They were going to make bettors feel awful for making them a 10 point underdog. They were going to make people look stupid for saying an undefeated Ohio State team should be put in the championship over them. Most of all, they were going to retain the title of being the most dominant conference on the most surreal run in the history of college football. With all that said, this is still the BCS. There is still drama.

Jameis Winston would have to go 80 yards in one minute and 8 seconds. It was a two minute drill only with half the time. The Heisman winner would have to do something special and boy did he. Jameis Winston lead FSU all the way down the field where he threw a jump ball to his 6′- 4″ target Kelvin Benjamin for the touchdown.

Was there a little more SEC magic for the last play? not this time. Auburn drew up a great design to get Tre Mason wide open and real estate in front of him, but a FSU defender caught him from behind and the game was over. The SEC reign and stranglehold on college football is finally over.

The SEC had won seven straight. Beginning with ’06 Florida followed by ’07 LSU, ’08 Florida, ’09 Alabama, ’10 Auburn, ’11 Alabama, and ending with ’12 Alabama. Everybody said the SEC was head and shoulders the best conference. They said they were the deepest, the fastest, the strongest, and the best coaches.

The truth is that the SEC was a product of the flawed BCS formula. They got a head start because everybody said that a 7-5 Ole Miss team was the number 25 team in the country.

Florida State has finally ended the 7 years of misery for the rest of college football. Of Course SEC homers will see it different. Take ESPN commentator Brent Musburger for example. Musburger summed up all SEC fans when he said this after the game. “Well, folks, its no surprise that Florida State has won the national championship. They modeled their team after the SEC”.

The four team playoff will expose the South Eastern Conference for what it is. It is a great conference but its not far and away better than the other power five conferences.

This SEC loss is good for college football. It makes it like the NFL, anybody can win on any given day or night.
Today, the whole nation can finally breathe. The SEC has lost and now the pressure is off the rest of the college football world.

Well, not really.