Who has the better football program?

Auburn not only won the SEC and national championship.  Auburn not only came back from 24-0 down to beat Bama in Tuscaloosa.  Auburn not only matched Bama's undefeated championship run that included a Heisman.  Auburn not only did it in a season when Bama started the season #1.  Auburn's monster season makes things look a lot different overall in the state now.  This information has been making its rounds on the Internet and definitely deserves some more attention.  Thirty years is a long time and pretty much encapsulates modern football.  Lets take a look at some facts from these years, again just the facts...

National Titles since 1981
Auburn: 1 (2010)
Bama: 2 (1992, 2009)

SEC Titles since 1981
Auburn: 6 (1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2010)
Bama: 5 (1981, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2009)

Undefeated Seasons
Auburn: 3 (1993, 2004, 2010)
Bama: 2 (1992, 2009)

Iron Bowl Wins
Auburn: 16 (1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Bama: 13 (1981, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2009)

Total Wins Since 1981
Auburn: 254 (11th nationally)
Bama: 226 (22nd nationally) This accounts for 30 wins they had to forfeit due to NCAA sanctions.

SEC Wins since 1981
Auburn: 141
Bama: 129

Bowls since 1981
Auburn: 22 (15-6-1)
Bama: 19 (12-7)

Heisman Trophy Winners since 1981
Auburn: 2
Bama: 1

NCAA Probations since 1981
Auburn: 1
Bama: 3

To sum all that up, since 1981 Auburn has won more SEC titles, won more games, won more SEC games, had more undefeated seasons, won more Iron Bowls, been to more bowls, won more bowl games, and had more Heisman Trophy winners than Bama. 

Finally as many Bama fans have gone on and on about allegations against Cam Newton they have also been convicted of breaking the rules more than Auburn. 

I think the facts here speak for themselves. 

I think this about sums it up...

This is from Jerry Hinnen at War Blog Eagle who returned with a vengeance today.  Here is the complete post and here is a strike that compares with Cam's Hail Mary at the SEC Championship game...

"I used to care about whether or not Auburn won a national championship with an ineligible player. I used to think we’d owe the rest of college football an apology if we did, in fact, find out that someone had cheated on Auburn’s behalf to help us win that championship. And I’ll still feel bad for Oregon.

But after spending three straight months seeing Auburn and the Newtons crapped on at every conceivable opportunity, after seeing our program given less-than-zero benefit of the doubt on anything, after seeing writer after writer decide that they’d rather award our team an asterisk than award them credit, college football can kiss my burnt orange-and-navy blue ass.

Our team went to Glendale and won. Their team didn’t. We got to go to Glendale and celebrate. They didn’t. And there’s not a damn thing they or anyone else, the NCAA included, can do about that. Which is why I’ve spent the entire week laughing, laughing, laughing."

Yep I think that about sums it up. 

Auburn wins the National Championship

Auburn rolled over Oregon to win the National Championship 22-19.  Just like Michael Dyer rolled over an Oregon defender to make the biggest play of the game.  Just like Nick Fairley rolled over (and through) the Oregon offensive line again and again.  Just like Gene Chizik rolled over all the criticism of him by everyone (including myself) when he was hired.  Just like Cam Newton rolled over the most scrutiny ever put on one player in the history of college football to help Auburn win one more.  Just like Auburn's defense rolled over the #1 offense in the country to 75 yards rushing and 19 points.

The 2010 Auburn football Tigers finished a season for the ages in their customary cardiac style winning on a last second field goal by Wes Byrum.  It was an incredible ending to an incredible season and here is what I thought about it...

THE GOOD
I have to start with the defense led by Nick Fairley.  The job they did against the nation's #1 offense that everyone has gone on about all season was mind blowing.  Auburn completely shut down the vaunted Oregon rushing attack and the nation's best running back in LaMichael James.  Auburn dominated the line of scrimmage.  Props to my man "The Rock" Tracy Rocker.  Once again he had his guys ready to play.  Rocker has truly made the leap from great player to great coach and has done a similar great job with Nick Fairley that Malzahn has done with Cam Newton.  Of course, just like the rest of the season, the pass defense was weak at times and Oregon rolled up almost 400 yards passing.  However the defense got it done when it counted holding the Ducks to 19 points. 

