BCS championship
OREGON (12-0) vs. AUBURN (13-0), 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Line: Auburn by 2 1/2.
Auburn wins if . . . Cam Newton breaks the trend of six of eight Heisman winners flopping in this game. He will if Oregon’s speed on defense isn’t enough to make up for Auburn’s size on offense. Oregon will blitz a lot, but Newton completes 70 percent of his passes against the blitz with 10 TDs and no interceptions.
Oregon wins if . . . Its pace of a snap every 13 seconds saps Auburn’s defense as it has so many other opponents. If that slows tackle Nick Fairley, the Lombardi Trophy winner, the nation’s leading rusher, LaMichael James, could find running room. It might also allow Darron Thomas to take advantage of an Auburn secondary starting two freshmen and two sophomores.
Auburn player on the spot: Newton. He’s not a one-man team, but he carries the burden of the Heisman Trophy and he accounted for 48 touchdowns this season.
Oregon player on the spot: James. He must prove that Pac-10 offenses can be effective against the best of the Southeastern Conference. He led the nation with 152.9 rushing yards per game and never had fewer than 91 yards rushing in a game.
Key matchup: Oregon guard C.E. Kaiser vs. Auburn defensive tackle Fairley. Fairley won the Lombardi Trophy as the nation’s best lineman with 21 tackles for loss and 10 1/2 sacks. A senior, Kaiser must keep paving the way for James and protect Thomas, whose lowest passing totals in the Pac-10 were in his last three games.
Bet you didn’t know: An Auburn win will give the SEC five consecutive BCS titles and would be the fifth SEC team to win one.
Call: Auburn 38, Oregon 35.
John Henderson, The Denver Post
