National Championship Live Blog

Here we go for my first live blog experience. Hope this works out well. I've got Duck Fever right now, but I'm also interested in seeing Cam Newton, seeing as he has been linked to the Bills as a potential QB of the future. Love the Ducks though. Fun, videogame offense that blows you away. All times Central Time (Chi City!)

7:21- Moment of silence for the Arizona tragedy. Weird to be playing so soon after. Glad we can forget it, for just a bit, to watch some good football.

7:25- Urban Meyer said he wanted more time with his family, and that's why he left Florida. But now he's an analyst? I don't quite get it...

7:32-Gotta love the Ducks Day Glo socks. Just by uniforms, you can see that it's a old school vs. new school deal. Has anyone noticed that Nike makes sweet uniforms for Oregon, but screws up pretty much everyone else's? Ohio States alternates against Michigan were terrible; ditto for a lot of other teams. Also glad to hear Brent Musberger in the booth tonight. When he's announcing, you know it's going to be fun. Some of the sentences he string together are hilarious.

7:34- Oh, it's the BCS National Championship Trophy! It's a...glass football? Snooze. I'm waiting for someone to drop it. Highlights of Nick Fairley now playing- another intriguing choice for the Bills with their high draft pick. Brent Musberger just said "youngsters", and I got a shiver. No one else can pull it off.

7:36- Oregon chooses to receive after winning the coin flip. Here come the cue cards, the hand signals, and the crazy, fast paced offense.

7:39- It's pretty loud in the University of Phoenix Stadium. Musberger plays it perfectly by not saying anything and letting the crowd noise speak for itself as Auburn kicks off. The stadium's become a big game stadium on the basis of its' UFO looks and sheer size.

7:43- Ill advised pitch by Darron Thomas on the option on second down. Herbstreit says its a completely new look for the Ducks, which shows the sheer complexity of their offense. A lot of motioning out LaMichael James in the first series leads to a three and out for Oregon. Both teams are better second half teams, so it might be expected. Here comes Cam Newton.

7:45- Big run to start the day for the Tigers. They might try to just beat down the undersized Ducks defense. Ducks get some pressure on the next 2nd down, and force a fumble. 3rd and Long, Newton shows some nice touch on the deep ball down the sideline, but the receiver can't bring it in. Auburn Three and Out to start.

7:52- LaMichael James is pretty fast. Takes a screen pass for a first down, Oregon's first. Oregon's gone short on every throw this game. Don't know if they're not trying deep, or if Auburn's not allowing it. What I do know is that the option is not working for Oregon right now. Oregon tries a short out on third down, ball tips off the receivers hands, and it's picked off. Not the way the Ducks were looking to start.

7:56- Do we really need a blimp to show us the outside of the stadium? Anyway, Newton and the Auburn offense come back on, and an initial Newton run is stymied. Newton then throws a pick STRAIGHT to the Ducks. He really missed on that throw. Poor decision, because the receiver was double covered.

8:00- Weird how everyone on Oregon stares over at the sideline, almost programmed like robots. Oregon's got another first down, and starting to put together something of a drive. Option is still not working.

8:02- Oregon gets into the redzone with another short pass. I'm interested to see when they'll try anything deeper, or if they'll keep dinking and dunking for first downs. Aaaaaand Thomas throws another pick under pressure from Nick Fairley. There goes the drive.

8:04- Now Auburn's starting to put it together on offense. Newton looks more comfortable on rollouts. Oregon defense looks REALLY quick, ad are getting constant pressure in the backfield. Punt for Auburn.

8:10- Oregon gets two first downs, on one LaMichael James run, and another short pass and run. Will they ever take a shot? Barner is providing a valuable service for the Ducks, giving them another good running back. Oregon just got Auburn caught on a too many men on the field call based on how fast they were going. Another first down, and the Ducks move closer to the end zone- already near the ten.

8:12- Oregon's end around fools no one, and the Ducks move 4 yards back. Thomas ends the first quarter with a 12 yard pass, getting then within the five and close to another first down, if necessary. That's probably the longest pass Oregon's had all day.

8:16- Huge stop by Fairley on a key third down in the red zone, and a misread by Darron Thomas on the play. Ducks settle for a field goal.

8:22- Auburn hits another first down on a rollout by Newton. I sense a trend here... Also, the run game is really working for the Tigers. Musberger is calling every screen "basically a run play". You go, Brent. Now the Auburn offense seems to have some rhythm.

8:28- Cam Newton pulls off a beautiful play action pump fake, then hits a deep post to Cody Burns for a Touchdown. Maybe the offenses have loosened up a little bit?

8:31- Yep, they have. Oregon finally went deep, and Darron Thomas hits Maehl for a huge play, going from in their own endzone into the redzone.

