No. 12 Cincinnati vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech

Players to watch: WR Marshwan Gilyard (Cincinnati); RB Darren Evans (Virginia Tech)

Breakdown: Cincinnati is perhaps the best story of this year’s BCS. Injuries forced the Bearcats to use five different starting quarterbacks and six total, but they still managed to win the Big East.

Virginia Tech’s passing game has been anemic most of the season, with the Hokies’ two quarterbacks — Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon — combining to throw more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (5).

This game will feature two of the nation’s best coaches in Cincy’s Brian Kelly and Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, and the winner could be decided by which coaches a better game.

Prediction: Virginia Tech 24, Cincinnati 17

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 6 Utah

Players to watch: RB Glen Coffee (Alabama); QB Brian Johnson (Utah)

Breakdown: Both teams will be coming in with something to prove: Alabama that it is truly one of the best teams in the nation, Utah that it deserves to play with the big boys.

Alabama has a stifling defense and a smashmouth running game and will be looking to overpower Utah into submission.

Johnson led Utah to an undefeated season this year by completing more than 68 percent of his passes while throwing 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions. More people might know his name after this game, but the Utes still got an unlucky draw against such a strong team.

Prediction: Alabama 31, Utah 10

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 10 Ohio State

Players to watch: QB Colt McCoy (Texas); QB Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State)

Breakdown: Texas will be fuming from its supposed snubbing in the Big 12 and BCS Championship. But will that cause the Longhorns to play inspired? Or will they come out flat because the game isn’t for the national title?

Ohio State has flown under the radar for most of the season after a huge early-season loss to USC, but freshman Pryor has made major strides in the passing game in recent weeks and has proven to be dangerous running and throwing.

The 1-2 punch of Pryor and running back Beanie Wells will be difficult for Texas to contain, but expect McCoy to have his offense focused and ready. Then, if Texas wins, prepare to hear more complaints about its victory over OU.

Prediction: Texas 35, Ohio State 27

No. 5 USC vs. No. 9 Penn State

Players to watch: LB Ray Maualuga (USC); QB Daryll Clark (Penn State)

Breakdown: The seasons of both these teams were wrecked by one loss to an inferior team in a bad conference — USC to Oregon State and Penn State to Iowa.

Both teams thrive on strong defense — both are in the nation’s top five in yardage allowed and points allowed — and this game figures to be a low-scoring affair.

Both schools have the talent of a national championship contender, and both have the potential to beat any other team in the nation. This is the best match-up outside of the title game, and should come down to which defense can create the most turnovers.

Prediction: USC 24, Penn State 14

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Florida

Players to watch: QB Sam Bradford (OU); QB Tim Tebow (Florida)

Breakdown: This is the game Sooner fans have been awaiting for four years. There are plenty of motivating factors for OU in this one, not least of which will be Bob Stoops’ desire to shed his recent bowl woes and the team’s desire to prove the correct team was selected for the Big 12 Championship.

This game should feature plenty of offensive fireworks, as OU is the No. 1 scoring team in the nation while Florida is No. 3. The two teams have combined to score just shy of 100 points per game, and this one should be no different.

Bradford could be coming off a Heisman Trophy victory, while Tebow might win his second in as many years. Both quarterbacks thrive in their respective system, and neither makes many mistakes — they have combined for 93 total touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

Bradford will have to rely on the Sooners’ dominant offensive line to give him time to pick apart the Florida secondary, while DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown will need to team up to sustain long drives and keep the dangerous Florida offense off the field.

On defense, the Sooners will have to apply consistent pressure — which they have done well in recent weeks — and force Tebow into some rare mistakes while keeping him from rolling out of the pocket and extending plays.

The defense will also have to keep a constant eye on Florida scatback Percy Harvin, who is one of the most dangerous players in the nation.

The Sooners successfully limited all three premier receivers they faced this year — Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant and Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin — but none have been used the way Florida will use Harvin.

This one could come down to a costly turnover or a quarterback orchestrating a late-game drive for the win, but either way should be one of the highest-scoring and most entertaining national title games in recent memory.

Prediction: Oklahoma 49, Florida 45