Next up is offensive MVP Michael Dyer.  I just kept saying over and over again about halfway through the first quarter: "Where is Dyer?".  It was obvious that he would be the key in this game and not McCalebb.  They finally started feeding the big dog and he delivered.  He did it of course behind the best offensive line to ever play at Auburn.  Ziemba, Pugh, Berry and Isom delivered one more time paving the way for the team to rush for 265 yards and roll up over 500 yards of offense one more time.  I was surprised that the Ducks stopped us a couple of times.  They did play some good defense.  Finally, Cam Newton delivered one more time with a couple more great passes and couple more great runs.  He did not have his usual dominating game but he still was the focal point of the offense and it looked like he played most of the second half in a lot of pain.  Of course the layoff destroyed his passing touch but more on that later.

Finally, it was another great job by the coaching staff led by Gene Chizik.  It takes a heck of a coaching job to lead a team to 14 wins in the SEC.  These guys obviously worked their tails off and helped this team achieve greatness.  They did what coaches are supposed to do in helping develop their players and leading them through tough times.  A player does not come from the JUCO ranks and achieve greatness like Newton and Fairley without great coaching.  An offensive line, even one this good, does not perform at this level without good coaching.  The same goes for the defensive line.  Congratulations to the coaches and players, you guys earned this with your hard work.

I have to also say how awesome it was seeing Bo Jackson on the sidelines and Pat Dye up on that podium.  Coach Dye built the foundation at Auburn for great teams like the 1993 team, the 2004 team and now this team and Bo Jackson was maybe the biggest part of that.  Both of them have remained steadfastly loyal to Auburn and both deserve to be there and enjoy this team and this season.  They built the foundation.

THE BAD
The bad is that this magical season is over.  Yes it was a tough one in some respects and some of the fun was taken out with all the Cam stuff and our bad pass defense but it was a great one.  It was unlike any other I have ever seen in almost 40 years of watching Auburn football.  Personally I still do not think this team is the best to ever play at Auburn but they have achieved more than any other team that wore the blue jerseys.  I do think this is the best offense ever at Auburn and it has been incredible watching them especially Cam Newton as he put up the greatest single season in Auburn history. 

There were so many great games and plays, so many.  It is hard to summarize them.  There was the coming out party against Arkansas State where everyone was introduced to Cam Newton.  There was the trap game in Starkville on a Thursday night against one of the best State teams maybe ever.  There was maybe the hardest hitting game I have ever seen against Clemson and the gut twisting overtime.  There was the comeback against South Carolina where Cam took flight and offensive line and defense rose up.  There were well deserved breaks against Louisiana Monroe and Chattanooga where all the guys behind the scenes got to play. 

There was the two game gauntlet of Arkansas and LSU where the team showed it could be great.  The Arkansas game was truly a once in a lifetime game.  I have never had a game just wring me out like that game.  I think it will stand for all time as the highest scoring game in Auburn history.  I will never forget making my first trip to Auburn this season for the LSU game.  I got to same Cam's signature Heisman run in person but the play that I will also never forget was Ontario McCalebb's run to win the game.  The Ole Miss game featured Auburn defending their new #1 ranking and Cam catching his first and only touchdown pass.

Finally there was Amen Corner.  Georgia had won four in a row over Auburn and Bama was the defending national champion.  I got to make the trip to the Georgia game and got to see Auburn and Cam make another huge comeback at home.  I got to soak up the incredible atmosphere at Jordan Hare one more time.  There was just something special going on at Jordan Hare this season.  The intro, the songs, the fourth quarter opening run to the student section and the parties afterward.  I will never forget sitting together with my son, my parents and my brother celebrating a win over Georgia and winning the SEC West.  Then there was the Iron Bowl and the greatest comeback in Auburn and maybe SEC history.  Down 24-0 I certainly thought it was over.  I did not think there was any way but somehow this team found a way.  I think that will be their legacy.  I think that is how Auburn people will remember them.

THE UGLY
First and foremost let me say that bowls can be a great experience.  I know many people in the Auburn family had a great experience in Arizona and watching on their television.  It may be one of their greatest experiences.  I do not want to take anything away from that.  However last night proved to me again that this system AS A WAY OF CROWNING A CHAMPION in maybe the largest sports entity outside the NFL is a complete and utter joke.  The only feeling I had immediately following the game was relief.  It was a relief that this stupid system did not take anything away from another great Auburn season.  Hopefully it never will again.

I have said it before and I will say it again:  "What if the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburg Steelers waited 40 days after the NFL championship games to play the Super Bowl? What if the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers waited 40 days after the NBA conference final series to play the NBA Finals? What if Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal waited 40 days to play a Grand Slam final after winning the semi-finals? The answer to all those questions is that it would stink and the two teams or players would NOT BE THE SAME as the ones that ended the season."

