Cam and Co. lead Auburn to national title
GLENDALE, Ariz — He never heard a whistle, never felt his knee hit the turf. So, Auburn’s Michael Dyer popped up, took a few steps, then stopped and looked around.
In that split second — the amount of time it takes to shout “War Eagle!” — Dyer placed himself right up there alongside Cam Newton, Bo Jackson and every other great player to wear the Auburn uniform.
Realizing the play was still going, Dyer started running again — past the tackler who thought he had him down, deep into Oregon territory. The stop-and-go maneuver — a once-in-a-lifetime run — set up a short field goal on the last play that sent No. 1 Auburn over the No. 2 Ducks 22-19 in the BCS title game Monday night.
“My knee wasn’t down,” Dyer said. “I didn’t hear a whistle, not yet, so I was kind of like, looking, like, what’s going on?”‘
With his 37-yard run, the freshman did what most fans thought impossible: He upstaged Newton, the Heisman winner who turned his first — maybe only — season at Auburn into a title-winning run.
Three plays later, Dyer ran 16 yards to push the ball to the 1 and set up Wes Byrum’s 19-yard field goal with no time left. It capped off a perfect 14-0 season, brought the title back to Auburn for the first time since 1957 and left the Southeastern Conference on top of college football for the fifth straight year.
Auburn won The Associated Press title with 56 of 59 first-place votes, capping a first-of-its-kind climb up the rankings — from No. 22 at the start of the season to No. 1 at the end.
“Fifty-three years, baby!” coach Gene Chizik said to the cheering crowd. “This is for you. War Eagle!”
Dyer was the key player in five crazy minutes of football at the end that were vastly different from the first 55, which were more of a bruising defensive battle than the offensive masterpiece so many had predicted.
The dramatic endgame began when Casey Matthews, son of the 1980s NFL linebacker Clay, punched the ball from Newton’s hands while he was trying to lead Auburn on a drive that might have iced a 19-11 lead.
Oregon’s offense, shut down by Nick Fairley and the rest of the Tigers’ stout defensive front for most of the night, moved 45 yards over the next 2:17, and Darron Thomas threw a shovel pass to LaMichael James for a touchdown. Thomas hit Jeff Maehl for the 2-point conversion with 2:33 left and the game was tied — down to the last possession.
And that possession will be remembered for one incredible play.
Dyer took the handoff and ran off right tackle for about 7 yards, or so it seemed. Nothing was routine about this one. He wasn’t sure his knee hit the ground, so he popped up and took a few more steps. Then he stopped and looked to his left. With his coaches and teammates urging him to keep going, and everyone on the field at a standstill, Dyer realized that, indeed, the referee hadn’t blown his whistle. He took off and made it to the Oregon 23. An official review ensued and the replay showed that his knee had never touched the turf.
