driving dunk with 57.3 seconds on the

The hosts of The College Football Podcast debate who deserves an invite to the BCS National Championship should OSU and Auburn win their conference championship games on Saturday. Ryan Bolta (@TSNBolta) and the case for Ohio State: If in fact Ohio State completes an undefeated season and wins the Big 10 title on Saturday, they deserve to play for the BCS National Championship. An undefeated team in a power conference has never been passed over in favor of a team with a blemish on their record, and that should remain the case. Naysayers will point to a below-average strength of schedule, close victories or to the SEC right to have a team in the championship because their conference is the deepest. Those naysayers couldnt be more wrong. It is incredibly hard to go an entire NCAA football season without a loss. There is a reason only one team, also Ohio State, accomplished the feat last year. No matter the level of competition, winning every single game is incredibly difficult. Many teams would be part of the conversation if not for slip ups against lesser opponents. Oklahoma State lost to West Virginia, Michigan State lost to Notre Dame, and Stanford beat two top 10 teams but lost to unranked Utah and USC. There have been hundreds of examples this year that just because you enter the game as a favorite, it doesnt mean youll head home with a victory. Also, on the topic of strength of schedule there is one key fact that continues to be overlooked. If playing tough opponents is of such high importance, it would be Florida State being replaced in the national championship. According to Jeff Sagarins formula Ohio State has played the 61st toughest schedule while Florida States ranks 66th. Thats before OSU plays No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday, while FSU gets No. 20 Duke. Ohio State has played the tougher schedule, and that gap will grow on Saturday. Another popular argument is the big 10 being “down” this year. The depth in the Big 10 isnt what it was years ago, but the fact is it produced a power matchup in the title game. Ohio State will play a top 10 team with a vaunted defense and only one loss on its resume. Florida State gets a two-loss traditional basketball school in Duke that for the first time in history won 10 football games this season. The Seminoles are 29-point favorites over the Blue Devils. None of this dismisses Auburn from the conversation, just points to the fact if you were to have them leapfrog an undefeated team you are looking at the wrong one in the Buckeyes. As for Auburn, the case against them is simple, they are not perfect. I believe that any loss eliminates your should there be two power conference undefeated teams, but well dig deeper. Auburn not only lost a football game, but they lost by two touchdowns to an LSU program that sits No. 15 in the BCS rankings. As impressive as their win was against Alabama, we cannot just look at what theyve done lately. College football requires you to look at the whole resume, and the Tigers have a glaring two-touchdown defeat on theirs. No. 21 Wisconsin would surely be higher if not for their very questionable loss to Arizona State on a game where the referees decided the outcome by not spotting the ball for a game-winning field goal try. Northwestern was 16th in the rankings when Ohio State beat them by 10 points with ESPN College Gameday in attendance. The Buckeyes won a dog fight in their rivalry week game and would need a victory over a top 10 opponent in Michigan State to make the BCS Championship. OSU also beat 8-win Iowa by double-dights and 7-win San Diego state by 26. When comparing wins, was Auburns last-second win against Texas A&M really more impressive than Ohio State over the Hawkeyes? Id argue that is wasnt. Admittedly OSU didnt play the strongest schedule, but there is some proof that Ohio State is in fact a powerhouse worthy of their No. 2 ranking. This was still the schedule of a team in a power conference, and one that cannot be ignored. All of the SEC backers need not look any further than Alabama coach Nick Saban. After losing to Auburn Saban mentioned coaching his team to treat the entire season as if it were March Madness, as in you need to win your games to advance. The most decorated coach in the SEC admitted that a loss eliminates your team, unless of course there arent two undefeated teams to play for the championship. If not for sanctions against Ohio State last season, Alabama would have missed out on the title game under those same conditions. One other popular point is Urban Meyer successfully lobbying for Florida back in 2006. The difference then was only one team (ironically Ohio State) was undefeated heading into the bowl season. So any quotes from the former Gator and current Buckeye are taken