Auburn Field Goal As Time Expires Beats Oregon 22-19

Oregon got a big play to tie the game with just over 2 minutes to go. That was too much time for the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton from Auburn.  The Auburn Tigers kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired, beating Oregon 22-19 to win the BCS National Championship Game in University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona.

Cam Newton seemed to wear down a bit in the 4th quarter, but when he needed to make play he did just that, going from 20-34 for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Newton also threw an interception and had a crucial fumble that set up Oregon's tying touchdown in the 4th quarter.

The start for Auburn had to be true-freshman running back Michael Dyer who tough running wore down an undersized Oregon defense.  Dyer finished the night with 143 yards on 22 carries, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

For Oregon, they can't say they didn't have their chances.  Darron Thomas threw for 363 yards on 27-40 passing.  WR Jeff Maehl had 133 yards receiving on 9 receptions.

All in all, a great way to end the 2010 college football season and the 2011 Bowl Season.  Congratulations to the Auburn Tigers, BCS National Champions.

Oregon TD In Last Three Minutes Ties Championship Game

It hasn't always been pretty, but the NCS Championship Game between Auburn and Oregon has been exciting.  After a Cam Newton fumble gave the Oregon offense life, the Ducks went 40 yards in 8 plays for a touchdown - capped by a 2-yard run by LaMichael James.  Oregon wasn't done.  Needing the two-point conversion to tie the game, Darron Thomas found Jeff Maehl in the end-zone, setting up a dramatic finish between two of college football unbeaten teams.

Not to be out-done, Auburn is driving right back down the field and is in position to attempt a potential game-winning field goal.

Sloppy First Half Sees Auburn Take Lead 16-11

Five weeks off has taken it's toll on the offenses for Auburn and Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game - or we are seeing a couple of really good defenses.  I'll say it is the rust of having over a month off, but at the half we have an entertaining game with Auburn taking the lead late in the 1st Half 16-11.  The team's have combined for 3 turnovers and Auburn picked up a safety to counter a 2-point conversion for Oregon.

The teams were scoreless in the first quarter as the Ducks and Tigers seemed to feel each other out a bit.  Oregon got on the board first with a 26 yard field goal to lead 3-0.  Auburn answered with a 35-yard Cam Newton pass to Kodi Burns, giving the Tigers a 7-3 lead.

Oregain came right back, scoring a touchdown on an 8-yard pass completion from Darron Thomas to LaMichael James - Oregon converted the 2-point conversion for an 11-7 lead.  The big play on the drive was a reverse on a kick-off return as the two teams started to open it up a bit.  After being held scoreless for the first 15 minutes, the two teams combined for 18 points in just over 4 minutes.

The game turned a bit with Oregon deep in it's own territory.  Auburn picked up a safety, making the score 11-9, then scored a touchdown late in the half when Cam Newton hit Emory Blake for a 30 yard touchdown giving the Tigers a 16-11 lead at the half.

Expect more scoring in the 2nd half as the offenses continue to get their feet under them and the defense wear down a bit.

2011 BCS Championship Game: Auburn Vs. Oregon - Prediction Time

The 2010 college football season will finally come to an end tonight in the BCS Championship Game.  For the first time, Oregon Football and Auburn football will face off on the gridiron.  Before I give my prediction, here are a couple links from across the web with their predictions as well:

Fanhouse - Brett McMurphy makes his picks by the spread and takes Oregon.

Stewart Mandel, SI.com - He takes Auburn 48-39.

Rivals - The four split on Auburn and Oregon with 58 percent of the Yahoo public in their pick'em game take Auburn. 

USA Today - Six of the eight writers are taking Auburn over Oregon.

CBS Sports - Four of the five take Oregon over Auburn.

AccuScore - The computer takes Auburn at a slime 51 percent of times by an average score of 27.6 to 36.4.

ESPN Bloggers - SEC blogger Chris Low takes Auburn to win 42-31 while Pac 10 blogger Ted Miller takes Oregon 38-30.

Doug Fluite - "I'm starting to lean toward Auburn," he said. "The big difference is the Auburn offensive line. Every time I start to talk about this game, I want to say Oregon. I love Chip Kelly and their style of offense and the things they do.

As for me?  I know the SEC is the best conference - top to bottom - in the country.  I also know that Oregon has only been outscored in 2 of the 24 halves they have played this season.  Both times it was in the first half.  I also know that Stanford is one of the top teams in the country and they led Oregon 21-3 before getting blown out.  

Auburn really impressed me in their come from behind win over Alabama on the road.  This game has all the makings of a classic.  In the end, it will be Oregon taking home the big trophy.

Oregon Ducks 37 - Auburn Tigers 34

BCS National Championship Game Features Battle Of Unbeatens: Auburn and Oregon Ready To Roll

Some may try, but there is little doubt that the two teams playing in the BCS Championship Game tonight in Arizona - Auburn and Oregon - are the two best teams in college football.  Tonight they get to settle who is best of all, and who will win the BCS National Championship Game.  It's the first time the two teams have ever met.  

Gene Chizik's Tigers have had a magical season thanks in large part to the play of their Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. Under the guidance of Chizik on the sidelines and All-American Cam Newton under center, Auburn went undefeated on the year, although it wasn't always easy. The team had tight matchups with Clemson early on (27-24 in overtime) and defending national champion Alabama late in the season (28-27) and despite off-the-field distractions surrounding Newton down the stretch, the team capped things off with a rout of South Carolina (56-17) in the SEC Championship Game, setting up this monumental showdown with Oregon.

The Tigers have only one national title to their credit and that came back in 1957. This marks the 36th all-time bowl game for Auburn and its second BCS bowl appearance. The team is an impressive 20-13-2 in postseason affairs and won its last three bowl games, including a 38-35 overtime thriller against Northwestern in last year's Outback Bowl.

