Oklahoma-Florida national title matchup looms

If you're scripting a 2008 college football season that's even half as crazy as last season, the opening scene must show I-AA champion Appalachian State knocking off defending I-A champ LSU Saturday in Death Valley.

Who could forget how those little Mountaineers from Boone, N.C., wrested the glory and fame from "The Victors" in a stunning 34-32 Big House upset of mighty Michigan to open the 2007 season? That set the tone for the most incredible college football season ever.

From start to finish, 2007 was, hands down, the wildest and wackiest ever. When it comes to the unbelievable, it's going to be pretty tough to top.

So let's kick off the 2008 campaign with a simple understanding: There's bound to be a return to some semblance of order -- like Notre Dame chalking up, say, eight or nine wins; Nebraska and/or Miami returning to the upper echelon; and somebody other than Ohio State winning the Big 10.

Seriously, isn't everybody getting just a bit tired of watching Ohio State get thumped by the SEC in the BCS title game?

Let's do everyone a favor and scratch the Bucks right now from national title contention. Of course, we'd have to forget about their tremendous wealth of returning talent -- running back Beanie Wells, quarterback Todd Boeckman, wide receiver Brian Robiskie and linebacker James Laurinaitis ... The list goes on.

The Buckeyes are the class of the Big 10 -- which is slowly but surely losing respect (1-3 in Jan. 1 bowls last postseason) among the six BCS conferences -- and they're figured to win an unprecedented third straight conference crown.

They'll be favored in all of their conference games, and possibly even in their Sept. 13 showdown with Southern Cal in Los Angeles. But they're not going to make it to Miami for a third straight appearance in the BCS title game.

Why? Because it's not in the script. Talent aside, Ohio State used up its allotment of luck last season, and you need luck on your side if you're going to make it to the title game... no matter how good you are.

As legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno once said, "The best man, the best team, isn't automatically entitled to win. The winds of fate can turn you around, run you aground, sink you, and sometimes you can't do a thing about it."

Somewhere along the road to Miami, the Buckeyes are going to take a fall, and they won't have the good fortune of capitalizing on other teams' misfortune like they did last season.

Here's how The Unbalanced Line's 2008 season script plays out:

The Big 12 championship shapes up as a rematch between Oklahoma and Missouri, and the Sooners win, again. They have a favorable schedule and the talent, especially on offense, to go unscathed.

USC is easily the class of the Pac-10, even after losing a slew of talent to the NFL, and the reloaded Trojans get their toughest Pac-10 opponents, Oregon and California, at home. If -- and it's a big if -- they can get by the Buckeyes, it could be clean sailing to Miami.

West Virginia and South Florida will battle it out for the Big East title Dec. 6 in Morgantown. With 17 returning starters, the Bulls get the nod for the conference title and for an outside shot at the BCS title. Remember, midway through last season South Florida occupied the No. 2 spot in the AP poll, before falling from the rankings after a three-game skid.

Georgia is probably the most talented team in the SEC, but the Bulldogs' schedule is brutal, with away games at South Carolina, LSU and Auburn. Plus, there's the world's largest cocktail party Nov. 1 in Jacksonville, where Florida and its Heisman-winning quarterback Tim Tebow win another conference crown.

Clemson should win the ACC, but the conference won't get enough BCS love to make the Tigers a player in the national title chase.

The Big 10? Pretty simple. Ohio State.

So which teams will fill those coveted spots in the Jan. 8 BCS title game?

With the amount of BCS loving the SEC gets, Florida will be one. The other... unbeaten Oklahoma. And The Unbalanced Line's call: Sooners win.

Of course, you can always count on something pretty wild happening. So who knows, maybe Paterno will sink the Buckeyes and Penn State will ride to Miami as a dark horse.

As for Appy State, three consecutive Football Championship Subdivision titles aside, don't look for the little Mountaineers to engineer another monumental upset in Death Valley.

(Contact John Tucker at jtucker@unionleader.com)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)