Auburn's Defense, Oregon's Mistakes Help Tigers Take Title

Sigh.....

This is the story I did not want to write. The story of my cherished alma mater's unlikely voyage to the BCS national championship game, and the screeching halt it came to when the Oregon Ducks fell to the Auburn Tigers 22-19.

The offensive show we all thought this would be this game was not, at least not on the scoreboard. There were more "unexpecteds." Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas threw 40 passes for 363 yards. Oregon's powerful running attack netted 75 yards for the game. Auburn had a more effective mixture of both, and its defense rose to the challenge when it really had to and stopped a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line that was one of those plays that could have been the difference in the game.

Still, the Ducks, who led 11-7 and then gave up 12 unanswered points, trailed 19-11 before making a play of their own. When it seemed like their offense was stuck in neutral and the defense was about ready to give up a decisive play or score, Oregon forced a Cam Newton fumble with less than five minutes to play. They drove for a touchdown, and made the two-point conversion to tie the score at 19.

The game had overtime written all over it. Until the Ducks faltered on another game-changing play, failing to tackle Auburn RB Michael Dyer, who to his credit played until the whistle sounded and gained 37 yards to put Auburn in field goal range. Then, on third-and-four from the Oregon 17, the Tigers caught the Ducks by surprise and ran Dyer up the middle to the 1.

"All I knew was the whistle wasn't blowing and my coach was saying go," Dyer said.

Auburn's Wes Byrum drilled a 19-yard chip shot at time ran out, and Auburn became national champions.

A few observations from what was a pretty good game:

1. Newton is the real deal and is going to make an NFL team very happy.  Despite walking off the field with a hurt back, he passed for 265 yards and ran for 64 more, and didn't let an early interception faze him.

2. Nick Fairley dominated. The 6-5, 298-pound defensive lineman was virtually unblockable. He made five solo tackles including a sack and three tackles for loss.

"The matchup with our offensive line against their defensive line was really the changing point in that football game," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said.

3. Thomas might have come of age for the Ducks. He shook off some nerves and two thrown interceptions and kept the Ducks alive with key completions late in the game.

4. The Oregon backs struggled but the receivers played well. Until the final possession of the game, Oregon's defense was the reason the Ducks were in the game for the third and much of the fourth quarters.

Bottom line: The Tigers made the plays when they had to win. The Ducks hurt themselves with missed opportunities and mental errors.

"We wanted to execute, and if they were better than us on this night, they were just better than us on this night," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. "But these guys played their rear ends off. Our defense was focused for one month."

Chizik and staff challenged the Tigers defense to counteract Oregon's offensive tempo. "They went out and practiced every day to win a national championship, every day," he said.

Kelly had a message for Ducks fans.

"These guys are champions. I love them. We'll be back," Kelly said.

This fan can only hope.

Video: Michael Dyer's Big Run After Knee Ruled Not Down Key For Auburn Tigers

In a game full of big plays, this might have been the biggest. Auburn Tiger's Michael Dyer turns a short run into a huge 37-yard gain the put the Tigers in field goal range with the game tied at 19. You can see in the video that Dyer's knee was never down and the Oregon Duck defender had every opportunity to complete the tackle but didn't. 

It will be this fluke play that the Ducks kick themselves over for years to come.

Wild Finish In Glendale As Auburn Wins BCS National Championship

What a great way for a great game to end. Oregon caused a fumble and got the touchdown and then the game-tying two-point conversion to tie the game at 19. Cam Newton leads his team down the field to the six inch line and with no time left the Tigers field goal wins the game.

SB Nation's Jose Romero will have more from University of Phoenix Stadium shortly. Assuming the poor Oregon Duck alum can recover from the heartbreak.

Big Stop For The Ducks

Oregon holds on third down with 6:42 to go and now this has to be four-down territory for the Ducks if they get in that situation.

The Ducks defense deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team in the game. As good as Auburn’s defense has been, Oregon’s has been almost as solid. If Oregon loses this game, at this point, the defense shouldn’t get much criticism.

If Oregon’s vaunted offense is to awaken, it’s now or never time.

I’m soon to head down to the field. It’s 19-11 Auburn.

If Auburn's Plan Was To Make Darron Thomas Beat Them...

It’s working. Thomas has 249 passing yards and a TD with 2 picks in this game, but the Ducks have only 74 rushing yards through three quarters, With 13:24 to go and the ball on their own 16, the Ducks are in major need of a touchdown.

Auburn isn’t going to get fooled again, more than likely, so Kelly has to go deeper into the playbook. Fairley gets away with a face mask, or so it looked to me, but Oregon converts a third-and-18. Huge.

Fourth-and-8 with 11:08 to go, and the Ducks opt to punt. The right call, too early to go for it and Kelly is trying to pin the Tigers deep. Rice punts to the 21, 25-yard punt.

Auburn ball, 11 minutes to go, again, the Ducks must prevent any points. Their offense is quick-strike but not today, Auburn has grounded it for the most part.

Shades Of Terrelle Pryor

It was the Ohio State QB who ran all over the Ducks and set up the pass with his running in the Rose Bowl last year. Pryor was the difference maker in that game, and Cam Newton is a major dual threat, especially with the lead right now.

Attendance: 78,603, a new U of P Stadium record.

Auburn just did a full-team sprint from one end of the field to the other to the delight of their fans between quarters.

Momentum Gained, Then Lost

So Chip Kelly tries the fake punt, it works to perfection. Then Thomas hits Lavasier Tuinei for 43 yards to the Auburn 3 and Oregon is ready to punch it in.

But they don’t. The Tigers make a fourth-down stand and what could have been the turning point of the game is lost for the Ducks.

