BCS ushers in new era with extra championship game

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A new era of college football begins Monday night with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Florida playing a game that's grown too big to be called a bowl.

A week after New Year's Day, after all the bowls have been played, the Buckeyes and Gators meet in the first BCS National Championship Game.

"It's the Super Bowl of college football, and I think college football needed that," Gators coach Urban Meyer said Sunday.

What the bigger -- if not better -- Bowl Championship Series got for its new showcase event is a 1 vs. 2 matchup that had many skeptical at first about it's legitimacy.

Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and the Buckeyes (12-0) were a no-brainer. The Big Ten champions have been No. 1 since the preseason, and already have a pair of victories against teams ranked No. 2.

"You know the only time we thought for sure that we were going to be in the national championship is when that game (against Michigan) ended Nov. 18 because we knew going in you have to win them all," said Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, seeking his second national title in his sixth season with the Buckeyes.

But Florida? The Gators (12-1) lived on the edge, navigating a brutal Southeastern Conference schedule by orchestrating several great escapes. Blocked kicks, late rallies and a healthy dose of trickery -- Florida used it all. It's enough to make some say good fortune has been the Gators' best friend.

They see it another way.

"We don't really believe in destiny," defensive tackle Ray McDonald. "We believe when your number's called you make that play."

Still, Florida needed help to get here.

Southern California's loss to UCLA on the last day of the regular season opened the door for Florida, and a sea change among poll voters allowed the Gators to jump over Michigan in the final BCS standings -- and into a matchup with the Buckeyes.

Then USC helped out Florida again, pounding the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl last week and removing any questions about whether the winner of Monday's night game at shiny new University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale should be national champion.

Ohio State's won four national titles, the last in 2002 when Maurice Clarett and the Buckeyes shocked a powerful Miami team in a double-overtime classic in Arizona. A fifth title would match USC and Miami for the fourth-most in major college football.