That statement was proven to be true against last night.  After five minutes it was obvious Auburn was the better team.  It was obvious if Auburn had played Oregon the week after the SEC Championship Game Auburn would have blown them out.  However like just about every other big bowl game, the passing game suffered.  Cam missed on several passes that would have blown the game wide open that he was regularly hitting in the last three games of the season.  The conference championship games are real post season games because their particpants get in through an objective system and they are played immediately following the season.  The BCS is a complete failure because its participants get into it by a completely flawed subjective system of computer and popularity polls and then they wait over a month to play it.

I am glad we won the game last night because comments like these would only have been interpreted as sour grapes if we would have lost.  I enjoyed the SEC Championship Game more and am more proud of it because of the reasons above.  It is just sad that so much is put on this completely flawed system and as I said in my last post "the only thing sadder than making these games too big is continually trying to inflate your opinion of your team and yourself by going on and on about how many of these "titles" your team can claim".  I am much more impressed with SEC championships won since 1992.  However I am happy for the players and the Auburn family because regardless of how bad the system is you want to end any season especially an undefeated one with a win.  Going 14-0 is an incredible accomplishment.  That is what the pictures in this post represent to me.

NOTE:  Will Collier said this much better than me a few years ago.  Here is the post.

THE LAST WORD
As I stated before as well the only good thing about the long layoff was Auburn getting so much attention before and after the game.  I think SportsCenter has replayed the highlights of the game over a dozen times while I have been creating this post.  That is good for Auburn.  Hopefully this coaching staff will be able to break through another problem that has plagued Auburn and that is capitalizing on seasons like this.  In the past it does not seem we got enough out of our great seasons recruiting-wise.  I hope that changes after this one.  I think Gus Malzahn staying will help a lot.

It will be awhile before Auburn will be ready to challenge for the SEC title again.  Next year will be a tough season as we lose so many players.  There is still some great talent but not enough to replace what we are losing.  Also, players like Cam Newton and Nick Fairley just do not come along very often.  On the positive side it looks like the entire coaching staff will remain intact for the third season in a row.  That is a major miracle in big time college football.  I still have my doubts about Ted Roof but this season and the way it ended guarantee he will be at Auburn for awhile.

I have mentioned a lot of names and great players here.  However I want to end this post writing about somebody I have not mentioned yet.  He played his last game for Auburn University last night.  I think he defines what the good part of sports is all about.  He came to Auburn as a star quarterback and maybe the highest ranked member of his recruiting class.  He got thrown into a bad situation his freshman year and lost a whole year of eligibility on a bad decision.  He then spent the majority of his sophomore season starting at quarterback trying to lead a team destroyed by bad coaching.  The team ended with Auburn's first losing record since 1999 and was destroyed and embarrassed by Bama 36-0.  As the starting quarterback he surely took the loss worse than most.  He then lost the starting quarterback job for good the next year and was moved to wide receiver.  It seemed he would be just another casualty of big time college football.  Surely he would transfer or fade into obscurity.  There was no way he could become an impact wide receiver playing the position the first time his junior year at an SEC school.  There is just no way...

Kodi Burns proved me and everyone else wrong.  He took the road less travelled and has become one of the greatest stories in Auburn's long and storied football history.  Pushing back his ego and the pain he must have been feeling he stood in front of the whole team and said he was staying at Auburn and he was going to support Chris Todd 100%.  He said he wanted to do whatever it took to help the team.  THAT is where I believe this trip that ended last night started.  I believe it started with Kodi Burns and this selfless act.  After that you did not hear a lot from him.  He played some wildcat and stayed in the receiver rotation but nobody really thought he was an impact player.  However he kept working and kept working...

This year he started at wide receiver and seemed to get better and better.  He avenged that awful night in Tuscaloosa in 2008 by catching two critical third down passes that were a major part of the comeback to win against Bama this year.  I think blowing a 24-0 lead hurts more than losing 36-0.  I bet nobody appreciates the win in the Iron Bowl this year more than Kodi.  That was not the end for Kodi Burns though.  The coaching staff showing that they knew how important he was to this team tried to get him a score in the SEC Championship Game but it did not work.  No, Kodi had a bigger play to make than a symbolic score in a game already decided.  The crowning moment of Kodi Burns career came when he scored Auburn's first touchdown in the national championship game with a great catch and run.  Nobody deserved it more.  Thank you Kodi Burns for starting this journey and showing us one more time why we love sports.  IT IS GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER.  WAR EAGLE.

