2014 BCS Championship: The closing chapter - 1) Florida State vs 2) Auburn

What a game.

Two great football teams, fighting it out on the gridiron, in the final BCS Championship game. 4th-year head coach Jimbo Fisher and Florida State going up against 1st-year head man Gus Malzahn and the Auburn Tigers behind the most improbable of turnarounds in college football lore.

A game of college football heavyweights, comes down to one last possession. Play-action, Winston in the pocket, throws it up for Benjamin, caught, end zone, touchdown! Florida State regains the lead with 13 seconds to go.

The turning point was the interception by P.J. Williams on Nick Marshall with roughly 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, which lead to the touchdown from Winston to Chad Abram to put the score at 21-20 with Auburn on top.
It then turned into a boxing match, as both teams traded punches in the remainder of the game, highlighted by the last three scores, each being touchdowns, starting with the 100-yard kickoff return by Levonte Whitfield. Then there was the 37-yard touchdown by 4th-place Heisman finisher Tre Mason to put Auburn back in front. The biggest play of the night was not the touchdown, but the pass-interference call on Chris Davis against Kelvin Benjamin on 3rd and 8 with 27 seconds remaining, leading to the game-winning touchdown from Winston to Benjamin.

The BCS went out with a bang in this championship game and we were treated to a dandy.

Four things I learned from this game:
1. Jameis Winston has the clutch gene in his DNA.
2. Both Gus Malzahn and Jimbo Fisher are both big-game coaches.
3. Auburn was definitely for real this year, even though their magic ran out against Florida State.
4. Big plays were key in this game.

Game grades:

Offense:
FSU: B+
Auburn: A

Defense:
FSU: B+
Auburn: B

Special Teams:
FSU: A
Auburn: A-

Coaching:
FSU: A+
Auburn: A

Quarterbacks:
Winston: A
Marshall: A-

Offensive line:
FSU: B-
Auburn: B+

Both teams were able to get a rhythm in the second half, and Auburn came out firing while Florida State was a little off-balance to begin with. Both teams were able to run the ball better in the second half, especially Florida State and both Florida State and Auburn put the game in the hands of their best playmakers; Tre Mason and Nick Marshall for Auburn, and Jameis Winston and Kelvin Benjamin for Florida State. Those two really stole the show. Other guys stepped up too, like Melvin Ray, who had a 50-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, and Levonte Whitfield, who had the 100-yard kick-six which gave Florida State the lead for the first time in the game since the five-minute mark or so in the first quarter, as well as both defenses, forcing critical turnovers, with the Winston fumble in the 2nd quarter and P.J. Williams interception. It was a really fun game to watch, and both teams were very well-coached and came to play and put on a show.

Thanks for the memories BCS, and onto the playoff we go.