out of context if they are being used to show who he believes should be in the title game. Whether it be Auburn, Alabama or potentially Missouri, the fact remains that no matter what conference you come from one-loss is too many if there are two teams remaining from power conferences that are chasing perfection. Mike Marshall (@marshallmike) and the case for Auburn: When No. 3 Auburn and No. 5 Missouri meet at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, they will be playing for the Southeastern Conference championship. Despite their not-quite-perfect records, they should also be playing for a berth in the BCS National Championship. Sure the Ohio State has won a school record 24 straight games and is 12-and-0. But youre “going to tell a group of young men, who just went 12-1 in a most difficult schedule, that they dont have a chance to play for a national championship? Im going to need help with that one.” Thats a quote from Urban Meyer back in 2006. At the time, Meyers Florida Gators were 12-and-1, ranked fourth in the BCS standings, and outside of the national title picture. Meyer was lobbying for the Gators to jump USC and Michigan and earn a berth in the BCS Championship. In the end, both the Trojans and Wolverines lost, and Florida got its shot, beating Ohio State by 27 points, and beginning an unprecedented run of 7-straight national titles for the SEC. Ironically, this year Meyer is on the other side of the debate, lobbying for the unbeaten Buckeyes to get a bid over a 1-loss SEC champ. But if anything, his argument from 2006 rings more true now than ever before. Forget the fact that both Auburn and Missouri went from 3-and-9 and 5-and-7 a year ago, to 11-and-1 this season. Gus Malzahn and Gary Pinkel have already both been nominated for Coach of the Year. Forget that Auburns season culminated with a historic Iron Bowl win, their second miracle in as many games, knocking off the program that was gunning for an unprecedented third straight national title. Forget that Mizzou closed their season with a win over Johnny Manziel and then No. 21 Texas A&M, holding the reigning Heisman trophy winner to just 216 total yards, statistically the worst game of his career.The strength of schedule of an SEC champ should trump an unbeaten season of a team in a has-been conference. And the strength of schedules arent even close. Both Auburn and Missouri beat four top-25 teams this season. Ohio State beat two. The Buckeyes rang up wins against five teams with losing records. Auburn played just two. Auburns FBS opponents were a combined 20 games above .500 this season, Missouris 10. Ohio States? Eight games under. Sure both Auburn and Missouri lost a game. But Auburns loss came against then No. 6 LSU. They lost 35-21 at Death Valley, the place that LSU coach Les Miles says is “where dreams go to die.” They lost in the rain, at night, in a stadium in which the home team is 34-and-2 since 2009. Missouri lost to No. 8 South Carolina. In double overtime, when kicker Andrew Baggett banged a 24-yard field goal off the uprights. Hardly a blemish to throw away a season on. The Buckeyes played five road games en route to their 12-and-0 season. Those road opponents? A combined 5-and-36 in conference play. Ohio State won “the game” last week beating archrival Michigan – a team that had lost three of their last four - on a failed 2-point conversion. The Wolverines scored 41 points in the loss, despite scoring 49 total points in regulation in all of November. The Buckeyes two wins against ranked teams came against No. 21 Wisconsin, the same team that as a 24-point favourite lost to Penn State this past weekend, the largest FBS vs FBS upset this season. The following week OSU beat then No. 16 Northwestern, the beginning of the Wildcats seven game losing streak, and a 1-and-7 finish in conference play. When the Buckeyes meet Michigan State in Indianapolis, it will be their first regular season game against a top-10 team since 2009. Auburn has played three. This season. This week, Meyer has understandably changed his tone. Hes lobbying for the Buckeyes, and a chance for the Big Ten to win a national title for the first time since 2002. But, like he said in 2006, “its called winning and losing, and playing a difficult schedule.” And there is no schedule more difficult than that of the SEC. Arizona Diamondbacks Shirts . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys . -- The Minnesota Vikings released reserve cornerback A. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/. Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night. Arizona Diamondbacks Store .