Defense Won the Championship for Auburn
Posted on January 15, 2011 by Jacob Bunn
In 1957, the FBI arrested Jimmy Hoffa for bribery, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time, and Dwight D. Eisenhower was president of the United States. Also in ’57, the Auburn Tigers won the national championship.
Since then, Auburn has had success but has not been able to cross the threshold of becoming national champions. Monday, however, the program that had seen its 2004 undefeated season end without a chance to play for the title was destined to snap the streak and win the championship.
Until the game, Cam Newton had been Auburn’s everything. He lead the team, provided the rushing and passing attack on offense, and seemed to have the will within him not to allow Auburn to lose. Monday, though, another story was to be written.
Auburn’s defense was maligned all season. It was with legitimate reason, though, because the Tiger defense ranked toward bottom of the conference in most categories defensively all year. One must remember, though, that we are talking about the SEC, the most prolific defensive conference in America, so being ranked toward the bottom of the conference does not mean a defense is poor.
Auburn’s defense proved that a lower tier SEC defense is better than the best Pac 10 defense any day of the week. I often contend that games that have the hype of being extremely defensive or offensive typically end up being the opposite. This was especially true Monday night.
On offense, it was Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb making the short-yardage plays work for the Tigers.
Special teams was also a bright spot Monday night for Auburn. Punter Ryan Shoemaker had not kicked well all year. Monday night, however, he had a tremendous impact on the field position battle.
On the biggest night in Auburn history, the entire team came together to produce the victory and validate the incredible season that they have had.
So what’s next for the Auburn Tigers?
Coach Gene Chizik says the next step is to attempt to restart the process. It is true that the Tigers will be losing quite a bit of talent from this year’s squad, but with a national title in hand, high-profile recruits will most likely give Auburn a closer look.
After the conclusion of the game, many national writers began to ask questions about whether or not Auburn’s championship will remain intact. Certain national media personalities have hinted that the NCAA may not be through investigating.
That could very well be true, and something may arise down the road. But if you are a Tiger fan, you should not let the unknown prevent you from celebrating Auburn’s first BCS Championship.
Auburn was placed in the position of bringing home the fifth straight BCS Championship for the Southeastern Conference, and they delivered. In this conference, though, one team does not stay at the top for very long. With the success that the Tigers have had this year, comes the target next year. Auburn maneuvered through this SEC season as the hunter. No one really expected them to compete until they had already completed the task. Ask LSU, Florida, and Alabama what it is like to get a team’s best shot week in and week out.
Now is not the time to dwell on the negatives, though. Auburn fans need to realize what their team has accomplished and celebrate it.
This is your time, Auburn, soak up every second of it.
Contact Jacob Bunn at Jacob@BunnSports.com
