Is Point Shaving Alive and Well In The NCAA

As I sat down to watch the National Championship game last night between the Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks, I felt very confident that the strength, power, and speed of the SEC caliber player would prevail once again. I guess I was mostly right, but I was left with one major thought after the game had ended. Was Cam Newton really giving it his all in that game?

Maybe he was playing hurt, maybe he was in awe of the big scene. I find the latter hard to believe since he has been in the spotlight in a major way for most of the college football season. What was evident is that last night's game was without a doubt one of his worst performances of the year. I dare say that can be attributed to the defense he was facing. He was simply making errant throws all over the place, diving when he could have gotten plenty more yards, and playing sometimes at half his normal speed. Even when he fumbled in the fourth quarter he looked nothing like the dominating rusher he has been all year while carrying that ball.

I am convinced that something fishy may have been going on. Call me a conspiracy theorist. Call me whatever you want, I think sCam Newton was shaving points last night!

Why Auburn Should Handle Oregon

For the past week, I have been having more fun writing responses on UGA Haters blogs than posting things on my own website about the Dawgs. But, I do have something I would like to say today, and it isn't really related to UGA, other than the fact that I think this year will have another SEC dominant performance in the BCS National Championship game.

We all know that Cam Newton is amazing, and he is going to "get his" against the Ducks on January 10th. But, the real deciding factor in this match-up, as far as I see it, will be the battle in the trenches. Take a look at these stats:

AUBURN O-LINE: 6'8"-320lbs, 6'6"-300lbs, 6'3"-316lbs, 6'3"-305lbs, 6'4"-297lbs
OREGON 0-LINE: 6'5"-295lbs, 6'4"-290lbs, 6'5"-285lbs, 6'7"-320lbs, 6'5"-285lbs

AUBURN D-LINE 6'4"-256lbs, 6'2"-260lbs, 6'5"-298lbs, 6'3"-296lbs
OREGON D-LINE 6'3"-245lbs, 6'3"-230lbs, 6'7"-250lbs, 6'2"-256lbs

For those of you keeping score at home, that is a 308lb average on the O-line for the Tigers, and a 295lb average for the Ducks. On the flip side, that is a 278lb average on the D-line for the Tigers, and a 245lb average for the Ducks. The Oregon defensive line is giving up a whopping 68 pounds on average across the trenches. WOW!

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Ducks should struggle mightily with the bigger, faster, and stronger Auburn team. But, we all know that games aren't played on paper, now are they?