Auburn Vs. Oregon Football: Tigers Too Much For Ducks; the Best BCS Game Ever?

Auburn vs. Oregon

With a month to prepare for the game, both Auburn and Oregon were ready for each other. Oregon held Cam to as close to nothing as anyone could have.

Alabama held Cam Newton for one half, but Oregon maintained a steady control of the Heisman Trophy winner. I guess we know now that Auburn can win even if Cam is shutdown.

Nick Fairley has meant as much to Auburn as Cam Newton has, but all too often we overlook the defense, and give all the credit to the players scoring the points. Fairley proved to the world what Tiger Nation already knew...Nick Fairley is a beast.

LaMicheal James scored a couple of touchdowns on the Tigers, but overall he had no more success than Marcus Lattimore or Mark Ingram. The short pass was there for the Ducks, and that made up for their lack of a rushing attack.

The secondary, which had been suspect for Auburn, played very well. The interception on Oregon's second possession was huge. It proved to the rest of the team that they were there, and ready to win.

Darron Thomas was a young QB, and he had not seen anything like the Auburn defensive line. Gene Chizik knew the defense could rattle the young man's confidence. The best defensive line in the country did just that.

The Best Championship Game Ever

In a game hyped up by two speedy offenses, it was the defense for each team that made the game. Oregon is a fast team, but Auburn had a month to prepare for that, and Auburn isn't slow themselves.

The Ducks had a month to prepare for Newton, and decided he wouldn't run on them. He wasn't able to scramble around, or in some cases even go through the progression.

Football fans were treated to a surprise—neither team could score in the first quarter. The both teams combined for 27 second quarter points. Everyone probably thought that would be the start of the offensive explosion expected from the game.

When a good game becomes a great game, several things must happen:

1. Something on the Line

In the game of college football every game is the next biggest challenge. But in this case it was the biggest game, and it was for a championship.

2. The Game Has To Be Close

The game was never out of reach for either team. Both teams had a chance to win, and I mean down to the final seconds.

3. Elite Players

Auburn had the Heisman Trophy winner, and Oregon had Heisman finalist LaMicheal James.

4. Two Teams with Undefeated Records

Both teams in this game had undefeated seasons, and when picking a winner prior to the game, it was close to 50-50.

5. The Hype

This game had a month to build, and it had a huge amount of coverage. The media did a great job of selling the game.

This game had everything you want to see from a great game. Whether you like offense or if you like defense has everything to do with liking or not liking this title game. The game was dominated by two great defensive performances, and didn't live up to the offensive hype it had been given.

I truly thought it was a great championship game. Was it better than Texas vs. USC? That has been the recurring question, and if you are comparing the two, then it's at least one of the best two ever.

The Oregon fanbase was looking for their first title, and Auburn looking for their second, but the first in recent history. The circumstances surrounding the game, only added to the greatness of this title game.

Cameron Newton

All the experts are saying Newton is leaving Auburn. Some of them have him in the middle of the first round, and some have him going as low as the second or third round in the NFL draft.

He's got all the tools to be a great professional quarterback. College success doesn't assure you an NFL future, but athletic quarterbacks are difficult to find. The guys who can run, can't throw, and if there happens to be a guy who can do both, he's nowhere near the size of Cam Newton. 

Cameron Newton is bigger and faster than Tim Tebow. He's bigger and stronger than Micheal Vick. The experts don't like the mobile QB, but when Mike Vick got hot for the Eagles, he was compared to Tom Brady for MVP.

I know every Auburn fan would like to see Newton come back to Auburn, and he might shock everyone, just like he did this season on the field. With Auburn banning his father from campus, I tend to doubt he'll return.

With the potential NFL lockout, I think Newton should return to Auburn. I think that has a lot to do with Andrew Luck coming back to Stanford. Perhaps even Terrelle Pryor making the promise he made too.