BCS title: X-factors for each team

Posted January 06, 2014

Sammie Coates (18) is key to Auburn establishing some semblance of a passing game. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Its finally here. No. 1 Florida State is set to clash with No. 2 Auburn in Mondays BCS championship game, a matchup that pits a dominating Seminoles squad against a Tigers team that has mounted an improbable one-year turnaround from SEC doormat to conference champions.

The Xs and Os have been dissected for a month now, but what are the under-the-radar keys for each team? Martin Rickman and Zac Ellis provide five X-factors for Florida State and Auburn heading into the game in Pasadena.

1. Jeremy Pruitt and the Florida State defense: Entering the season, it wouldve been crazy to suggest that the Seminoles defense would somehow be better than last years unit. Seven defensive starters were selected in the 2013 NFL draft, and Florida State brought in a new defensive coordinator in Pruitt. The groups success this year is a testament to Pruitts philosophy, which helped the Noles become the nations best defense (according to Football Outsiders S&P+ ratings). The brilliance of Pruitts schemes are in their simplicity. As defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. told SI.com before the the Seminoles 41-14 win over Miami on Nov. 2, He just lets us go and be ball players.

THAMEL: Auburns Lashlees path from running magazine to Tigers offense

2. Nick OLeary: Lets get it out of the way now. Yes, OLeary is Jack Nicklaus grandson, and you should probably already know this if youve watched or read anything about college football this year. Youll certainly hear about it at least once during the broadcast. And yes, OLeary survived a crazy motorcycle wreck, of which Tomahawk Nation has the video. Whats more important to the game on Monday night, however, is OLearys role in Florida States offense. The tight end has been a safety valve for quarterback Jameis Winston all season, and with defenses keying in on the rest of the Seminoles stars, OLeary (33 catches, 557 yards, seven touchdowns) has had his chances to make plays like this:

STAPLES: Florida States receiving corps pose matchup nightmare

3. Sod Cemetery: If the Seminoles beat Auburn, theyll earn the BCS trophy and crystal makes for a nice centerpiece. But Florida State will also be able to bury another incredibly important piece of turf in its Sod Cemetery. For more than 50 years (since 1962, to be exact), the Seminoles have been bringing back some sod from big road victories. This includes turf from games in which they were underdogs, as well as from conference championship games and bowl games. Grass is grass is grass, but sod from Pasadena would be pretty special.

4. Florida State Twitter: The backbone of any successful program lies in its fan base, and its hard to find a more lively and productive group than the Seminoles supporters on everyones favorite 140-character soapbox. Florida State Twitter is a living, breathing entity drunk on recruiting stars and advanced metrics. No other bunch has taken as fervently to the #goacc hashtag that I sired (and continue to love like my own child). Although the hive mentality can get nasty at times, there are some truly great people out there. This has to be good for a point or two in the spread, right?

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BCS title: X-factors for each team