Auburn will carry the SEC banner into Monday’s BCS Championship Game vs. Florida State at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. If Auburn can prevail, it will be the eighth consecutive season the SEC has taken home the national title.

As of early Sunday afternoon, most books had Florida State (13-0 straight up, 11-2 against the spread) listed as a nine-point favorite with a total of 67. Gamblers can back the Tigers on the money line for a +250 return (risk $100 to win $250). For first-half wagers, the Seminoles are favored by 5.5 with a total of 34.

FSU is back in the BCS Championship Game for the first time in 13 years. In their last such appearance, the ‘Noles lost 13-2 to Oklahoma in Miami.

Jimbo Fisher’s team cruised through an easy schedule with 13 straight victories by 14 points or more. The only semblance of a close game came in Week 4 at Boston College. The Eagles raced out to a 17-3 advantage early in the second quarter behind a pair of touchdown passes from Chase Rettig.

But FSU would score 21 unanswered points and go to halftime with a 24-17 lead thanks to Jameis Winston’s Hail Mary TD pass of 55 yards to Kenny Shaw on the final play of the second quarter. BC would get an early field goal in the third quarter, but it wouldn’t get any closer in a 48-34 defeat.

In its only single-digit ‘chalk’ spot of the season, FSU rolled to a 51-14 at Clemson as a five-point favorite to snap a decade-long slump in Death Valley. Winston torched the Tigers for 444 yards passing and three TDs.

In the ACC Championship Game, FSU shook off a sloppy first-half performance to capture a 45-7 win as a 30-point favorite. Winston had three TD passes and one rushing score.

Winston became the second straight freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Johnny Manziel as the only rookies to do so. The redshirt freshman completed 67.9 percent of his throws for 3,820 yards with a 38/10 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Winston also ran for 193 yards and four scores.

Winston has a talented array of wide receivers led by Rashad Greene, who has 67 receptions for 981 yards and nine TDs. Kelvin Benjamin has great size and hauled in 50 catches for 957 yards and 14 TDs.

Devonta Freeman paces the ground attack, rushing for a team-high 943 yards and 13 TDs while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Karlos Williams is a more-than-capable back-up who ran for 705 yards and 11 TDs while averaging an eye-opening 8.2 YPC. James Wilder Jr. is as good as it gets for a third-stringer, rushing for 542 yards and eight TDs with a 6.9 YPC average.

Auburn (12-1 SU, 11-2 ATS) has thrived in the underdog role, compiling a 5-0 spread record with four outright victories. Gus Malzahn’s team won as a ‘dog vs. Ole Miss (30-22), at Texas A&M (45-41), vs. Alabama (34-28) and vs. Missouri (59-42).

Tre Mason led his team to victory over Missouri at the SEC Championship Game with a record-breaking performance. Mason rushed 46 times for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Nick Marshall completed 9-of-11 throws for 132 yards and one TD without an interception. Marshall ran 16 times for 101 rushing yards and one score.

Mason’s break-out game against Mizzou earned him an invite to Heisman ceremonies. He has run for 1,621 yards and 22 TDs. Mason also has 11 catches for 121 yards. He contributes on special-teams as well and has 2,137 all-purpose yards.

Malzahn doesn’t ask Marshall to throw much, but he has been effective when asked to. Marshall has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,759 with a 12/5 TD-INT ratio. Marshall has run for 1,023 yards and 11 TDs.

When AU does go to the aerial attack, Sammie Coates is the man to look for. Coates has a team-high 38 receptions for 841 yards and seven TDs.

FSU has played in two BCS Championship Games against SEC foes. On Jan. 2 of 1997, Florida drilled FSU 52-20 to win the school’s first national title. Three years later, Tennessee beat the ‘Noles 23-16 in Tempe.

Auburn was in this game three seasons ago, knocking off Oregon 22-19 as a one-point ‘chalk.’

The ‘over’ has cashed in four consecutive Auburn games and seven of its last eight. The ‘over’ went 8-5 overall for the Tigers this year, with their games producing an average combined score of 64.2 points per game.

The ‘over’ is 10-3 overall for FSU, but the ‘under’ has emerged in back-to-back games for the ‘Noles. They have seen their games average a combined score of 63.7 PPG.

Kickoff on Monday night is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.



GOOD LUCK TO ALL..LETS HAVE A BLAST!