NEW YORK —
The penultimate Bowl Championship Series gave college football a national championship matchup low on controversy and loaded with star power.
No. 1 Notre Dame against No. 2 Alabama in Miami on Jan. 7 for the national title. No complaints.
That Fiesta Bowl with No. 5 Oregon against No. 7 Kansas State looks good, too.
After that, well, you can see why so many fans are so eager to get rid of the BCS.
No. 4 Florida goes to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans to face No. 22 Louisville, a Big East team that was unranked as recently as last week.
Then again, at least the Cardinals are ranked. Big Ten champion Wisconsin will be the first five-loss team to play in the Rose Bowl when it faces No. 8 Stanford in Pasadena, Calif.
Then there's the Orange Bowl in Miami, where No. 13 Florida State will face No. 16 Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference champion that took advantage of the lackluster Big Ten and Big East champions to slip into the BCS with a 12-1 record.
"It's a great story," Orange CEO Eric Poms said Sunday night, trying to put the best spin possible on a matchup that looks like a potential mismatch. "I think we'll be just fine."
Meanwhile, here's a list of teams that won't be playing in the BCS
— No. 3 Ohio State. The Buckeyes' postseason ban helped put the Badgers in the Rose Bowl.
— No. 6 Georgia, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 11 South Carolina couldn't get in because of the rule that permits no more than two teams from one conference.
— No. 12 Oklahoma was all but a lock for the Sugar Bowl, before NIU took the backdoor to being a BCS buster.
"We're 12-1," Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch told ESPN. "We faced tons of adversity this year. We won tons of games. ... We definitely deserve to be in there."
Maybe the Huskies can become this year's Boise State and shock the Seminoles. The fear is the team that lost to Iowa and barely beat Kansas will be more like the Hawaii version of BCS buster — a 41-10 loss to Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl — than the Utah-kind. The Utes beat Alabama 31-17 in the '09 Sugar Bowl.
If the undercard doesn't look like much, the main event has the making of a potential blockbuster.
"The tradition of Alabama and Notre Dame brings special attention to it, but we're just trying to be the best team on Monday, Jan. 7," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Sunday night. "All of that tradition, what's happened in the past, is not going to help us Jan. 7, but we do respect the traditions."
The Irish clinched their spot a week ago in Los Angeles by completing a perfect regular season against rival Southern California.
Local Sports
Blockbuster BCS main event, with iffy undercard
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Proud of diamond accomplishments of Devils, Panthers
Tift County almost pulled off an incredible feat this year, having two teams in the baseball quarterfinals.. It was a great year for baseball at all area schools, all eight of them in the postseason. Both Kyle Kirk's Tift County Blue Devils and Brad Porter's Tiftarea Academy Panthers came within an eyelash of doing even better: the final four.
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Devil duo decide Pratt
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Couch named Region 1-AAAAAA Player of the Year
Tift County High Lady Devil Carlie Couch was named Region 1-AAAAAA’s girls soccer Player of the Year and was one of 11 players from both squads to have been selected to the all-region team. The Lady Devils, who advanced to the state quarterfinals, had six of them.
- Sports briefs for May 23
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Gattis’ grand slam leads Braves past Twins 8-3
Evan Gattis no longer seems amazed by his improbable rookie season.
Yet, there are still times when it’s a bit of an adjustment for the Atlanta Braves catcher.
Like when someone recognizes him in the grocery store.
“It’s a little weird,” the 26-year-old Gattis said. “I’m not used to that yet.” -
Two from Tift named 1st team All-Region
The Tift County Blue Devils, who were only just barely eliminated in the state quarterfinals, placed two players on the All-Region team for 1-AAAAAA. The region, which sent three teams to the elite eight in the state tournament, named Lowndes’ Danny Redshaw Coach of the Year.
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Battle for state golf title held at Spring Hill
Spring Hill Country Club was temporarily home to 16 different schools Monday. All 16 locked irons in a battle for the Class AAAAAA state boys golf championship. After the dust had settled, top honors had gone to the Norcross Blue Devils, who finished two strokes ahead of the Peachtree Ridge Lions, 294-296.
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Spurlin snags state title
The future looks bright for Tift County gymnastics if Brooke Spurlin’s recent showing at the USA Gymnastics Level 6 state meet is any indication.
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Tift County High has summer basketball camp
Boys and girls basketball camps will be held at the Tift County High gymnasium for kids in grades Pre K-6, directed by Lady Devils head coach Julie Conner. There are several different camps being offered, including sessions in June and July.
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Spring game goes well for Devils
The blue squad was the victors 17-10 over the white team Friday in the annual Tift County Blue Devils spring game. The contest was the first preview of the 2013 team, which opens the regular season on Friday, August 30, with a home game against the Westover Patriots.
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Proud of diamond accomplishments of Devils, Panthers
