Pressure on Auburn to continue the BCS SEC Dynasty

Southeastern Conference

Auburn may have made it to the big dance, but the pressure is on as the SEC continues its legacy for domination in college football titles.

With seven straight National Championships, can Auburn make it #EightStraightSEC?  Many say yes as they march a powerful offense into Pasadena January 6th and close out the BCS era of National Championship games.

While there are mixed opinions on the BCS era and its popularity, one thing is sure - the SEC has dominated this pathway to the national titles.

Looking back it has been strong programs run by coach Nick Saban at both LSU and Alabama who have contributed to titles for the league in 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2012.  Florida, Auburn and Tennessee have also held title(s) over the course of the BCS era.

In fact the SEC has never lost a BCS title to a team outside the conference.  Their conference's only loss was to another SEC team when LSU lost to Alabama January 9, 2012.  The Tide under the leadership of Saban shut out LSU 21-0.

Will Florida State bring home another title?  The odds are not in their favor playing an SEC team, but they remain atop the list of appearances and will take the field with this year's Heisman winner Jameis Winston.

What happened? Alabama lost, end of story or is there more?

While pundits of the sports media contemplate the mystery and meaning of this past weekend's Iron Bowl, the bottom line will always be Alabama lost the game.

However, when your team is undefeated and you are considered the premier football program in the SEC, not to mention an almost improbable finish by Auburn, people are going to look hard for an explanation.  It just cannot be possible the Crimson Tide simply lost a game.  Fans and media are looking for something other than we didn't execute plays well.

So we have come up with some peculiar occurrences that might have effected Saturday night's game.  After all Nick Saban does not simply lose a football game, but when he does Auburn returns the ball 109 yards.

November 2013 UFO sightings were extremely high? Could this be to blame?

And then there is this...

Or maybe, just maybe it wasn't their best game

SEC Thanksgiving Weekend includes Egg & Iron Bowls

Once again SEC college football fans will be treated to a bounty of games over the Thanksgiving Day weekend starting with in-state rivalry between Miss State (7-4-0) and Ole Miss (5-6-0), better known as the Egg Bowl.

Dak Prescott

Kickoff today is 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) and a win gives the Bulldogs their 4th straight bowl game.  The Bulldogs are also looking to bring the Egg Bowl trophy back to Starkville after a 17 point loss last year to Ole Miss.

For Dan Mullen it would boost his efforts and recoup his 2010 "Never losing to this team again" statement.  With QB Dak Prescott listed as doubtful, Miss State may look to the Ole Miss record on the road and claim Davis Wade Stadium as a key advantage.

Friday, November 28th Arkansas vs #17 LSU will likely be a win for the Tigers (8-3-0) as the Razorbacks (3-8-0) are 0-7 against SEC teams this year so why break a record now?  Hang in there guys remember Auburn's 2012 season?  Kickoff time is 2:30 p.m. and CBS will carry the game for those not shopping on Black Friday.

The weekend continues with the traditional Saturday games and of course if you have not heard by now there is kind of a big deal going on in Jordan-Hare Stadium with the rivalry between Alabama's Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers (this week more fans are using the War Eagle nickname).  Rightfully so this is probably the game to watch for true SEC excitement.  Affectionately know as the Iron Bowl, fans are getting some college football SEC style this year.

#1 Alabama (11-0-0) and #4 Auburn (10-1-0), who lost to the Tide 49-0 last season, will kickoff on CBS at 3:30 p.m. (sorry ABC you are carrying the Georgia vs Georgia Tech game at the same time, and these teams are both 7-4-0 this season).

With another national championship and a possible undefeated season on the line, rest assured Nick Saban will be in rare form from the sidelines as his team works to make SEC history.

Photo:  Charles LeClaire USA Today

#2 Florida State (11-0-0) takes on Florida (no ranking here) and the Gators have proven everyone gets a turn at a losing season with their (4-7-0).  #2 Florida State is looking for a National Championship game with #1 Alabama.  Florida is plagued with so many injuries it would justify a separate article.

The big story for FSU has been the investigation of QB Jameis Winston for alleged sexual assault from an incident reported in December 2012.  While Winston has denied the allegations, The Tampa Bay Times reported the investigation may have violated federal law under Title IX.  According to the story schools are mandated by the Department of Education to perform a "prompt, thorough and impartial" investigation within 60 days.

The remaining SEC matches are Wake Forest vs Vanderbilt 12:21 p.m., #6 Clemson vs #10 South Carolina 7:00 p.m., Tenn vs Kentucky also at 7:00 p.m. and in a role reversal from 2012, #21 Texas A&M takes on #5 Missouri.

Missouri needs a win to capture the SEC East title and after 111 matchups, Clemson and South Carolina meet with both teams ranked.