Mattie T’s In-game blog of the National Championship: Auburn vs. Oregon

Should be a lot of fireworks tonight, as Heisman-winning quarterback Cam Newton of Auburn will square off against LeMichael James, who is the nation’s leading rusher. Who will emerge as National Champs? Let’s get it started!

1st quarter:

Oregon wins the coin toss, and elects to receive. Crowd is electric on both sides and is ready for this game to start!

Two slips early by Josh Huff on the opening kickoff. Freshman nerves, or bad field surface?

on 2nd & 4, Darron Thomas’ option pass to LeMichael James is snuffed out by Auburn’s defense. Three and out on their first offensive possesion of the evening.

Bad punt by Jackson Rice, as Auburn will get the ball right around their own 40-yard line.

Onterio McCalebb goes to work on the Tigers’ first play, as he rushes 15 yards into Oregon territory for a first down.

Cam Newton is hit and loses the football on his first pass attempt, but thankfully Auburn recovers.

James gets his first big play of the game, as he takes a screen pass from Thomas & takes it 21 yards up the middle on 2nd & 11.

First takeaway of the game goes to Auburn, as Ryan Smith intercepts Thomas’ tipped pass.

Newton then returns the favor 2 plays later, as he’s intercepted by Cliff Harris.

Oregon’s in the red zone for the first time tonight after Kenjon Barner’s 8-yard reception out the backfield.

2nd interception of the quarter for Thomas, as he’s picked off by a diving Zac Etheridge.

Newton is sacked on 3rd & 5 by Zac Clark, as he nearly lost the football for a second time.

Nice 1st down grab by Lavasier Tuinei, who shakes off a missed tackle and runs it 19 yards into field-goal range.

The Ducks’ hurry-up offense seems to be having a factor early on. Auburn is penalized defensively for 12 men on the field, which results in an Oregon first down at the 11.

On 2nd & 14, D.J. Davis makes a nice sideline grab, as he’s a few yards away from the end zone.

Scoreless after the first quarter, but the Ducks are looking to change that in a hurry.

2nd quarter:

Great play by Nick Fairley, as he doesn’t buy the hand-off fake to James & stuffs Thomas in the backfield for a big loss.

Rob Beard’s 27-yard field goal is good, as Oregon leads 3-0 with 14:13 remaining before halftime.

Good run by Michael Dyer, as he runs it 10 yards for a first down.

Terrell Zachary then takes a run 12 yards for another first down.

Great individual play by Newton, as he recovers from a slip and finds McCallebb along the Oregon sideline for a 2-yard catch.

Nearly a 2nd interception hauled in by a diving Cliff Harris near the goal line, but it’s ruled out of bounds.

The Tigers hit the end zone, as Newton finds a wide-open Kodi Burns for a 35-yard touchdown reception.

Wes Bynum’s extra point is good, as Auburn now leads 7-3 with 12 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

Oregon makes up for a bad special teams kickoff return, as Thomas hits Jeff Maehl down the sideline for a 81-yard gain!!!!

Beautiful screen pass to James, who easily trots in for an 8-yard touchdown. After a slow start, we have now seen two touchdowns in the last 64 seconds.

The Ducks go for 2, and it’s good as Beard runs an option route into the endzone! Oregon now leads it 11-7 with 10:58 left in the quarter.

Auburn driving once again, as Terrell Zachary’s 3rd down grab puts the Tigers inside Oregon’s 40 yard line.

Newton with another big play showing off his strength, as he fakes the reverse and runs it up the middle for a 3-yard gain despite heavy traffic from the Ducks’ defense.

Kenny Rowe called for offsides on 3rd & 7, which now makes this a more manageable play.

It indeed does pay off, as Newton fakes a handoff & runs straight forward for another first down.

Newton tries to scramble again on 3rd down, but Oregon stuffs it just short of the end zone for a big defensive play.

Auburn goes for it on 4th & Goal, but Eric Smith is unable to corral Newton’s low throw. Big turn of events here as the Ducks will get the football back pinned at their own 1-yard line.

Thomas delivers a dangerous shovel pass out his own end zone to Barnett for a 6-yard gain, but it’s called back.

On the very next play, James is stopped in the end zone for an Auburn safety, as it’s now 11-9 Oregon.

The Tigers starting to move it again, as Dyer’s 9-yard run is followed by a 9-yard catch by Emory Blake.

Newton avoids some pressure, and hits Blake for an easy 30-yard touchdown.

Byrum’s extra point is good, as Auburn is back up 16-11 with 1:47 left before halftime.