#1 Auburn vs. #2 Oregon for the BCS National Championship

Well here we are, one day out from the big game.  I tell you right off the bat that while as I have said many times before how I hate the current college football postseason I do love all the attention Auburn is getting.  This is just great.  It is all Auburn, all the time.  It is great that we were the first national championship game to be on ESPN because wow we all know that ESPN can promote.  I can't get enough of the promos with the big "#1" next to Auburn every time.  After seeing that I am so glad that Auburn ended up #1.  Every SportsCenter has a big segment on the game with more Auburn.  We are all over websites, newspapers, etc...  Hopefully we will win the game to complete the whole thing but regardless it has been a great couple of months soaking all this up. 

Knowing it also has to really annoy LSU, Florida, Georgia and most of all Bama fans, makes it even better.  Of course, it won't be near as good if we lose but the whole deal with Bama is pretty funny.  They lay down about the best season you could possibly have last year winning everything including their first Heisman Trophy.  They then come into this year ranked #1 and now we are one game away from completely matching the feat (!!!!!!) coming back from down 24-0 to beat Bama along the way.  With a win in the big game, it just does not get better than that.

For me this game is not the end all, be all for me as an Auburn fan.  As I have said, the system has been and is a complete joke.  The 30 to 40 day lay off invalidates the system.  Any system that uses varied computer and popularity polls is completely ridiculous.  I could go on and on.  I should rather say that there is and never will be nothing legitimate about this system.  The only thing sadder than making these games too big is continually trying to inflate your opinion of your team and yourself by going on and on about how many of these "titles" your team can claim.

On the flip side though I will defend the Auburn fans that are really into finally getting into this game.  First, as I have also said before, if you have to be a part of this ridiculous system you might as well be in the best game.  Second, the only good thing about the bowl system is getting some cool matchups and Auburn vs. Oregon is a great one.  Finally, if you do not hate the system as much as me it is awesome to finally make it to this game.  The Bama fans love to pooh pooh that going on and on about how they "expect" to get to this game and it is just standard practice for them.  If that is true then those Bama fans are missing out.  They will never know how it feels to be getting to this game the first time and the game becoming the hardest ticket to get in the history of sports.  They will never know that excitement and I hate to tell them but they are missing out.

Back to the game,  I did hold a couple of these "shoe box top" monster tickets in my hand as my parents were some of the few people lucky enough to be able to get some from Auburn.  It has been incredible how the ticket prices have shot through the roof thanks to a recipe of two hungry programs and a smaller stadium.  It has to be crazy in Arizona about now.  Locals and Oregon fans are probably getting tired of hearing "War Eagle!".   There is just something special about the Auburn family and I bet it is a big party all the way to and all over Phoenix, Arizona.  The whole thing was just way too expensive for me to contemplate going to but our family plans to have a big party at our house.  Again I am very thankful that I got to go down to Jordan Hare for the LSU and Georgia games as I still think it is the best experience.

As for the game itself, I know we are the better team.  At the end of the season, nobody could have beaten Auburn.  Cam and the rest of the team were playing at such a high level.  Cam's passing was unbelievable down the stretch against Georgia, Bama and South Carolina.  That is the one thing that the layoff will probably effect.  It is also just Auburn's luck to be the first SEC team to have to play in this game against a team that has SEC speed.  Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas are not close.  On the flip side, Auburn is fast as well and bigger and stronger than Oregon.  Auburn also has one of the best to ever play college football in Cam Newton and a great supporting cast as well.  It is the best offense Auburn has ever had and a defense with some great players that has steadily improved.  I think we are the better team and I sure hope we prove it one more time.

Finally, there have been so many cool things that highlight the Auburn family that this game has brought out but I think one of the coolest has been the "Win it for..." web site.   Here is my entry...
"Win it for my Mom and Dad who both graduated from Auburn in the early 60s, who both love Auburn more than any people I have ever known, who both had to endure the Bear Bryant era and all that went with it, who loved and enjoyed Sullivan and Beasley and were there for 49-26 over Bama the year I was born,  who raised my brother and I to love Auburn as well, who both loved Pat Dye and all he did for Auburn, who sacrificed to buy our family season football tickets for the last thirty years where so many great memories have been made, who sacrificed even more so that my brother and I could also be Auburn graduates, who have stuck with Auburn through thick and thin and endured every tough loss, low point and near miss Auburn has gone through, who love watching the eagle soar before every home game, who will be there next season ready to go whether we win this game or not but who would appreciate this win more than anyone, win it for my Mom and Dad." 

WAR EAGLE.