An MSU-alternate look at last night's national championship game

College football's 2013 season is over, and we've officially moved into the offseason.  The offseason is hardly a time for calm, rational thinking for college football fans, so we figured we might as well get in on that.  We figured we would take a look at how last night's game might have played out if almost a decade ago, Jimbo Fisher would have been named the head coach at MSU.  Here's how it panned out.

[December 2, 2003] Larry Templeton announces the hiring of Jimbo Fisher, LSU offensive coordinator, as the new coach at MSU.

[December 20, 2003] Jimbo Fisher, antiquing in Opelika to celebrate the new job, stumbles upon an orange and blue horseshoe, and purchases it.

[October 2004] after a few months worth of digging, the NCAA decides that is has found nothing that it didn't accidentally burn smoking a doobie on a lunch break that would implicate the Bulldogs of cheating under Jackie Sherrill.

[2004 season] led by QB Omarr Conner and RB Jerious Norwood in Fisher's dynamic pro-style/spread hybrid offense, the Bulldogs shock the country with an 8-3 season and a berth in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

[December 4, 2004] Auburn beats Tennessee for the SEC championship, but is left out of the national title game.  Privately, Tuberville blames championship miss on loss of lucky Auburn horseshoe by DC Gene Chizik.

[February 2005] after his initial campaign in Starkville, Fisher begins to let his hair down, and his success coupled with his relaxed honesty with recruits helps him land a top-20 class to Mississippi State.

[2005, 2006, and 2007 season] after initial success, Jimbo registers three more winning seasons somehow, building a program in Starkville that competes for the SEC West each season.  In 2007, Anthony Dixon helps Fisher's team win its first ever SEC Championship game, defeating the Tennessee Volunteers to earn a BCS bowl berth.

[2008 season] Fisher's team is not able to overcome a nasty string of injuries, and the Bulldogs register only a 4-8 record.  Despite the bad year, Fisher is lured away by Florida State, who slipped Bobby Bowden some medication that only allows him to say "yes, I'm ready to retire."  After Fisher leaves, offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, who had helped Fisher lure QB Tim Tebow to Starkville, takes over as the new head coach.

[December 2008] Auburn hires Gene Chizik, whose hiring is welcomed by Tiger fans with open arms.  Despite his overwhelming support at Auburn, Chizik is fired in 2012 after a string of semi-successful seasons.  Trooper Taylor is then announced as the new head Auburn coach, but it only lasts for one month, as investigators uncover that he was attempting to use the program as shelter for his ongoing pyramid scheme selling team-themed microwave safe forks.

[2009 season] Mississippi State, under first year head coach Dan Mullen, soars to an 11-1 regular season, but loses in the SEC Championship game to the Kentucky Wildcats, coached by Urban Meyer (Meyer took over at UK after previously being fired by Florida.  Yes, without Tebow his UF world was like that alternative one from It's a Wonderful Life.)

[December 2009] After it looked like he would commit to the Auburn Tigers, Cam Newton shocks the world of recruiting when he signs with Mississippi State at the last second.  An investigation by the NCAA into the recruitment of Newton to MSU reveals that Cam's father, Cecil Newton, solicited money from Auburn for Cam to play there, but not from MSU.  Newton is cleared immediately and with very little talk of it on the internet.

[2010 season] Cam Newton leads Mississippi State to a national championship, as the Bulldogs make a perfect run through the SEC and an Oregon team with a seemingly average cast of players surrounding the talented Newton.  Mullen is named coach of the year.

[2011 and 2012 seasons] Dan Mullen sees one more year of success in 2011, going 8-5, but the Bulldogs struggle badly in 2012, ending the season at just 4-8.  Mullen is fired, and MSU reaches out to former OC and current UL-Lafayette head coach Mark Hudspeth.  Hudspeth is hired by MSU

[2013 season]  Mississippi State puts together a magical run in Hudspeth's first season as head coach, pulling out narrow victories over Auburn, Texas A&M and Alabama.  The Bulldogs only loss was its annual one to the LSU Tigers.  After beating Missouri in the SEC Championship game though, the Bulldogs are selected to play in the national championship game against former MSU head coach Jimbo Fisher.  50,000 Bulldog fans make the trip to Pasadena, and they aren't disappointed, as the game proves to be one of the most exciting in recent BCS history.  However, few would know that the lucky orange and blue horseshoe -- the one passed down from MSU coach to MSU coach as a right of passage -- was lost by Coach Hudspeth in a game of poker with the MSU team bus driver.  (The bus driver ultimately place the item on eBay, where it was purchased by an H. Dale Nutt, who would use it to become the most powerful coach ever in University of DeVry football's 2 year history.)

After taking a 30-27 lead late into the game, the Bulldogs would have their hearts broken, as a quadruple-tipped pass landed in the hands of an FSU wide receiver, winning the game for the Seminoles, 34-31.