NCAA Football Weekend Primer: The Game of the Century (of the Week)

Just like their classic 1993 clash, Florida State and Notre Dame's game this weekend will have plenty of Heisman and national title implications.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In the annals of college football, many games have been dubbed "The Game of the Century."

2006's Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus comes to mind, and the 2011 Alabama-LSU game in Tuscaloosa is another recent example (there are plenty of others from both centuries), but the big one I remember, from when I was too young to fully understand coaches polls and bowl games, was when No. 1 Florida State traveled to South Bend to face No. 2 Notre Dame in 1993.

The Irish were the biggest name in college football, boasting a huge home field advantage, while the Seminoles were the hottest program in the land under Bobby Bowden, but still hadn't won a national title.

The Irish built a 31-17 lead and held on like crazy to defeat eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward and the Noles 31-24. Oddly enough, an upset loss to rival BC caused Notre Dame to lose the top spot in the polls just a week later, and it was Florida State that played new No. 2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for a national title, beating the Huskers on a last-second field goal.

After losing the game of the century, Florida State captured it's first national championship and became a national brand.

Long and Suite Preview: The Big 12

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will look to shock the nation again with an offense rebuilt around returning quarterback Jake Waters (15) and three-time All-Big 12 center B.J. Finney (66).

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe) with a cameo from Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

While the Pac 12 challenged the SEC for total conference dominance last season, and Florida State delivered a national title to the ACC, the Big 12  quietly ended the year on a bit of a tear.

Baylor's fun n' gun offense helped it win the conference (though the Bears fell to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl), while Oklahoma earned a spot in the Sugar Bowl, where it blasted Alabama. Texas Tech and new coach Kliff Kingsbury knocked off Pac 12 South champion Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl, and Bill Snyder's Kansas State team rebounded from a rocky start to win six of its final seven, including a whooping of Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

NCAA Weekend Primer: "Fear the Spear" and "Swag" Return

Can Miami and Florida State rule the college football world again?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Don't look now, but the Miami-Florida State game actually matters to people outside the state of Florida!

How long has it been since that happened? Well, every season from 1998 to 2005 these two teams finished the year ranked in the Top-25, and the game was considered a national title "knock out game" of sorts. Since 2005, both those things have happened zero times.

Even in 2005, Miami was on the way down, and FSU was about to begin the "Bobby Bowden needs to retire" period in its history. Neither was a national title contender, FSU lost five games (But upset Virginia Tech to sneak into the Orange Bowl, where it lost to Penn State) and Miami was annihilated by LSU in the Peach Bowl, 40-3.

It was the end of a period in college football dominated by the Noles and Canes (Along with Oklahoma and USC), and the beginning of the SEC era.

Really, you have to go back to the 2004 Orange Bowl, or 2002's "Wide Left" game to find a meaningful FSU-Miami slug fest. This week's game between the Seminoles and the Hurricanes, however, promises to be a vintage Sunshine State Showdown.

Long and Suite Preview: The Big 12

TCU's Devonte Fields made life miserable for Big 12 quarterbacks in 2012.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Offense is king in America's heartland, and the Big 12 features some of college football's most explosive attacks.

Seven of the conference's 10 teams (Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia) ranked in the top-25 nationally for scoring offense, but does anybody play enough defense to win a national championship?

That will certainly be the big question for conference contenders this season, and with quarterback questions at Oklahoma, WVU and Kansas State, several offenses could take steps back as well. The conference may not have a bona-fide national favorite, but only Kansas looks like a lost cause, with nine teams all chasing a bowl game.