Oregon Ducks can't fly on fourth down as Auburn takes BCS national championship
Many prognosticators were licking their chops over this year's BCS national championship game. High-flying Oregon, with its non-stop offense, versus and a multi-faceted Auburn offense. It was going to be a wide-open affair.
Well, almost.
Wes Byrum's 19-yard field goal with no time left Monday night , and gave the Tigers their second national championship in football. It was a game where both teams had big plays, but couldn't find the end zone very often.
A key play in the game came in the third quarter when Oregon, from the Auburn one-yard line, could not score on a run by Kenjon Barner. The Ducks managed , but most of that was through the air. Heisman third-place finisher LaMichael James could only manage 49 yards on the ground as Auburn's defensive front overwhelmed Oregon's offensive line.
For Auburn, it was , thanks to the Ducks defense. Yes, the Tigers gained 519 yards of total offense, but the offensive star turned out to be , who rushed for 143 yards. That total included a huge play on the game-winning drive, one in which Dyer rolled over the top of an Oregon tackler, got up, and continued to run, resulting in a 37-yard gain.
Oregon did a decent job during the game, but got caught out of position on several occasions. For the Tigers, All-American caused havoc for Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas, the Ducks offensive triggerman. Auburn kept James bottled up, allowing Thomas to try and beat them through the air.
It almost worked.
