GLENDALE — Facing the deciding moment in Auburn's charmed season, running back Michael Dyer rolled over. Then, without his knee touching the ground, Dyer got back up, bolted toward the University of Phoenix Stadium sideline and picked up 32 more yards.
Dyer’s heads-up play, and Wes Byrum’s 19-yard field goal as time expired, lifted Auburn to its first consensus national championship, a 22-19 win over No. 2 Oregon in tonight's BCS National Championship Game in Glendale.
The last-second win improved Auburn to 14-0, the best mark in college football. But the Tigers had to work for it.
Oregon tied the game with a frenetic touchdown and two-point conversion with 2 minutes 33 seconds remaining.
LaMichael James scored a 2-yard touchdown to cut Auburn’s lead to 19-17. Quarterback Darron Thomas and wideout Jeff Maehl then tied the game with an athletic, stirring two-point conversion. Thomas caught a bad snap rolled right and, leaping, threw to a slashing Maehl as he ran left across the back line of the end zone.
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Auburn got the ball back. Facing first-and-10 at its own 40, Newton handed off to Dyer. The tailback gained four yards before he appeared to be tackled by Oregon rover Eddie Pleasant. Dyer’s knee never touched the ground, however, allowing him to sprint the Tigers into field goal range. Dyer added a 17-yard run to put Auburn at Oregon’s 2 with 10 seconds left. After Cam Newton dove just short of the goal line, Byrum booted through a field goal to win it.
Newton, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was stellar until a fourth-quarter flub. Newton completed a career-high 20 of 34 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the second quarter. But with the game on the line late, he fumbled.
UO linebacker Casey Matthews punched the ball from Newton’s hands with 4:55 remaining in regulation and cornerback Cliff Harris recovered it, giving the Ducks the ball near midfield.
Thomas went to work, connecting with D.J. Davis for a 29-yard pass on fourth-and-5 and moving inside the Auburn 5-yard line with a swing pass.
The thrilling finsh followed a frenetic second quarter, when — sparked by two touchdowns and a key safety — took a 16-11 halftime lead.
Newton found Emory Blake for a 30-yard touchdown with 1 minute 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter to break the game, and cap the 15-minute scoring blur.
The teams combined for 27 second-quarter points.
Oregon started by hitting a field goal to take a 3-0 lead and, after Thomas found James for an 8-yard touchdown, converted a two-point conversion on a fake point-after. Auburn turned the ball over on down at Oregon’s 2 on its next possession, but forced a safety. Mike Blanc wrapped up James in the end zone to cut the Ducks’ lead to 11-9.
Newton and Thomas were both uneven at best in the first half. The difference was touchdowns and turnovers. Newton threw for two scores and was intercepted once. Thomas, who was intercepted twice in the first half, threw for one touchdown.
The first quarter featured defense, something neither high-scoring program is known for.
The teams exchanged punts to start the game, then seemingly handed the ball back to each other with sloppy turnovers.
Thomas was intercepted by Auburn’s Demond Washington around midfield on Oregon’s second drive. The Ducks got the ball back with a turnover of their own; Harris picked Newton as the Tigers drove deep into Ducks’ territory. Oregon took over at the 25 and moved past midfield before Zac Etheridge hung Thomas with his second interception of the game.
The slow start did little to silence the raucous, sell-out crowd in Glendale. Auburn fans, festooned in orange, surged when a “War Eagle” — the namesake of the Tigers’ battle cry — soared above the field during the national anthem. Oregon was loud in its own, funky way: Ducks fans danced along to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” during the pregame show and have roared at every positive gain and defensive stop.
