After a weekend slate of bowl games that included two last-play finishes, a highly-anticipated shootout that managed to exceed expectations, and an impressive statement from the first non-BCS team to play in a BCS Bowl, the college football season marches towards its conclusion with the Sugar Bowl tonight and the title-game showdown between Oklahoma and USC in the Orange Bowl tomorrow.

Outside of the title game, perhaps no matchup was more anticipated than Friday’s Liberty Bowl between a pair of mid-major conference teams – 11-0 Boise State and 10-1 Louisville – that narrowly missed out on the BCS. Billed as a battle of the nation’s top two offenses, the Cardinals and Broncos went back and forth before Louisville prevailed 44-40 to snap Boise’s 22-game winning streak.

Both teams showed the type of physical play and athleticism that is generally thought to be lacking outside of the BCS leagues. Louisville will get a chance to prove it belongs with the big boys on an ongoing basis when it moves to one of those conferences, the Big East, next season.

Another supremely attractive matchup was the New Year’s Day Rose Bowl pairing of Texas and Michigan – two legendary programs that had never met despite over 200 combined years of competition. This game proved to be worth the wait, as Dusty Mangum kicked the Longhorns to a 38-37 win as time expired. Texas quarterback Vince Young ran for 192 yards and four touchdowns and passed for 180 yards and another score in the most jaw-dropping individual performance in a bowl game since Michael Vick almost single handedly delivered a national championship for Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl.

Earlier in the day, Iowa authored one of the most shocking finishes in bowl history when Drew Tate hit Warren Holloway for a 56-yard score as time expired, giving the Hawkeyes a 30-25 win over LSU and coach Nick Saban in his final game before taking over the Miami Dolphins. And in a battle of departing coaches, Utah and Urban Meyer completely dominated overmatched Pittsburgh by a 35-7 score in the Fiesta Bowl. Utah, the Mountain West champions, certainly proved it belonged in the BCS by capping an undefeated season with a game plan that showcased its dizzying spread-option offense on the national stage. Meyer now takes that attack to Florida, where the talent already appears in place to compete for a national title next season, while Pitt’s Walt Harris will take over at Stanford.

While Oklahoma and USC prepare to battle for the national title tomorrow night, no. 3 Auburn gets the spotlight all to itself tonight as it attempts to complete a perfect 12-0 season against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

SUGAR BOWL
(Tonight, 8 p.m. on ABC)

Auburn (12-0, 8-0 SEC) vs. Virginia Tech (10-2, 7-1 ACC)

Auburn, the first unbeaten team from one of the six major conferences to be denied a berth in the BCS title game, won’t be playing for a share of the national title as USC did last year. The Trojans were no. 1 in both human polls when they were left out of the championship game, and held onto to the top spot in the AP poll after defeating Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Auburn is third in both polls, and won’t move up over the loser of the USC-Oklahoma Orange Bowl.

Auburn certainly wants to prove it was worthy of the national championship game, but if the Tigers play simply to impress the voters, they could end up losing to an opponent that has thrived all season in the underdog role.

Auburn can take a lesson from Cal, which also missed out on the BCS in disappointing fashion after being leapfrogged by Texas in the final BCS standings. Cal looked uninterested as it sleepwalked through a Holiday Bowl loss to Texas Tech. The difference for Auburn is that the Tigers have been dealing with the possibility of being the team left out of the BCS title game since at least the beginning of November. Coach Tommy Tuberville has also had a month to drill into his team the value of the Sugar Bowl consolation prize – an easier sell than Jeff Tedford faced in trying to convince his Cal team to take the Holiday Bowl seriously.

Tuberville shouldn’t have to work hard to convince his team that Virginia Tech is a worthy opponent.The game film of Tech’s ACC-clinching win at Miami in the season finale should take care of that.

In the Miami game, Virginia Tech’s defense was able to put pressure on quarterback Brock Berlin and disrupt his timing. The unit will need to do the same thing to Auburn’s Jason Campbell, but it also needs to respect Campbell’s mobility. Given time in the pocket, Campbell – a 70% passer this season with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions – could pick apart Virginia Tech’s fourth-ranked defense.

Virginia Tech must also be wary of the Auburn running game as it tries to pressure Campbell. The Tigers boast a pair of potential NFL first-round draft picks in the Auburn backfield in Ronnie Brown and Carnell “Cadillac” Williams.

On offense, Virginia Tech must attempt to be balanced. Quarterback Bryan Randall is a dual-threat player who has struggled with his passing consistency this year, but produced 19 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions, and is capable of making big plays down the field. Mike Imoh is an underrated back who no doubt noticed that Tennessee broke off several long runs against Auburn in the SEC championship game.

While they certainly need to respect their opponent, the Tigers’ biggest concern should be themselves. This is a team without any glaring weaknesses; It ranked in the top 25 in the nation in every major team statistic except passing offense (35th), and it was first overall in scoring defense.

If Auburn is focused and plays to its abilities, it will beat Virginia Tech. But the Hokies are also a well-rounded team that stacks up well with Auburn statistically. Coach Frank Beamer always has one of the nation’s best special teams units, and if the Hokies can make a big play in the kicking game, they could pull off the upset.

Virginia Tech stood toe-to-toe with USC in its season opener and stared down Miami in December. The Hokies will not be intimidated by the setting or their opponent, but Auburn’s talent on both sides of the ball should prove decisive.