Tonight Florida showed their selection for the title game against supposed No. 1 Ohio State was earned, and in the process made pretty clear what paper tigers the Buckeyes were. We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves, as at this moment the score has just gone 41-14 on a short punch by Tim Tebow, but with that kind of margin we’re reasonably sure that Ohio State can’t manufacture a win when they’ve been limited to a single offensive touchdown all night.

The final stats on this game will make it clear that it wasn’t as close as the score, even. LSU’s performance in the Sugar Bowl wasn’t this dominant, at least not over the whole game. Florida sacked Ohio State’s Heisman winning QB over and over, once very nearly forcing a safety. The Gator defense was unstoppable, giving up only 7 points and holding the Buckeyes to a pitiful 82 offensive yards. 41 points and 369 total yards tells the tale of the Florida offense, for which Ohio State had no answer at all. (Meyer could have easily tacked another 7, or at least 3, onto the total had he been bloody-minded; we like that he did not.)

Now, for the record:

• Alabama (UR) — Independence, vs. Oklahoma St (UR) — LOST
• Arkansas (12/13/12)– Capitol One, vs. Wisc (6/5/7) — LOST
• Auburn (10/10/9)– Cotton, vs. Nebraska (22/22/23) — WON
• Florida (2)– BCS Championship, vs. Ohio State (1) — WON
• Georgia (UR)– Chik-Fil-A, vs. VaTech (14/14/13) — WON
• Kentucky (UR) — Gaylord Hotels Music City, vs. Clemson (UR) — WON
• LSU (4) — Sugar, vs. ND (11) — WON
• SC (UR) — AutoZone Liberty, vs. Houston (UR) — WON
• Tenn (17) — Outback, vs. Penn State (UR) — LOST

So, 6 and 3 for the SEC, or one worse than Heathen predicted. Congrats to the Gators, our new national champs, and to the other five bowl-winning teams who made it clear once again that the SEC is the toughest conference in college football.

Update: The rankings are in, and Florida’s championship is official. However, Ohio State managed to hold on to the No. 2 spot — ahead of LSU, which strikes us as iffy at best. We’re pretty sure the Tigers would eat the Buckeyes alive, too.

ESPN also came up with another little fact worth remembering: Ohio State may be all that in the Big 10, but they’re 0 and 8 against the SEC in bowls. In major BCS bowls this year, the SEC is 2-0, with dominating margins (amusingly, 41-14 in both). In major BCS bowls this year, the Big 10 is … 0-2.