Heading into conference championship weekend, two major-conference unbeatens remain in the race for the BCS Championship game in Pasadena, Calif. — No. 2 Florida State and No. 3 Ohio State, both at 12-0.
But No. 4 Auburn (11-1), fresh off a stunning, 34-28 win over No. 1 Alabama, could belong in the mix as well.
There is precedent for a one-loss SEC team moving into the championship game — LSU in 2003, Florida in 2006 and 2008, Alabama in 2011 and 2012, and even a two-loss LSU team in 2007.
But no one-loss team has ever jumped an undefeated team from a major conference. However, the Tigers believe they may be the team that deserves to do so.
“What y’all think? I think so,” Auburn senior defensive back Ryan Smith said. “Like I said, I feel like we can compete with anybody, no matter who they put on the field. And I feel like we’re definitely one of the best teams in the country.”
Junior running back Tre Mason concurred, with a caveat.
“We do feel like we are the best team in the nation, but there’s a lot of unbeaten teams out there,” Mason said. “But we feel like, due to schedule strength, we should be the best team in the country. But the future will tell us.”
Coach Gus Malzahn, for his part, was unwilling to discuss it.
“You know, all I know is that we beat the No. 1 team in the country, and we are going to the SEC Championship game,” Malzahn said. “We’re going to focus on that game and let everyone else focus on the other stuff.”
The debate still has a chance to be settled on the field. The Seminoles will face Duke in the ACC Championship game, the Buckeyes will take on Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game and Auburn still must face Missouri in the SEC title game, all Saturday.
Until then, despite the fact that they believe themselves to be the best team in the country, the Tigers will worry about things they can control.
“I think that we deserve to be in contention,” tight end C.J. Uzomah said. “But that’s not up for me to decide. We’ll kind of just let the pieces fall where they will.”
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