This is my 200th post and I couldn’t use this milestone (?) (work with me here) on a better topic or at a better time than after a great college football game, at 12:30 AM.
First thing first: Nick Fairley has to be the top pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Fairley was more than unstoppable. Kirk Herbstreit referenced Ndamakung Suh. It’s an apt comparison. Perhaps it’s not fair to Fairley. He was conditioned, he was ferocious, and he was unstoppable coming off the line. Carolina would be crazy to draft Da’Quan Bowers or Patrick Peterson or AJ Green first overall. Fairley was fabulous.
A close second to Fairley’s fabulosity was the freshman Michael Dyer. I wrote in my preview that if I was Chip Kelly, Dyer would be the guy (other than Cameron Newton) I’d be most scared of. Dyer did not disappoint. Auburn fans saw flashes of Dyer’s possessed brilliance this season, but he was mostly held in check by SEC defenses. Tonight, against a Pac-10 defense (and a good one at that), Dyer had his national coming out party. A lot can happen in an offseason, but I’m very nervous if I’m an SEC D-Coordinator heading into the 2011 regular season. Dyer could be dangerous.
As for this game, just wow. It was equal parts suspenseful, weird, sloppy, clean, ugly, and pretty. If you’re a Shoney’s type of person, you loved this game, because no matter what you like to pile your plate with, you had it in the 2011 National Title game.
We were all wrong. Both defenses played very well. I was impressed with the speed of Oregon’s defense. They shut down Cameron Newton better than any team did during the regular season. They were quicker to the edge and only once did they give him the seam. The only thing missing for the Ducks defensively was a more consistent pass rush. That was not there in Glendale for U of O.
As good as Oregon’s defense was, Auburn’s was stunning. The pressure that their defensive line created on Darron Thomas was only outdone by the pressure they put on Kenjon Barner and LaMichael James when either took a read handoff from Thomas. I did not think, not in a million years, that Auburn’s line was going to crash the line of scrimmage and get so quickly, so easily to Oregon’s dynamic backs. Ted Roof earned his money tonight. The secondary looked, um, bad, but it didn’t become a relevant issue in this game. And that credit is due to Roof and Tiger coach Gene Chizik. Defense won the national championship game that the offense got them to. If that’s not a complete team, I’m not sure what is.
Finally, and even despite his quiet (by his standards) game, Cameron Newton deserves mention. Without him, the TCU Horned Frogs would be celebrating right now and the Tigers would have been your Gator Bowl Champions. Newton almost lost this game. From the short-armed pass on 4th and Goal in the second quarter (he was saved by a safety), to his miss of Darvin Adams in the 3rd quarter (his defense saved him) to the fumble late in the 4th (he was saved Michael Dyer and Wes Byrum), Newton was as average as a 6’6″, power running, strong armed QB can be. When needed, Newton made a play. But he didn’t make the plays that helped him win a Heisman. And so now, the questions will center around whether he’ll enter the NFL Draft. I think he has to. His stock will never be higher. In one year, Cam accomplished what no Auburn QB has accomplished in half a century. He will be forever cherished by Tiger fans. And he deserves every bit of that. He has a future in the NFL. He needs a lot of seasoning. Oregon’s defense showed that tonight. His mechanics aren’t clean and his decision making isn’t always great. That said, on potential alone, he’s a first round draft pick. If Vince Young could be the third overall pick, Cam can too. Say what you want about his character (it’s great, but whatever) but he’s a world more mature today than Vince Young is. If I’m a team that needs a QB in 2 years, for 10 years, I’m drafting Cameron Newton.
If Cam returns to The Plains, Auburn is the preseason favorite. Hands down. There’s a good recruiting class coming in and some good returning complimentary pieces. If Cam doesn’t return, well, playing in the SEC West, repeating is hard. Just ask LSU. Or Alabama.
But next year is just that. Tonight, or this morning, like always, I’ll be savoring the joy and excitement that college football brings me and a lot of other people. Tonight’s game might not have been the 2006 Rose Bowl game. It might not have been 2002’s Fiesta Bowl. But it was a fascinating game. If they played again next week, Oregon might win. The week after? Probably Auburn. And so on. These were two deserving teams, with a bunch of players who, while they might not become NFL stars, busted tail for 60 minutes. And it was a true joy to watch. War Eagle.
Mid-Atlantic Bias 
As a long time Duck fan, congrats to Auburn. It was a great game. As suspected, Auburn won the game in the trenches. I knew Oregon would have to pass more and run wide to stay in the game. Although I love my Ducks, the better team won.
That's what gives the SEC the leg up in most games. The south produces much better lineman than the west coast. We have quicker players and better skill players, but to win big games, it takes linemen.