Josh Heupel led Oklahoma to an undefeated regular season and the Big 12 title.

And how about Washington? Don't you think Rick Neuheisel and company have a gripe? After all, they beat Miami in early September and finished the season with just one loss.

The bottom line is this: the BCS, like it or not, has made for great conversation and debate throughout this tremendously exciting college football season. In time, we will have a playoff system to determine the national champion on the field. How many teams comprise the tournament is the question!

Now on to tonight's game. I picked Miami to win the national championship back in August. Florida State would have been my pick to repeat, but I penciled in a loss for FSU at Miami. The Seminoles and Bobby Bowden still have an opportunity to win a share of the national title. For OU, a win guarantees the top spot.

All year the Sooners have had to prove the doubters wrong. There wasn't a college football observer in the entire universe who would have picked OU to play for the national championship.

After all, the Sooners closed out the '99 season with a 7-5 record, culminating in a 27-25 loss to Ole Miss in the Independence Bowl. In the next-to-last regular season game, they also lost to Texas Tech 38-28. So you can see how far the Sooners came this season. That's why Bob Stoops won Coach of the Year honors.

The lowdown on Oklahoma
The Sooners have been led into battle by a smart, efficient signal caller in senior Josh Heupel, have a host of talented wide-receiving options, can run the ball effectively enough with Quentin Griffin and play inspired defense. Hats off to linebackers Torrance Marshall and Rocky Calmus for being the week-to-week standouts on the Sooner stop troop.

For OU to finish the campaign with a 12-0 record would truly be a huge accomplishment. Consider that the Sooners had to play five top-level opponents, with just one of those games (Nebraska) at Owen Field in Norman. In addition, OU was the underdog in three of those games.

Offensively, Heupel is certainly the straw that stirs the drink. Sure, he struggled some down the stretch, but he's had time to rest his arm and should be closer to the Josh Heupel we saw the majority of the season. The Sooners wide-receiving options all have ideal size and have developed into very consistent threats. Heupel has the knack for distributing the ball to the wide-out who can do the maximum with the football after the catch.

Also remember that TE Trent Smith proved to be a huge weapon in the Big 12 Championship game against Kansas State. Providing just enough of a change-up is RB Quentin Griffin, a 5-foot-6, 190-pounder who is difficult for a defense to locate with the ball in his hands when the Sooners operate out of the shotgun.

On defense for OU, everything revolves around linebackers Calmus and Marshall. They set the tone. Also credit the hard-working defensive front and steadily improving deep patrol for a job well done. Watch out for senior DE Corey Callens, senior DT Ryan Fisher, redshirt freshman CB Derrick Strait and super blue-chip sophomore SS Roy Williams. In addition, senior FS J.T. Thatcher doubles as a very dangerous return man.

The lowdown on Florida State
For the Seminoles, everything fell into place from mid-October on. After their heartbreaking 27-24 loss to Miami on Oct. 7 at the Orange Bowl, they dominated every opponent the rest of the way, four of which were teams that ended up in bowls.

	The only misstep for QB Chris Weinke and Florida State was a 27-24 loss to Miami.

When I size up talent around the country, Florida State comes out on top by a significant margin. In fact, a few scouts in the NFL tell me they have to spend several days in Tallahassee to evaluate all the prospects.

It all starts with Chris Weinke. He's made huge strides since last season, becoming more mobile and also improving his accuracy and efficiency throwing the football. By wisely returning for his senior year, Weinke elevated his pro rating from a fourth- to sixth-rounder all the way up to a possible first-round position, while winning the coveted Heisman Trophy and a shot at back-to-back national championships.

Had he left FSU after the '99 season, look at all that Weinke would have missed. Keep in mind as well that Weinke posted huge passing numbers, even with Peter Warrick, Ron Dugans and Laveranues Coles moving on to the NFL after last season.

Like OU, the Seminoles can run the ball well enough to keep defenses honest. Travis Minor, while not the most explosive back in the country, gets high marks in the consistency department. However, losing Jeff Chaney with a knee injury late in the season takes away a top-drawer, change-of-pace type from the Seminoles' arsenal. A key this season has been the play of mammoth senior RT Char-ron Dorsey. He's been able to move defenders off the ball, while holding up adequately in pass protection as well.

At wide receiver, the loss of Marvin "Snoop" Minnis for this game really hurts. I know the Seminoles are deep and very talented at this position, but Minnis was clearly the No. 1 option and the main go-to wide-out for Weinke in just about every clutch situation. Now it is up to Anquan Boldin, Atrews Bell, Javon Walker and Robert Morgan to pick up the slack.

Defensively, FSU is loaded. At every line of defense, there is top-level talent and future early-round draft choices. Along the front four, the headliner is senior DE Jamal Reynolds, a gifted outside pass rusher with impressive closing speed. On the other side, athletic senior David Warren has also proven to be a real force getting after the quarterback.

While senior LB Tommy Polley failed to come through with impact plays on a steady basis this season as he had in the past, you have to remember that he was less than a year removed from the major knee injury he sustained against Virginia Tech in the Nokia Sugar Bowl last season. Come April, he still could end up being hearing his name called in the first two rounds.

Senior LB Brian Allen may lack ideal height, but he's quite a football player who ranks right up there with the strongest linebackers ever to play the game. In the secondary, senior CB Tay Cody enjoyed a brilliant 2000 season, saving his best for last. Senior safety Derrick Gibson possesses awesome physical/athletic talent, but doesn't always bring his "A" game. Against OU, he'll need to do just that, which is perform at the All-American level he's capable.

Sizing up a championship
Initially, I thought Florida State would defeat Oklahoma fairly decisively. However, with Minnis not a part of the equation, the FSU offense needs to make some adjustments. Sure, there is plenty of talent on hand at wide receiver for the Seminoles, but Minnis was "special" this season. One of their other wide-outs has to "step up" big-time tonight. (By the way, I mention "special" and "step up" because they are the two most over-used terms in college football, the NFL and sports in general over the last year.)

For OU, Heupel has to revert back to the exceptional form he showed before his elbow injury late in the campaign. Passes that lack zip and aren't thrown with precision can be taken the other way by the opportunistic FSU deep patrol led by Cody and Gibson.

Another key will be the pass rush of Reynolds, Warren, Dockett and company. If they pressure Heupel and force him to throw off-balance, the results won't be what Sooner fans are looking for.

So in reality, one of the main keys is the play up front of the OU offensive line. Heupel needs time to set his feet and have his fundamentals in place throwing the football. With his questionable arm strength, steady pressure by the FSU defensive front could make it a long night for Heupel.