Florida State. Sorry but I've never hated them. Well, maybe briefly in the early '90s. I've had civilized conversations with their fans in both venues dating to the '70s. Never had a problem at Tallahassee. My sister went to school there.
IMO, hating Florida State is a pathetic substitute for fans who are too young to remember the rivalry with the Gators. I despise the Gators more than anybody.
And keep this in mind: Anybody who says that rooting for Florida State against Auburn is criminal should remember the masochistic example from our own fans in the Florida State/Oklahoma Orange Bowl at the end of the 2000 season. There were actually braindead Canes fans who were posting on message boards and flooding South Florida talk radio with assertions that they were rooting for Oklahoma in that game, despite the GUARANTEE that the Canes would win the AP poll and a corresponding national title as long as Florida State won the game. They were an 11 point favorite and we merely needed them to win by 1 point. It would mean 6 titles at this stage, or twice the Gator output.
I've never rooted against the Canes winning a national title. I guarantee there are posters on this site who have, by virtue of that Orange Bowl 13 years ago. So spare the insults and glance inwards. Moron is not too strong a word for anyone who rooted for Oklahoma in that game. Congratulations.
I hate the SEC monopoly and everything that attaches to college football as a result. Florida State played hard all season, without fluke results like the ones Auburn relied on. I don't want spread type offenses to become even more in vogue, which is a certainty via an Auburn win. A team that has played with unmatched defensive intensity all season, allowing 5.0 yards per pass attempt, deserves the title over a lazy imbalanced team that has allowed 7.3 yards per attempt.
The only saving aspect of an Auburn win would be the anxiety among Alabama fans.