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The summit just got a lot higher for Auburn. A come-from-ahead-to-come-from-behind win by Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game essentially eliminated Ohio State from the national championship hunt and will likely end up with Auburn facing Florida State in the BCS title game next month.
This was perhaps the closest the SEC has come to seeing its national title streak stop in the regular season since LSU needed a strange confluence of circumstances in 2007 to get the Tigers into the championship game. That doesn't mean the streak is safe, of course; Auburn still has to beat FSU, something that is going to be incredibly difficult to do.
But they're in the game, which is a lot better than being out of it. If they can find a way to slow down the Seminoles' offense after a month of work -- something that is far from certain, both because of the Auburn defense and FSU offense -- then the SEC could take end up carrying the final BCS trophy into college football's playoff era. Where the battle for the conference to hold on to No. 1 would start all over again.