It's Monday night and there's no NFL game to watch.
Have no fear, a just-as-important game will kick off tonight. The BCS era of college football will come to an end, with Florida State and Auburn competing in the BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Florida State is led by redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, who concluded his standout season with a Heisman Trophy.
Auburn has featured a dangerous rushing attack over the last half of the 2013 regular season with Nick Marshall and Tre Mason running the show. Thrilling and miraculous wins over Georgia and Alabama have highlighted the Tigers' championship run.
A lot of NFL heads will want to tune in to get a head start on some names to watch for the upcoming NFL draft. Both of these teams feature some prospects that could be intriguing. This game also has the makings of being a high-scoring shootout, which should be entertaining to football fans across the country.
Here's how you can watch and follow the game Monday night:
Game time: 8:30pm ET
SB Nation Coverage: Florida State — Tomahawk Nation | Auburn — College and Magnolia
Tickets: Find available seats here.
TV Channel: ESPN
TV Announcers: Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit
Online: WatchESPN
Radio: ESPN Radio (Station Locator)
Odds: Florida State by 10 | O/U: 67-1/2
Draft prospects
As most championships do, this one will feature a lot of NFL draft prospects to watch this coming April.
Here are some that the Ravens could keep their eyes on:
Florida State — OLB Christian Jones, DT Timmy Jernigan*, OLB Telvin Smith, OT Cameron Erving*, OG Tre' Jackson*, TE Nick O'Leary*, WR Rashad Greene*, WR Kelvin Benjamin*, S Terrence Brooks, CB Lamarcus Joyner, C Bryan Stork.
Auburn — C Reese Dismukes*, OLB Dee Ford, RB Tre Mason*, OT Greg Robinson*, CB/RS Chris Davis, S Ryan White, DB Robenson Therezie.
(* indicates the player is an underclassman.)
The skinny — Both teams possess a couple of guys that could go in the first round of the upcoming draft. The one the Ravens will definitely keep tabs on is Auburn's Greg Robinson, who SB Nation's Dan Kadar has going 11th overall to Tennessee. If the run on tackles holds off, perhaps he's someone the Ravens could draft and place on the right side of the offensive line.
If redshirt sophomore Kelvin Benjamin of Florida State declares for the draft, he'll be someone teams clamor for based on physical attributes alone. He's 6-5, 230 pounds with a decent burst, who can catch the ball exceptionally well. He's the prototypical receiver the Ravens have been missing for years. But at either 16th or 17th overall, it might be a reach given the amount of receivers available.
If Florida State's Timmy Jernigan declares for the draft, he has the potential of being selected in the second-to-fourth round range. With the Ravens possibly losing Arthur Jones and Terrence Cody to free agency, he's a name that could pop up on the Ravens board in April.
Auburn defensive back Robenson Therezie could be the ultimate sleeper in this pool. He's versatile in the back end as he can play cornerback and safety. The Ravens love that about prospects — not to mention the front office will be extremely familiar with these Auburn players due to the school being the alma mater of director of college scouting Joe Hortiz.