By Matt Schulz
FANSonly.com

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Another year, another Virtual Championship Series final for Florida State.

The Noles used another brilliant performance by QB Chris Weinke (22-of-31, 363 yds., 3 TDs, 1 INT) to advance to the VCS championship game for the second straight year with a 37-23 Fiesta Bowl win over Alabama.

Last season, Ohio State upset Florida State in the championship game. This time around, Florida State will meet either Virginia Tech or Nebraska at the Sugar Bowl Wednesday for the national title. The Huskers and Hokies play tomorrow at the Orange Bowl.

It certainly wasn't easy for the Noles, however. They led by just a point -- at 17-16 -- after an Alabama field goal with 10:51 left in the third quarter. Still, star tailback Shaun Alexander was struggling badly, which didn't bode well for the Tide.

As it turned out, Bama would score just once more -- Andrew Zow's second scoring strike of the game, midway through the fourth quarter -- and couldn't ever really contain Florida State's mighty attack.

Alexander ended up with 18 yards rushing on 17 carries.

Two field goals by star kicker Sebastian Janikowski and two TD passes from Weinke helped the Noles put the game out of reach. The final score came with 2:04 left in the game and ended any upset hopes that the Tide may have still been harboring.

Florida State racked up 510 yards of total offense to Bama's 351, but only had one more first down than the Tide (25-24). The Seminoles were penalized 14 times for 130 yards, helping to squelch several drives and keep the Tide in the game.