Ohio State, Georgia prepare to watch action from afar

Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard will become a diehard fan of both Oklahoma and Pittsburgh on Saturday. Greg McWilliams/Icon SMI

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Saturday evening, AMC will be airing sword-and-sandals flick Troy, while over on CMT they're showing back-to-back-to-back episodes of Trick My Trucker.

Enticing, but Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard has more pressing prime-time viewing plans, like being holed up in center Fernando Velasco's off-campus house for a marathon of their own. The Bulldogs are hoping college football's season-long version of a disaster movie can deliver two more plot twists as No. 1 Missouri plays Oklahoma for the Big 12 title and No. 2 West Virginia hosts rival Pitt.

"I'm going to just be doing what everybody else on the team is going to be doing," Howard said. "We're going to be glued to the TV, just watching the games hoping West Virginia lose and Missouri lose so we get a shot at that natty."

It will be anything but relaxed viewing in Athens. Coach Mark Richt told his players that he doesn't think he can even bring himself to watch the Bulldogs fate being played out in San Antonio and Morgantown.

"The whole team is nervous ... It's not in our hands, so we're a little worried, a little stressed," Howard said.

Nearly 600 miles away, Ohio State offensive tackle Kirk Barton will be taking a much more nonchalant approach to a day that will decide whether he and the Buckeyes are bound for Pasadena or New Orleans.

"I'll probably watch [the Big 12 title] game a little bit, just to see how it's going in the beginning," he said. "I probably won't watch the whole thing, then I'll probably tune in the middle to see if it's close or not."

Consider the levels of attention -- and anxieties -- a testament to their places in the pecking order should either the Tigers and/or Mountaineers fall: Ohio State (11-1), No. 3 in the BCS Standings, is a sure thing to move up to No. 2 and earn a second straight place in the national title game with either losing, while No. 4 Georgia (10-2) would need a cataclysmic event to reach New Orleans.

Though if a season that's seen 12 top-five teams fall to unranked opponents has taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.

When the Buckeyes walked off the Ohio Stadium turf on Nov. 10 after a 28-21 loss to Illinois, a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth looked to be the only things within their grasp. The Buckeyes had been No. 1 since the initial BCS standings, but fell to seventh with their first loss, though they would climb two spots after beating Michigan in the regular-season finale.

Before they left for Thanksgiving, coach Jim Tressel went over the scenarios that would land the Buckeyes in the national title game, as well as the team's travel plans for either destination. One such scenario is playing itself out -- so far -- with former No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Kansas falling last weekend and the Buckeyes jumping to third.

"We knew it was a longshot," Barton said. "We needed a lot of help with a couple of teams to fall by the wayside and it's happened. But we need one more to happen."

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