Chip Kelly's Ducks also navigated their season unscathed and outside of a 15-13 victory over California in mid-November, Oregon destroyed the competition, winning all other 11 games by double figures. The team captured its second straight Pac-10 title and became the first team in conference history to win nine league games.

Oregon is playing in its third BCS bowl game, winning the 2002 Fiesta Bowl (38-16 over Colorado) and losing last year's Rose Bowl (26-17 to Ohio State). The team is 9-14 in 23 previous postseason matchups and is making its sixth straight bowl appearance overall.

While Auburn would have an offensive advantage against most teams in the nation, Oregon isn't one of them. The Ducks have taken offensive proficiency to new heights in 2010, leading the nation in scoring (49.3 ppg) and total offense (537.5 ypg), while ranking fourth in rushing (303.8 ypg).

It is Oregon's team speed that presents the most problems for the opposition and it starts with Consensus First-Team All-American LaMichael James. The sophomore standout is simply as good as it gets at the tailback position, finishing as the leading rusher in the country (152.9 ypg). He amassed 1,682 yards on the season with 21 TDs and did so despite sitting out the season- opener.

Kenjon Barner is James' understudy in the backfield, but he is electric as well, racking up 519 yards and six TDs on limited carries (80).

Quarterback Darron Thomas has been impressive under center, as both a passer (2,518 yards, 28 TDs) and a runner (492 yards, five TDs). It certainly helps to have players like James taking the pressure off with his rushing skills, as well as WR Jeff Maehl providing a reliable target downfield. Maehl has had a huge senior season, earning All-Pac-10 honors with 68 catches, for 943 yards and 12 TDs.

The team has also excelled elsewhere, with the offensive line allowing a mere eight sacks on the season, while special teams play has been just that in Eugene, headlined by Consensus All-American returner Cliff Harris, who has four punt returns for scores in 2010.

Overall speed is not limited to the offensive side of the football for Oregon, as the defense has also enjoyed a mismatch in that regard. As a result, the Ducks have amassed a whopping 35 forced turnovers and 31 sacks.

Standouts on this side of the football for Oregon start in the middle with linebackers Casey Matthews (team-high 73 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, three INTs and three fumble recoveries) and Spencer Paysinger (68 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, one fumble recovery). The secondary is as good as it gets, with starters Talmadge Jackson (67 tackles, two INTs), John Boyett (67 tackles, five INTs), Cliff Harris (30 tackles, five INTs) and Eddie Pleasant (63 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries) all making big plays this year. Defensive end Kenny Rowe (38 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 6.0 sacks) headlines the play along the frontline.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn isn't taking Oregon's defense lightly.

"I think they're all extremely quick and they're extremely fast. When you watch them, they play a lot of people, but every snap they play hard. I mean they play real hard, and that's really what stands out. They're very impressive to watch."

The Tigers put up some gaudy offensive numbers this season, ranking among the nation's elite teams in scoring (fourth at 42.7 ppg), rushing (fifth at 287.2 ypg) and total offense (seventh at 497.7 ypg).

Of course, Newton was the reason for most of that, as the junior QB rushed for an SEC quarterback record 1,409 yards and 20 TDs, while throwing for 2,589 yards and 28 more scores. With the stellar campaign, Newton joined Pat Sullivan (1971) and Bo Jackson (1985) as Auburn's Heisman winners.

Newton was the catalyst for the offense, but he did share the spotlight on occasion. Tailbacks Michael Dyer (950 yards, five TDs) and Onterio McCalebb (763 yards, nine TDs) have been nice complements on the ground, while wideouts Darvin Adams (48 receptions, 909 yards, seven TDs), Terrell Zachery (37 receptions, 557 yards, four TDs) and Emory Blake (29 receptions, 500 yards, seven TDs) have been constant sources of production down the field.

Newton hopes the team can maintain its balanced attack even if things start to lean in Oregon's favor early on.

"I think Oregon puts a lot of pressure on the opposing team off the mere fact that they have an explosive offense, so they are going to put up points. And while watching film, you kind of sense that their offense puts pressure on the opposing offense to want them to get their game plan going into the game. You go from a team in the first quarter trying to be balanced to the second quarter and third quarter just trying to keep up with their offense. Then the game gets really out of hand after that. You have to be balanced and stick to the game plan playing this team."

The Auburn defense has taken a backseat to the offense this season and while the numbers are modest at best, it doesn't tell the entire story. The team is giving up 24.5 ppg and has struggled at times against the pass (250.5 ypg), but that has a lot to do with the fact that opponents are constantly playing catchup and find themselves abandoning the run early on. However, throwing the ball against the Tigers comes at a price, as the team racked up an impressive 33 sacks on the season.

Leading the charge up front is 6-5, 300-pound junior tackle Nick Fairley. This year's Lombardi Award winner, Fairley is the best at his position in the country, racking up 55 tackles, 21.0 TFLs and 10.5 sacks in the middle of the line, en route to All-American honors. Defensive end Antoine Carter (31 tackles, 10.0 TFLs, 4.5 sacks) certainly benefited from the play of Fairley inside. Other defensive players of note include senior LB Josh Bynes (team- high 71 tackles, 5.5 TFls, one sack, three INTs) and senior safety Zac Etheridge (66 tackles, two INTs, one fumble recovery).

The pace of this game is going to be something to watch and a key factor according to Malzahn

"Of course, we think pace is a great advantage in college football, and the two teams that are playing, obviously you can see the advantage. That's a big part of what we do. We try to mentally and physically wear down the defense. That's really helped us. It's been a big part of why we're here."

Its hard to imagine a better matchup to cap off a superior college football season. This one may come down to the wire and although there are stars on both sides of the football, the brightest lines up under center for the Tigers.