Fiesta Bowl should bring balance to bowl season Reporting from Scottsdale, Ariz. -- Oklahoma State and Stanford appear to have transitioned successfully from what might have been to the here and now. Monday night's Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix will not be played for the national championship and will not feature this year's Heisman Trophy winner. Voters voted, computers churned, ballots were tabulated...stuff happened. Of course both schools would rather be in New Orleans this week preparing for the Jan. 9 Bowl Championship Series title game, but there are only so many hours you can rehash the playback and the politics. Stanford (11-1) only had to beat Oregon at home, but didn't, and Oklahoma State (11-1) had only to defeat unranked Iowa State, which just lost the Pinstripe Bowl. These lapses in self-determination allowed one-loss Alabama to slip into a title-game rematch against No.1 Louisiana State. "This is our national championship," Stanford safety Michael Thomas said. This is the only game we are playing. Oklahoma State and Stanford might still be the best matchup in this year's rotation and could outshine the title game in every way except the trophy presentation. Think of the Fiesta as the "Next Best Thing Bowl" with a money-back guarantee it won't end up 9-6. The Southeastern Conference will win and lose a title game in the Superdome next week, but a larger audience might prefer a game without so much cross pollination. LSU and Alabama played Nov. 5. Stanford and Oklahoma State meet for the first time. "I think this is one of those games that people will sit down and watch," Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden said of his team's matchup with Stanford. The game, featuring No. 3 vs. No. 4, strikes a nice counterbalance. It should not be overly SEC defensive or as recklessly offensive as that 67-56 score in the Alamo Bowl. "I got dizzy watching that Washington-Baylor game," Stanford Coach David Shaw said. That was unreal. Some argued it wasn't even football. "I wanted someone to make a stop just to see if they could do it," Stanford tight end Zach Ertz said. It was fun to see, but it was ridiculous at the same time. The Fiesta Bowl would be thrilled to be an Alamo Bowl with tackling. Oklahoma State and Stanford have explosive offenses and big-strike capability. The Cowboys average 49.3 points per game while the Cardinal scores 43.6, but this isn't Baylor vs. Washington.