BCS Bowl Projections: Breaking Down Auburn vs. Oregon Position By Position
BCS Championship: Breaking Down Auburn vs. Oregon Position By Position
With Auburn and Oregon seemingly on a collision course, it's never too early to break down the matchup.
How do Heisman candidates Cam Newton and LaMichael James compare with their counterparts?
What about the other units of each team?
In this list we break down the top two BCS teams position by position and predict the winner of the likely January 10th matchup.
1. Quarterbacks: Cam Newton Vs. Darron Thomas
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Auburn: The only way you haven't heard the name Cam Newton is if you have been living in a cave the past four months.
Newton, the Heisman front runner, has been putting up astounding numbers in his first season at Auburn. He has thrown for 2,200 yards, 24 TDs and just six interceptions. He has also rushed for 1,300 yards and 18 TDs.
If the junior rushes for two more scores, he will be just the second player in NCAA history to have 20 passing TDs and rushing TDs in the same season.
However, questions about Newton's eligibility have been surrounding Auburn for the past month due to a few people claiming Newton's father demanded payment for his son's services.
Oregon: Coming into the 2010 season, quarterback was the biggest question mark for the Ducks following the departure of last season's starter Jeremiah Masoli. However, Darron Thomas has come in and been a better player for Oregon than Masoli was.
Oregon is in the midst of the best season in school history, and with a win over bitter rival Oregon State in the Civil War on Saturday, the Ducks will play in their first BCS National Championship Game.
Thomas has over 2,300 yards passing and 26 TDs with just seven interceptions. He has added 496 yards rushing and five more ground scores.
How They Stack Up: Newton's running numbers are the real difference between the two, but Thomas is still a real threat running the ball. This matchup is closer than one might think except for the fact that Oregon's roster around Thomas is better than Auburn's around Newton.
Advantage: Auburn
2. Running Backs: Michael Dyer Vs. LaMichael James
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Auburn: Michael Dyer has come in as a true freshman and formed a good duo along with Onterio McCalebb. However, neither is as big a running threat as Cam Newton.
Dyer is the leading rusher, aside from Newton, with 886 yards and five touchdowns. McCalebb has 733 yards with nine scores.
The running game for Auburn is actually a real team effort with four players over 300 rushing yards this season.
Oregon: LaMichael James is really Oregon's answer to Cam Newton. James has been a Heisman candidate all season, and despite missing the first game of the season, he has remained in the thick of the race.
James has surpassed the 1,500-yard mark and has 19 scores on the ground.
Behind James, Kenjon Barner and Remene Alston Jr. have been consistent backups so far.
How They Stack Up: James will be in New York at the Heisman presentation. He has had some incredible games this season running the ball, including three games over 200 yards.
Meanwhile, for Auburn the running backs all are complementary players to Cam Newton.
Advantage: Oregon
3. Receivers: Darvin Adams Vs. Jeff Maehl
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Auburn: The Tigers' leading receiver this season has been Darvin Adams, who has caught 41 balls for nearly 700 yards and five touchdowns. The other pass catchers that Newton has relied on this season are Terrell Zachery and Emory Blake.
Zachery has 37 catches for nearly 600 yards and four scores. Blake adds 23 catches for just over 400 yards and a team-leading six scores.
The tight end position has not been used very much this season, but their starter is Philip Lutzenkirchen, who has 12 catches for 119 yards and five touchdowns.
Oregon: Jeff Maehl may be a converted safety for the Ducks, but he is in the top 10 in school history in both catches and yards. This season, Maehl has 61 catches for over 800 yards and 12 scores.
The Ducks also target tight end David Paulson a fair amount. He has 21 catches for nearly 400 yards and is second on the team with four touchdowns. Paulson is used almost like the Indianapolis Colts use Dallas Clark. His size and speed make him a mismatch.
How They Stack Up: The Ducks receivers have been great all season, and they have a de facto go-to receiver in Jeff Maehl.
Auburn has had a little bit more balanced receiving corps. However, the lack of consistent play using a tight end tips this one.
Advantage: Oregon
4. Offensive Line: Experience Abounds on Both Sides
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Auburn: The Tigers return four of five starters on the offensive line. It is also a senior-laden group with four starting seniors and a junior. Left tackle Lee Ziemba has been a starter for most of his career at Auburn and was an All-SEC selection a year ago.
Center Ryan Pugh is another returning All-SEC selection who is a longtime starter.
Oregon: The Ducks return their entire starting offensive line from last season's Pac-10 champions. While this group doesn't have the stars of the conference, they are probably one of the most experienced lines in the entire country.
How They Stack Up: Both lines will have their challenges going up against each other's defensive lines, but these are probably the most skilled units for each team.