Silly personal foul on the opening kickoff, as Eric Smith is penalized for a late hit. This puts the ball near the 40, as Maehl’s 9-yard catch puts it near midfield.

Big 3rd & 8 stop by Auburn’s defense, as the Tigers will get one more possession before the half.

Great special teams play by Oregon, as the ball is downed at the 3 yard line.

Auburn gets two big back-to-back big plays from McCallebb & Darvin Adams to put the ball at the Oregon 46, but it’s advanced no further as that will put an end to the first half of play with the Tigers leading the Ducks 16-11.

Auburn’s run defense to this point has held LeMichael James to just 19 yards on 5 carries, so we will see if Oregon can get their star back going in the second half.

3rd quarter:

Auburn’s offense isn’t missing a beat, as Cam Newton connects with his tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen for a big 39-yard catch.

It’s now 3rd & 5 at Oregon’s 11, but Newton fires an incomplete pass towards the end zone.

That brings out Wes Byrum for a 28-yard field goal attempt as it is good. Tigers now lead 19-11 with 11:30 remaining in the quarter.

Big personal foul by Auburn’s Nick Fairley, which puts Oregon at their own 34.

Almost a big fumble by Darron Thomas, but Carson York recovers for the Ducks’ offense.

Fumble is followed by a holding penalty, which turns into an Oregon punt.

Ducks get creative on their next drive, as Jackson Rice  fakes a punt and tosses to Marvin Johnson for 8 yards, good enough for a first down.

Tuinei then makes the catch of a game, as he hauls in a terrific one-handed grab for 43 yards, but Auburn stops him just short of scoring.

That wound up being a big tackle, as the Ducks were denied on a 4th & Goal attempt.

Oregon is moving the ball on a nice drive, but it’s nearly killed by a near interception by Etheridge.

The Tigers’ defense does it job, as the Oregon drive is stalled at midfield.

Newton takes off on 3rd & 12, but takes a big hit to his shoulder at the end of the play.

Doesn’t faze the Heisman winner though, as he stays in for a 5-yard handoff to Dyer.

Good play-fake by Newton on 3rd & 5 before hitting Mario Fannan for a big 16-yard gain to keep the clock moving.

Oregon catches a nice break, as a deep sideline bomb to Terrell Zachery is caught out of bounds.

Big third down conversion by Maehl, as it saves the Ducks from a dreadful three-and-out possession.

Auburn makes a huge defensive play on 3rd & 3, as Antoine Carter stuffs James for a 4-yard loss.

Newton makes his biggest mistake of the game, as Casey Matthews forces a fumble that’s recovered by Bryson Littlejohn.

Tigers almost get it back, as Josh Bynes nearly picks off Thomas on 1st & 10.

Tuinei can’t corral the 3rd & 5 pass, as it’s now 4th down.

CLUTCH 4th down grab by Davis, as he takes it 30 yards down to Auburn’s 10-yar dline.

On 2nd & 3, Fairley gets called for a big defensive offsides penalty. That will make it 2nd & 1 at the 2-yard line, as James is stuffed for no gain.

James then punches it in for a 2-yard touchdown run, as now Oregon needs a successful two-point conversion to tie it.

Thomas one-hands the snap and rolls to his right before firing across his body to Maehl, who made a great catch in the back of the end zone.

We are tied 19-19 with 2:33 to go in what should be a great finish to a great National Title game!

Dyer makes the play of the game, as he avoids a would-be tackle by Eddie Pleasant and popped back up for a 37-yard run that puts Auburn into field-goal range.

After that run, Dyer is at 123 yards rushing for the evening as he’s outrushed both James & Barner by 42 yards.

Tigers keep it on the ground, as the clock continues to run towards a minute.

Dyer says no field goal necessary, as he bursts towards the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown!!!

Play is under review though, as the ball may be spotted right outside the goal lone.

It’s ruled at the six-inch line, as Newton is back in to try and win the National Championship!!!!!

Newton is denied, as Auburn calls timeout with 2 seconds left to set up Byrum’s 19-yard game-winnner.

It is good, as the SEC’s run of consecutive National Championship wins is now at 5 in a row!!!!!

Congrats to the Auburn Tigers on their first title win in 54 years!

Cam Newton is your BCS Most Valuable Player after completing 20 of 34 passes for 265 yards while throwing for 2 touchdowns & 1 interception, and added 65 rushing yards on the ground.

Michael Dyer outrushed Oregon’s entire team by himself, as he finished with 143 yards after a strong second half.