8:35- Oregon "baits the trap beautifully" (thanks Brent) and sets up a short touchdown throw to LaMichael James. Oregon then goes for two on a fake field goal! WOAH! Anything for a spark, I guess. A kicker option? That's wacky. I love it.

8:43- Now Auburn has their own nice drive in response, all the way to the redzone. Newton's getting into a nice tempo.

8:49- Auburn foolishly goes for it on 4th down and goal, and Newton misses a wide open throw in the endzone, leaving it too low. Auburn fans have to be hoping that one doesn't come back to haunt them.

8:52- Dinner break, for anyone reading. Doubtful.

9:16-Spaghetti was tasty. Anyway, Auburn looked decidedly smart when they caused a safety on the next play. On the ensuing drive, they ran the ball effectively and then duped Oregon on a long pass play for another touchdown. Momentum shifted, 16-11 Auburn at half.

9:40- Auburn's first possession has them moving the ball easily. They can run for short and medium gains, pass for first downs, and then take shots downfield. They're back in the redzone.

9:42- Auburn wastes their chance, and settles for a field goal. Oregon's offense MUST respond with some points.

9:52- A disjointed drive by Oregon is effectively ended by a holding penalty which Oregon can't recover from. Their deep routes have been blanketed. They punt, and now need a stop to stay in this game. It's slipping.

9:57- Key play, as Newton overthrows a wide open receiver deep on a key third down. Oregon got the stop they needed; now it's up to the offense to make something happen. A huge missed chance for Auburn to really ice this game.

10:03- FAKE PUNT! Now that's a momentum shifter for the Ducks after another drive had seemingly stalled. With their first play, Oregon goes deep and the receiver makes a beautiful grab to get the Ducks into First and Goal. The run game has been weak in the red zone, and it continues on first, second, and third down. Nick Fairley makes a beautiful play to stop Barnley on third down. Oregon controversially goes for it on fourth down and is stuffed once again. Dad is really questioning the decision, but I think if the Ducks can get a stop, they're still in it, so why not? They need all the momentum they can get. Interesting to see if that comes back to bite them.

10:17- As the fourth quarter starts, Auburn has control of the game, with Oregon desperately leaning on their defense to make another stop.

10:22- A blitz on third down works for Oregon, and leads to a hurried incomplete pass for Newton. Oregon's getting the ball back.

10:27- Huge 3rd down conversion by Oregon. Let's see if they can build on this for a scoring drive.

10:30- And the drive stalls on a broken pass play. This game has been mostly Auburn, but they need something to really ice this game. The longer Oregon hangs around, you have to believe they'll wake up.

10:41- Oregon holds once again, but looked weaker against Auburn's offense. Another chance for the Oregon offense, and now they really need some magic.

10:47- Another Oregon offense stalled, as Auburn once again gets deep penetration into the Oregon backfield. Another punt, and now Auburn just needs some first downs to win it.

10:50- Woah! Huge forced fumble by the Oregon defense (punch out by Matthews), and they pick it up. Oregon's offense needs to pick up the slack here. They just barely avoided an interception.

10:53- HUGE fourth down conversion by Oregon that puts them into the redzone. Auburn brought the house and Thomas calmly, quickly got the ball out to his hot read for a big gain. Here they come for points.

10:56- Oregon is clinging to running between the tackles, and it's just not working. They now face a crucial 3rd and 1, and had to burn a critical timeout to figure out what they wanted. Chip Kelly isn't showing his offensive genius card tonight.

10:57- A fake option turned shovel pass leads to a Oregon touchdown to at least bring them within a field goal.Two point conversion to come.

10:58- Got it!!! Off a bad snap Darron Thomas flings it to Maehl who comes down with it! Now Cam Newton gets his chance to make some magic. Is this a Heisman defining moment (after the fact)?

11:03- Dyer gets a 37 yard run to get Auburn into at least field goal range, off a tackle that never got him to the ground. Oregon needs a stop just to get the ball back after a field goal; Auburn's kicker is money. Bad news for the Ducks. Not sure if I love that "not down" rule. He was tackled, but because his knee doesn't touch, he's still live. The players stop and he's able to get a cheap gain out of it.

11:06- Dyer down at the 1 yard line, or in the end zone. Either way, Auburn's in the drivers seat. This time, Oregon couldn't quite stop them.

11:12- And with that gimme kick, the game is over. Oregon was never able to get it going, and a failed fourth and goal conversion likely cost them the game. Auburn was able to capitalize when it mattered with an effective running game. Final analysis: it wasn't the offensive shootout we expected. It was exciting at some parts, but both offenses were hardly the well oiled machines they were throughout the season. Credit to the defense and the huge layoff that both teams got. Cam Newton showed himself to be merely decent, in my opinion-plenty of overthrows- and Nick Fairley was the star of the show, earning him a spot near the top of the draft. He'd look great in a Bills uniform. Yep, that's what it comes back to. The NFL. Can't wait for the playoffs this weekend.