Ducks Drown in Defensive Dual

OreGONE!
The offense that took everybody to school in 2010 was slowed on Monday night. The Auburn Tigers outrushed and outlasted offensive-minded Oregon in the BCS National Championship in Glendale, Arizona last night. The Tigers improved to 14-0 with a 22-19 victory and brought the title home to Auburn for the first time in 52 years. Wes Byrum kicked his sixth career game-winning field goal as time expired to cap off the tussle between two unbeaten teams. Oregon was held 30 points below its number one nationally ranked scoring average. The Ducks’ star tailback, LaMichael James, was limited to 49 yards as the Tigers’ defense proved the difference in the game.
The first quarter was a scoreless battle as neither team could piece together sustaining drives. Rob Beard hooked a 26 yard field goal to begin the second quarter and give the Ducks an early 3-0 edge. Auburn started rolling offensively on the ensuing drive. Heisman Trophy winner, Cam Newtom, recorded the first touchdown pass of the 2011 BCS championship game. Newton passed for 265 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Tigers. Newton’s 35 yard gem to Kodi Burns with 12:00 left in the half gave the Tigers a 7-3 lead. Darron Thomas, who threw for a pair of touchdowns in the loss, orchestrated a 93 yard drive on just four plays to set up Oregon’s second quarter touchdown. Thomas hit Jeff Maehl in stride for 81 yards and followed the launch two plays later with an eight yard pass to James. The Ducks went ahead 11-7 on Beard’s two-point conversion. Maehl led all receivers with nine catches for 133 yards.
Safety Mike McNeil led the Tigers with 14 tackles and the Auburn defense picked off Thomas two times during the game. Defensive tackle, Nick Farley was dubbed the defensive MVP of the contest. Farley had one sack and a forced fumble. It was Mike Blanc who recorded a safety with 3:26 remaining the first half to cut the Ducks’ lead to two points. Emory Blake’s 30 yard catch after the two minute mark put the Tigers ahead 16-11 at the break. Blake finished with 54 yards, as did junior wideout, Darvin Adams. Auburn began the second half by running the ball on four straight plays as the Ducks plowed their way into the red zone again. The drive stalled after two incomplete passes by Newton. Auburn settled for three on Byrum’s 28 yard kick, to increase their lead to 19-11. Byrum’s kick was the only scoring by either side during the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a seesaw of possession changes until Thomas connected with Maehl for ten yards with just under five minutes in regulation. Thomas found D.J. Davis on fourth-and-five for another 29 yards as the Ducks’ quarterback came out firing late in the fourth quarter. David Paulson’s seven yard grab was followed by James’ second touchdown catch. James’ two yard reception and another two yard conversion tied the game at 19-19 with 2:33 left in the game. Auburn returned the kickoff to the 25 yard line, giving Newton three-quarters of a field to work with on the final drive of the night. Newton hit Blake with a 15 yard strike and Michael Dyer rushed 37 yards for another Auburn first down. Dyer chewed up another twenty yards on two carries to bring the Tigers into field goal range. The speedy running back was splendid in the final quarter as the Tigers raced against the clock, and against the Duck defense. Byrum lined up for a 19 yard field goal attempt with two ticks remaining on the clock, and nailed it, to complete the 73 yard drive for Auburn.

Parting Points: Nice job by Boise State’s Chris Petersen in shunning Stanford to stay with the Broncos. It’s good to see a coach stick with the same team.