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. Fake Diamondbacks Jerseys . All of 46 seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 victory over Alex Ovechkins struggling Washington Capitals, Crosby assisted on Chris Kunitzs goal. LOS ANGELES -- From Jodie Meeks big day to the final result, this was definitely a surprise. Meeks scored 24 of his career-high 42 points in the second half, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Oklahoma City 114-110 on Sunday despite a triple-double by Thunder star Kevin Durant. Pau Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the injury-ravaged Lakers, who had lost 29 of their previous 37 games. Meeks was 11 of 18 from the field and 14 for 14 at the line while becoming the third player to reach the 30-point mark this season for last-place Los Angeles (22-42). "The most important thing is that we keep going out there and fighting and not giving up," Meeks said. "The season isnt going the way that we planned, but we still have 18 games left. So well play them hard and see what happens." Meeks is averaging 19.2 points in 11 games since returning from a sprained right ankle. Before the injury, he was averaging 14.4. "He got on fire," coach Mike DAntoni said. "He has really improved his game. Defensively, he was out of sight on Russell Westbrook the whole time. He put out a lot of energy in this game, but he has been doing that on a pretty consistent basis. Jodie has been our most consistent performer. Its really fun to watch someone get better." Durant had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his third triple-double this season. Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 15 boards for Oklahoma City. The Thunder (46-17) began the day in a three-way tie with San Antonio and Indiana for the NBAs best record. The Pacers played at Dallas on Sunday night and the Spurs were idle. "We lost. In some games, someone will have 40 points on you that is not supposed to have 40," Durant said. "We pressure hard so high out on the pick-and-roll that it opened everything up, and they exploited it. They were hitting the pocket passes and going through the lane to get the ball to their shooters. But that is how we play, so we have to figure out how to make second and third efforts." After giving up an average of 136 points over their previous three games while losing to New Orleans, the Clippers and Denver, the Lakers trailed the Thunder by as many as 18 in the second quarter before taking their first lead on a pair of free throws by Meeks that made it 71-70 with 4:35 left in the third. "I was trying to get my teammates involved, and they did a greeat job finding me in transition and in some set plays.dddddddddddd So I give credit to those guys for helping me out with a big game," Meeks said. "Being in a rhythm like that is fun, but getting a win is also fun. That was most important thing. We were down 18, so I was trying to do anything I could to help the team get back in the game." The Thunder are 3-5 since beating the Lakers 107-103 at Staples Center on Feb. 13 behind 43 points by Durant, who is vying for his fourth scoring title in five seasons. The Lakers took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter and increased it to 95-77 on Jordan Farmars 3-pointer with 9:42 remaining. Durant then fueled a 20-7 run with 10 points and former Laker Derek Fisher capper the rally with back-to-back 3s 24 seconds apart, pulling the Thunder to 102-97 with 4:36 to play. Russell Westbrook, who had 20 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder, narrowed the gap to 110-107 on a driving dunk with 57.3 seconds on the clock. But he missed everything on another 3-point try 24 seconds later and newly acquired Kent Bazemore helped put it away with a driving layup -- two of his seven points in the final 2:02. Westbrook finished 7 for 23 from the field and tied a season worst with eight turnovers. "We need to have a sense of urgency, knowing that teams are coming at us every night," Westbrook said. "I missed some shots, but I do not think the game is all about shooting." NOTES: Nick Young had 31 points for Los Angeles in an overtime loss at Chicago on Jan. 20, and Farmar scored a career-high 30 on Feb. 28 in a home win against Sacramento. ... Durant has scored 25 or more points in 28 consecutive games -- one shy of his career-best streak, which occurred in 2009-10. No other NBA player has had a longer streak of 25-point games in the last 25 years. ... Fisher, second on the Lakers career list for 3-pointers behind Kobe Bryant, shot 51.3 per cent (39 for 76) from behind the arc in his previous 22 games before going 2 for 4 Sunday. ... This was the first game of the Lakers home-and-home set against Oklahoma City, which will be followed by a home-and-home set against the Spurs. ... Lakers point guard Kendall Marshall played 27 scoreless minutes -- the fifth time in eight games that he has failed to score. ... The Lakers have trailed after three quarters in 47 of their 64 games. ' ' '