Top Ten Moments of 2011: 5. War Eagle Soars!

In yesterday's post we described the LSU-Alabama game on November 5th as "the best college football game of the 2011 season." In today's post we will discuss the best college football game of the 2010 season, which fortunately for this list took place in 2011. The game, played on January 10th, featured the Auburn Tigers, then 13-0, against the Oregon Ducks, 12-0, in the BCS National Championship. This would be the first time the champions of the Pac-10 and SEC would meet up in the BCS title game and the first championship game appearance for both schools. Networks advertised the game as the ultimate offensive showdown, as both Auburn and Oregon had high powered offenses that could score at will. Auburn was led by Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton and Freshman tailback Michael Dyer, who ran for 1093 yards and 5 touchdowns in his first season as a Tiger. Oregon's spread attack was led by Heisman finalist and All-Pac 10 running back LaMichael James and Sophomore quarterback Darron Thomas. Both offenses would live up to their hype but it would be Auburn's ability to control the line of scrimmage on defense that would ultimately lead to their victory.

After a scoreless first quarter, a Rob Beard field goal gave Oregon the 3-0 lead before Cam Newton drove the Tigers into the end zone with a 35 touchdown pass to Kodi Burns. LaMichael James got onto the board only a minute later after an 8 yard touchdown pass from Thomas but would be safetied later in the quarter to give Auburn all the momentum. Auburn would add to their 16-11 halftime lead in the 3rd quarter after a Wes Byrum field goal to give them a 19-11. After being shut down in the third and most of the fourth, Thomas led Oregon to a touchdown with less than 3 minutes left with a pass to James, tying the game at 19. Although he caught two touchdowns, James was shut down on the ground, running for only 49 yards on 13 carries. Auburn's Nick Fairley and the rest of their front seven are to thank for the domination of Oregon's running attack. Oregon's late comeback effort would fall short in the end, as Byrum would kick a game ending field goal to give Auburn the victory and National Championship. Although Oregon's neon and cobalt uniforms will be missed, I can only hope that this year's championship game between LSU and Alabama will feature a few more touchdowns than last year's affair. Here's to wishful thinking!