The 2014 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was the national championship game of the 2013 college football season, which took place on Monday, January 6, 2014, which was 5 days after the 2014 Rose Bowl took place at the same stadium. The game featured the Auburn Tigers and Florida State Seminoles. The game was played at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, kicking off at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game was hosted by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the organizer of the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day. The winner of the game, Florida State, was presented with the American Football Coaches Association's "The Coaches' Trophy", valued at $30,000.BCS Bowl Championship Series 2012-2013 Media Guide , BCS Football, December 2012 Pre-game festivities began at 4:30 p.m. PT. Face values of tickets were $385 and $325 (end zone seats) with both teams receiving a total of 40,000 tickets.
Florida State scored first on a 35-yard field goal to take an early 3–0 lead. Auburn responded with a touchdown in the first quarter and two in the second to storm out to a 21–3 lead. After a successful punt fake, the Seminoles managed a touchdown late in the second quarter, making it a 21–10 game in Auburn's favor going into halftime. Both teams dominated on defense in the third quarter with the Seminoles hitting a field goal to cut Auburn's lead to eight. In the fourth quarter, Florida State scored a touchdown early to make it a one-point game. Auburn extended its lead to 24–20 on a field goal, but Florida State took the lead 27–24 when Levonte Whitfield took the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Auburn then retook the lead 31–27 with 1:19 remaining in the game, but Florida State was able to respond, winning the game 34–31 with a Kelvin Benjamin touchdown with 13 seconds left on the clock. It was the first national championship won by the Seminoles since 1999 and their third overall, ending a streak of seven straight championships won by the SEC.
For their performances in the game, quarterback Jameis Winston and defensive back P. J. Williams were named the game's most valuable players.
This was the 16th and last time the top two teams played for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title before implementation of a four-team College Football Playoff system the following season.
Teams Teams playing in this game were officially selected on Selection Sunday, December 8, 2013.All Events , Tournament of Roses Association, July 25, 2013 They are the No. 1 and No. 2 nationally ranked teams in the final BCS standings. In the final BCS Standings, Florida State ended up ranked No. 1 and Auburn ended up ranked No. 2. Auburn and Florida State have played 17 times before, with Auburn leading the series, 13–4. Their last meeting was in 1990 at Auburn, Auburn winning 20–17.
The teams were housed in Newport Beach, Orange County. They held practices at UC Irvine (Auburn) in Irvine, CA and Orange Coast College (Florida State) in Costa Mesa, CA. On game day, Auburn wore its white away jerseys and used the west bench while Florida State wore its dark home jerseys and used the east bench.Media Guide, Tournament of Roses Association, December 2013
Auburn
The Auburn Tigers staged a large turnaround in 2013, improving from a 3–9 record in 2012 to a 12–1 record in 2013. Auburn was coached by Gus Malzahn, who was in his first season at Auburn. The Tigers began the season unranked and were picked to finish fifth in the SEC West in the SEC Media Poll.Top stats to know: BCS Championship. ESPN. January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.SEC Football Media Picks Alabama To Repeat . collegefootballpoll.com. July 18, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014. The Tigers won their first three games of the season, before losing to LSU 21–35. The Tigers then won the final eight games of the regular season to move to an 11–1 record and a SEC West division title. Auburn's regular season was capped off by two improbable victories: the Prayer at Jordan–Hare and the Kick Six (Chris Davis' game-winning touchdown with a 109-yard return of a missed 57-yard field goal attempt).Byington, Alex. AUBURN FOOTBALL: Davis' improbable score wins SEC West, sinks top-ranked Tide. oanow.com November 30, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014. In the 2013 SEC Championship Game, the Tigers defeated Missouri 59–42.Cartell, Sean. Auburn Wins 2013 SEC Football Championship. secdigitalnetwork.com. December 7, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014. It was with the improbable finishes and the single-season turnaround that the Auburn Tigers were dubbed "a team of destiny."Mandel, Stewart. . Sports Illustrated. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014. After Auburn's victory over Missouri in the SEC Championship, #10 Michigan State defeated #2 Ohio State 34–24 in the 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Game, keeping Ohio State out of the BCS Championship Game, while Auburn moved up to take Ohio State's spot.
The Tigers led the nation in rushing (335.69 yards per game). Auburn's rushing attack was led by Tre Mason, who rushed for 1,621 yards and 22 touchdowns.Can FSU slow down Auburn's rushing attack? . Orlando Sentinel. December 10, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014. Wide receiver Sammie Coates had 38 catches for 841 yards and seven touchdowns, which was good enough to rank him second in the nation on yards per reception (21.3).Ostendorf, Greg. Matchup: Auburn's WRs vs. FSU's DBs. ESPN. December 31, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014. Quarterback Nick Marshall threw for 1,759 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Marshall also ran for 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns.Larrabee, Brandon. BCS National Championship Game 2014 Preview: Cast of Characters. teamspeedkills.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
Defensively, the Tigers were led by Dee Ford, who came into the game with 8.5 sacks. Auburn's defense as a whole had allowed 24.0 points per game in the season.Mandel, Stewart. Auburn defense better than stats say, but FSU is still a huge challenge. Sports Illustrated. January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
Florida State
Florida State entered the 2013 season ranked #11 in the AP Poll.The AP Top 25 Poll - Preseason . AP.org. Retrieved January 4, 2014. Despite losing 11 starters to the 2013 NFL draft, the Seminoles were dominant during the 2013 season, winning by an average of 42.3 points en route to a 13–0 record.Hale, David. Redshirt watch for FSU's freshmen. ESPN. August 28, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014. FSU's closest game was a 48–34 victory over Boston College. FSU's offense averaged 53 points per game, while the defense allowed only 10.7 points per game.Cooper, Jon. A statistical comparison of Auburn vs. Florida State. saturdaydownsouth.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014. The Noles’ second closest game was a 27-point win over Miami. However, the Seminoles schedule was rather weak, and was ranked just #62 in the country by Jeff Sagarin even after the BCS championship game. The team was coached by Jimbo Fisher, who was in his fourth season at Florida State.