Tuinei made one heck of a catch though. Over the shoulder, hauling it in and running. Ducks faithful are disappointed here but not distraught. 2:26 to go in the third, Tigers ball.

Good Omen For Auburn

Newton just missed a wide open receiver deep downfield and the Ducks will get the ball back, but know this: The team leading at halftime is 11-0 in BCS title games. Uh-O-regon.

Auburn's Defense Is Slowly Taking Over

The Tigers are everywhere, it seems, and they stop an Oregon drive and force a punt. It becomes imperative now that Oregon’s defense not allow any points and get the ball back for the offense.

Duck fans have to be wondering when Chip Kelly is going to try something new in the play calls. Or maybe it isn’t the calls, but the Tigers’ D that has figured things out.

That "Dirty" Nick Fairley

Darron Thomas did call the Auburn star DT a dirty player last week, and Fairley lives up to it with a personal foul penalty after a five-yard LaMichael James run. Three plays later. Fairley roars in and sacks Thomas. This is a key series for Oregon and a long bootleg by Thomas is negated by a hold on Oregon’s Mark Asper.

Update: Fairley has had a huge game and has made his presence felt. Oregon has had to answer for him and when he hasn't made plays, he's forced runs to other tacklers. 

Telling Halftime Stat: Oregon Has 38 Rushing Yards

And only 38. Oregon must get that part of its offense in gear or it is in major trouble. To ask Darron Thomas to win this game with arm is too much for the young QB. He doesn’t have his counterpart Cam Newton’s poise and stature.

Newton goes deep for a huge gain on Auburn’s first possession of the second half, and the Tigers are in business. The Ducks are able to force a field goal despite the good opening drive. 19-11 Auburn, 11:30 3rd quarter.

Most Ducks And Tigers Fans Are On Their Feet

Auburn stops the Ducks and forces a punt with 39 seconds left. It seems Auburn has made some adjustments on defense and has managed to keep the points off the board for Oregon.

Auburn has also changed up its offense, and this game has become about which team’s tempo is faster. It’s advantage Tigers at halftime as the Ducks seek ways to limit Newton’s completions and get their own offense in gear.

As for the crowd, a lot of folks are standing, the Auburn side especially, and have been for much of the game. It’s 16-11 at the half.

Ducks Seek Adjustment On Defense

Newton’s touchdown pass to a wide open Emory Blake goes for 30 yards and shows a weakness in Oregon’s defense. Newton is having a lot of success throwing to the wings in the flat and the Tigers are gaining yards in chunks on those plays.

Chip Kelly has to adjust at halftime. It’s 16-11 with 1:36 to go in the half, can Oregon answer and possibly go in at the half with a lead?

Cam Newton Is A Monster

The Auburn QB has overpowered Oregon’s smaller defenders for two third-down conversions on the current possession, but the third time is not the charm. The Ducks stuff him on a keeper on third-and-2, and then the big play… Auburn goes for it on 4th-and-goal from the 1, and Newton underthrows Eric Smith.

Major stop for the Ducks. Could it be a difference in the game later? But now the Ducks have a challenge to get the ball out of the shadow of their end zone, and Big Nick Fairley will be keying on anything up the middle.

And two plays later, an Auburn safety. Now the Ducks have to kick the ball back to the Tigers with 3:26 before halftime. It’s 11-9, and Auburn is feeling good.

Wow Those Oregon Ducks Socks Are Bright!

Seriously. I’m up in Section 402 and I can see those bad boys easily from up here .

One section over to my left up here stands former NFL coach Tony Dungy. His son Eric is a freshman WR for the Ducks.

Touchdown Oregon, Thomas to LaMichael James

Darron Thomas fools the entire Auburn D by rolling right and throwing back to the left to James for the easy TD. Then Oregon’s Chip Kelly does deeper into his bag of tricks and passes on the extra point. Oregon gets two points as kicker Rob Beard runs in for the conversion. 10:53 2nd qtr, 11-7 Ducks.

Right now it’s a matter of which offensive mind is going to outscheme the other. Auburn’s starting to get its offense going so the next team to make a stop on defense could pick up some momentum,

Touchdown Auburn, Newton to Kodi Burns

The stadium erupts in orange as the Tigers cash in on their fourth possession of the game. Cam Newton looked off a receiver, saw Burns wide open in the middle of the field and hit him. Burns had open field and leaped into the end zone for the TD.

Auburn quickened its tempo on that drive and it made a difference.

Now the Ducks try an end-around on the kickoff return and the Tigers wreck it. So the Ducks are deep in their own territory to start.

And just as I write that, Thomas, on play action, hits Jeff Maehl, Oregon’s big play receiver for 81 yards and right into scoring position. That up-and-down shootout has arrived, it seems, after both teams needed to find their rhythm on offense.

Ducks offense moving, defense bringing heat on Tigers

That had been the case until this current drive, with Auburn now moving the ball upfield. The end of the first quarter hurt Oregon, which had a third-and-2 at the Auburn 3 when the quarter ended. Auburn’s D got a breather, which it badly needed with the the Ducks’ fast tempo, and then Nick Fairley stuffed RB Kenjon Barner for a five-yard loss and forced a field goal. 3-0 Ducks.

BCS Championship: Live Game Stream

Oregon three-and-out. Auburn three-and-out. Oregon throws a pick, Auburn throws a pick. Just how we all knew it would go, right?

Oregon is the latest team to make a big play, with Cliff Harris INT of an overthrow by Cam Newton. Both QBs look a little rattled, Newton by Oregon's blitz and Darron Thomas by his own nerves. He made a wild pitch-out on first UO possession.