Gary W. Green / McClatchy Tribune

Florida is looking for its second title in three years

The BCS got it right. Oklahoma will meet Florida on Jan. 8 in Miami to conclude the college football season.

Whether the Big 12 got it right by having Oklahoma emerge from the three-team tie breaker with Texas and Texas Tech to play in the league title game will never have full agreement.

“Everybody has their opinions, and some are different than others,â€Â Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said.

But as champions of the two conferences that produced the greatest number of highly ranked teams this season, the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference deserve to be represented on the final stage.

Oklahoma finished first in the final BCS standings. The Sooners ranked first in the USA Today coaches̢۪ poll and in the average of six computers. No. 2 Florida was first in the Harris Poll, second in the coaches̢۪ poll and third behind Texas in the computer average.

The Longhorns finished a close third in the BCS.

This isn̢۪t new territory for Oklahoma or Florida.

Since the start of the BCS system in 1998, the Sooners have played in three championship games, winning in 2000.

This will be Florida̢۪s second appearance in the championship in three years. The Gators beat Ohio State in Glendale, Ariz., for the 2006 title.

They also won the 1996 national championship, when Stoops was the Gators̢۪ defensive coordinator.

There are 33 other bowls lined up Sunday, and it doesn̢۪t appear the Longhorns will have an opportunity to gain a split national championship.

Texas will play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and the Longhorns probably needed to be ranked ahead of Oklahoma in The Associated Press poll, which isn̢۪t part of the BCS system and crowns a final No. 1 team after the bowls.

But in the AP poll released Sunday, Florida was ranked first, followed by the Sooners and Texas, which lost out on representing the South division in the Big 12 title game because it ranked behind Oklahoma in last week̢۪s BCS standings _ despite having defeated Oklahoma this season.

Shane Keyser / McClatchy Tribune

The Rose Bowl offers traditional Big Ten/Pacific-10 fare with Penn State taking on Southern California.

Alabama will face Utah, champion of the Mountain West and one of two undefeated teams, in the Sugar Bowl.

ACC champion Virginia Tech returns to the Orange Bowl to meet Big East champion Cincinnati.

All eyes will be on the BCS national championship game, which has paired Oklahoma̢۪s remarkable offense with Florida̢۪s all-round skill and two quarterbacks expected to be in the thick of the Heisman Trophy race.

The Sooners̢۪ Sam Bradford leads the nation in passing efficiency and touchdown passes with 48.

Florida̢۪s Tim Tebow, bidding to become the second player to win a second straight Heisman, is the nation̢۪s fifth-highest rated passer and has thrown two interceptions in 268 attempts this season.

He helped Florida to nine straight victories after a regular-season home loss to Mississippi.

“Nine weeks ago our team got together and said let’s make every game count,â€Â Florida coach Urban Meyer said.

Both quarterbacks were major forces in their teams̢۪ conference championship-game victory. Tebow passed for three touchdowns as the Gators outlasted the top-ranked Crimson Tide 31-20.

Bradford passed for 384 yards and two touchdowns as Oklahoma crushed Missouri 62-21. On Sunday, he underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left (non-throwing) thumb and hand suffered in a victory over Oklahoma State two weeks ago.

“It was a clean, routine procedure, and we expect Sam to bounce back quickly,â€Â Stoops said. “He’ll be practicing again within 10 days and we’ve taken this week off anyway, so he won’t miss much.â€Â
Conference bragging rights also are on the line. The Big 12 and SEC were the college football power brokers this season. One of the teams has been ranked first in the AP poll in each of the last 11 weeks.

BCS Bowl Games

Here̢۪s a peak at the 2008-09 Bowl Champioship Seires matchups.

̢ۢ Orange Bowl РNo. 19 Virginia Tech vs. No. 12 Cincinnati. January 1, 2009

̢ۢ Rose Bowl РNo. 8 Penn State vs. No. 5 USC. January 1, 2009

̢ۢ Sugar Bowl РNo. 6 Utah vs. No. 4 Alabama. January 2, 2009

̢ۢ Fiesta Bowl РNo. 3 Texas vs. No. 10 Ohio State. January 5, 2009

̢ۢ National Championship Game РNo. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Florida. January 8, 2009

By Blair Kerkhoff / McClatchy Tribune