What everyone already knew became official Sunday.

The undefeated, No. 1-ranked OU football team will play Florida State Jan. 3 in the FedEx Orange Bowl for the national championship.

The game, which will be played in Miami, will mark the conclusion of this year's Bowl Championship Series. The pairings for the four BCS bowl games were announced on ABC at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, and, as expected, OU finished No. 1 in the BCS rankings, guaranteeing the Sooners a spot in the national championship game.

The Sooners are only two days removed from Saturday's 27-24 win over Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game. Had OU lost, the Sooners likely would have ended up playing Florida in the Nokia Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2 in New Orleans.

OU football head coach Bob Stoops held a special press conference Sunday before he joined OU's assistant coaches on the recruiting trail. He said OU's tough win Saturday will help OU against the Seminoles.

"It will help us in the next game because it was a championship game," Stoops said. "The players have been in those tight situations, and that experience will help."

Florida State is ranked No. 2 in the BCS but is No. 3 in both major polls. The Seminoles lost to No. 2 Miami earlier in the year, and many believe the Hurricanes deserve to play in the Orange Bowl.

Still, Florida State is widely considered the most talented team in the nation, and Stoops praised FSU head coach Bobby Bowden and his program.

"They have an excellent program - everyone realizes that," Stoops said. "They're very good at what they do. They play hard, and they have a lot of talented players."

Although the Seminoles will be favored to beat OU, Stoops said his team won't be intimidated.

"We beat four top-10 teams, and three of the four were away from home," Stoops said. "I like the way we match up with Florida State.

"Having coached at Florida for three years and four games (against FSU), I feel I have some familiarity with them, and hopefully that will help."

When Stoops was the defensive coordinator at Florida, the Gators were 2-2 in his four games against the Seminoles, including a blowout victory in the 1996 National Championship game.

This year, Florida will play Miami in the Sugar Bowl. Both teams have played the Seminoles, with Florida losing handily on the road and the Hurricanes winning 27-24 at home.

The other notable BCS pairing announced Sunday was Oregon State versus Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The 10-1 Beavers were somewhat of a surprise pick over 10-1 Virginia Tech. The game will be played Jan. 1 in Tempe, Ariz.
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