Newton secures Heisman with miraculous comeback in Iron Bowl MXXV

Auburn QB Cameron Newton

Auburn QB Cameron Newton can do it all, as proven today. Unless the Oregon Ducks blow out the Arizona Wildcats tonight, I believe Auburn has locked up the number 1 spot in AP polls.Newton and his Auburn Tigers, in a stunning fashion, defeated the rival Alabama Crimson Tide 28-27, after being down 24-0 in the 1st half. After accumulating a total of 75 yards of offense in the 1st half, Auburn passed an ran for 243 yards of offense in the 2nd half. Newton, the hero of the game, Auburn's MVP off the season, and likely Heisman winner, threw for 3 TDs and ran for another.


'Bama WR Julio Jones



It had looked as if Alabama were to ruin Auburn's season, dominating right out of the gate, scoring on a 9 yard TD by last year's Heisman winner RB Mark Ingram within 4 minutes of the start of the game. They then forced a quick Auburn 3-and-out, and Alabama QB Greg McElroy threw a deep strike to stand-out WR Quintorris "Julio" Jones for a 68 yd TD to put 'Bama up 14-0. After 2 sacks of Cam Newton, 'Bama forced another Auburn 3-and-out, and once again, they drove down the field as McElroy hooked up with WR Darius Hanks for a 12 yd TD. After another Auburn punt, McElroy dumped a screen pass of to Ingram, as Ingram ran 41 yards down the field, but was stripped right before he went into the endzone, as Auburn recovered. That had been the true turning point of the game, as 'Bama would go on to only score 2 field goals throughout the rest of the game.

After a 20 yard field goal by 'Bama K Jeremy Shelley, Auburn quickly answered. Newton threw a 36 yard TD to WR Emory Blake, thus beginninh Auburn's miraculous comeback. After only a single play, Newton threw a bomb to one of his favorite targets, WR Terrell Zachery for a 70 yard TD to cut the deficit to 10. After a few non-scoring drives between both teams, Auburn scored again, this time by a 1 yard Newton rush TD to cut the deficit to 3. Quickly after, 'Bama scored kicked their last field goal, which made the score 27-21, but was still a 1 possession game. Short into the 4th quarter, Newton proved why he should win the Heisman, by completing the comeback, and throwing a 36 yard TD to back-up tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen.



Alabama was not able to score after Auburn took the lead, even though there had still been 12 minutes left on the clock when Auburn scored. Late into 'Bama's first drive of the 4th quarter, QB Greg McElroy was injured, and taken out of the game as a result of a sack by Auburn's T'Sharvan Bell. Back-up QB A.J. McCarron came in, but could not complete a pass at the Alabama 19, and handed the ball over to Auburn for a final knee.

The win for Auburn puts them at 12-0 going into the SEC Championship game against 18th ranked South Carolina next Saturday at the Georgia Dome. This should be an interesting match-up, and we'll have more on it next Saturday. Alabama falls to 9-3, and will not be playing for a BCS bowl game, after winning the National Championship the previous season. The question for Auburn is, can they defeat South Carolina and proceed to the National Championship themselves, or will they fall and allow one of the BCS busters to play for the title. Well, we'll find out, and tune in to ESPN at 8:30 for the Oregon vs Arizona game, to see if Auburn can become the number one team in the nation as a result of an Oregon loss.