Advantage: Push
5. Defensive Line: Nick Fairley Vs. Kenny Rowe
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Auburn: The defensive line for Auburn is probably their strength this season mainly because of Nick Fairley. The defensive tackle has been a revelation this season. The junior has 9.5 sacks, tied for fourth most amongst defensive tackles.
He is also expected to be a first-round draft pick should he decide to leave school early.
At end, Antoine Carter is second on the team with 4.5 sacks.
Oregon: Kenny Rowe had a phenomenal season last year, finishing with 11.5 sacks (most in the Pac-10) and tying a Rose Bowl Game record with three sacks in the January 1st bowl game. So far this season, Rowe has been battling double teams and extra attention all year, but the senior still has six sacks, good for third in the conference.
How They Stack Up: Depth for Oregon's undersized but fast line means they can all play with a high motor. However, the Auburn defensive linemen are the prototypical NFL-ready defensive linemen.
Advantage: Auburn
6. Linebackers: Josh Bynes Vs. Casey Matthews
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Auburn: The stars for Auburn's linebacking corps are Josh Bynes, who had 104 tackles last season for the Tigers, and Craig Stevens, who had 95 tackles for the Tigers last season. The two seniors were the leading tacklers last season.
Linebacker is a position of depth for Auburn this year and will be one of the strengths of this team going forward.
Oregon: Casey Matthews has great linebacker bloodlines. Both his father, Clay Matthews Jr., and his brother, Clay Matthews III, starred at USC as linebackers. Clay III is currently starring for the Green Bay Packers and is at the top of the league in sacks.
Flanking Matthews are Spencer Paysinger, who is a great pass rusher, and Michael Clay, who has been a welcomed addition to the starting lineup for the Ducks.
How They Stack Up: This unit breakdown is as close as any two units on these two rosters. Both teams have an excellent mix of skill and experience.
Advantage: Push
7. Secondary: Zac Etheridge Vs. Cliff Harris
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Auburn: The Auburn secondary has been victimized at times this season by good quarterbacks. Against Alabama Greg McElroy and Julio Jones carved up the Tigers in the first half.
Only Zac Etheridge and Desmond Washington are the guys in the secondary that have made plays this year, but even they have looked bad at times. If their pass defense was even a little better, they wouldn't have had as many close games this year.
Oregon: Cliff Harris has been a huge addition to this secondary this year. He leads the team with five interceptions and is tied for 11th in the country with that mark. He is also a threat to take any pick back for a touchdown at any time.
John Boyett has also been great this year for the Ducks, adding four picks of his own.
How They Stack Up: As close as the linebacker battle is, the Oregon secondary dominates this battle. It isn't even close.
Advantage: Oregon
8. Special Teams: Desmond Washington Vs. Cliff Harris
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Auburn: Desmond Washington is sixth in the country in total kickoff return yardage, and he averages over 25 yards per return. He also has taken one back for a score.
Kicker Wes Byrum has been good for the Tigers, only missing four field goals all season.
Oregon: Cliff Harris is the best punt returner in college football right now. He is averaging over 17 yards per return, and he has four punts taken back for scores so far this year.
Kenjon Barner had a great year in the return game last year and is a factor on kickoffs.
Rob Beard has been the kicker this year, and he has only attempted 10 field goals this year, making eight.
How They Stack Up: Cliff Harris is the X-factor in any game for Oregon, but in a game where special teams seem to play a factor in most years, Harris could end up being the most important player on the field.
Advantage: Oregon
9. Coaching: Gene Chizik Vs. Chip Kelly
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Auburn: Gene Chizik has done a great job turning around Auburn. He has them headed to a BCS bowl in just his second season, but a lot of his success this season comes because of Cam Newton.
Newton has been incredible this season for the Tigers.
Oregon: Chip Kelly seemed like a boring hire to take over at Oregon a few years ago, but after watching his offensive scheme, he is a full-blown coaching genius who could end up changing college football.
The furious pace of the Oregon offensive scheme teamed with the skill players who all can play nearly every position means they are almost impossible to match up with.
How They Stack Up: In any game I like Oregon's scheme, but I will be interested to see what Kelly comes up with for the biggest game of the year.
Advantage: Oregon
10. Conclusion
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I think predicting a BCS champion is almost always difficult to do because of the time off before the game. But with this matchup, I worry for Auburn.
Chip Kelly's scheme is too good. It doesn't even really matter what players are playing for the Ducks. They can really plug in any one of their players and have the same success.
That being said, you can't really game-plan for Cam Newton either. He is like the evolutionary Vince Young.
Still, I like Oregon in this one.
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