Offensively, the Seminoles were led by Heisman Trophy winner, redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, who turned 20 years old on game day. Winston completed 237 of 349 passes with 3,820 yards for 38 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The offense was also led by wide receivers Rashad Greene, Kenny Shaw and Kelvin Benjamin, who each had over 900 receiving yards. FSU's rushing attack was led by Devonta Freeman, who rushed for 943 yards.FSU on verge of breaking or tying NCAA offensive records against Auburn . January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014. Roberto Aguayo lead the team in scoring with 147 points (perfect 90 PAT and 19 out of 20 field goal attempts).Loh, Stefanie. Florida State vs. Auburn head-to-head. utsandiego.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
Defensively, the Seminoles allowed 268.5 yards per game. Senior linebacker Telvin Smith led the team in tackles with 75, while safety Lamarcus Joyner led the team in sacks with 5.0.
Starting lineups (number corresponds to draft round) † = 2013 All-American
Florida State Position Auburn Offense Kelvin Benjamin 1 WR Sammie Coates 3 †Cameron Erving 1 LT Greg Robinson 1 Josue Matias LG Alex Kozan †Bryan Stork 4 C Reese Dismukes Tre' Jackson 4 RG Chad SladeBobby Hart 7 RT Avery Young Nick O'Leary 6 TE C. J. Uzomah 5 Rashad Greene 5 WR Ricardo Louis 4 †Jameis Winston 1 QB Nick Marshall Devonta Freeman 4 RB †Tre Mason 3 Defense Eddie Goldman 2 DE Dee Ford 1 Timmy Jernigan 2 DT Nosa Eguae Nile Lawrence-Stample DT Gabe Wright 4 Mario Edwards Jr. 2 DE Elijah Daniel Dan Hicks SLB Robenson Therezie Christian Jones MLB ILB Jake Holland Telvin Smith 5 WLB Cassanova McKinzy P. J. Williams 3 CB Chris Davis †Lamarcus Joyner 2 CB Jonathon Mincy Jalen Ramsey 1 S Ryan SmithTerrence Brooks 3 S Jermaine Whitehead
Game summary Immediately after the 2014 Rose Bowl Game concluded, a fresh field was placed on top of the existing field. The field was laid on Thursday, and painting of the field began Friday. The field was completed Saturday in time for it to rest on Sunday for the championship game on Monday. The pregame singing of the national anthem was performed by John Legend.NINE-TIME GRAMMY AWARD WINNER JOHN LEGEND TO SING NATIONAL ANTHEM AT 16TH BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. tournamentofroses.com. December 8, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
The 2014 BCS National Championship Game kicked off at 8:30 p.m. EST at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. A crowd of 94,208 people attended the game. The game was televised by ESPN, with Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit as commentators. Other ESPN networks (including ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, and ESPN3) provided supplemental coverage with analysis and additional perspectives of the game, which the network branded as the BCS Megacast. An estimated 26,061,000 people watched the game on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS, for a combined Nielsen rating of 14.8.Humes, Michael. BCS National Championship: Cable's Third Largest Audience Ever. espnmediazone.com. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
First quarter The opening kickoff went for a touchback, thus Auburn began its opening drive at its 25-yard line. On a third and 7 situation, the Tigers had a chance to score first when Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall threw a pass to an open Ricardo Louis. Marshall's pass fell short, however, forcing the Tigers to punt the ball away to FSU.Myerberg, Paul. The 12 moments that decided the 2014 BCS Championship. USA Today. January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014. On the Seminoles' first drive of the game, Florida State was able to drive to Auburn's red zone. However, on a third and 8 situation at Auburn's 16-yard line, Jameis Winston was sacked by Nosa Eguae, forcing the Seminoles to settle for a 35-yard field goal from Roberto Aguayo to give the Seminoles a 3–0 lead.Florida State Seminoles vs. Auburn Tigers Play-by-play Quarter 1. ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
The ensuing Auburn drive ended in a punt. However, the Tigers were able to down the punt at FSU's 2-yard line. Auburn's defense then forced a three-and-out, forcing the Seminoles to punt from the endzone. Auburn's Chris Davis returned the punt 22 yards to Florida State's 25-yard line. Taking advantage of the good field position, Auburn went up 7–3 on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Tre Mason. On the ensuing Florida State drive, the Seminoles stalled at their 26-yard line after Winston was sacked by Dee Ford. On the punt return, Auburn was called for a roughing the kicker penalty, giving FSU a first down at the Seminoles' 41-yard line.
Second quarter