Auburn has always, always, always been a hard-luck story. They have suffered so many heart-breaking defeats, bad poll votes, and so forth that it is amazing they still have any fans. But this has been their year. All the close games finally went their way. All the breaks finally went for them. And now -- for the first time since 1957 -- they are the National Champions. No fans in America deserve it as much as they do.
Oregon did not score 40 points, as I had expected. The Auburn defense was a bit quicker and stronger than what they were used to. But when they absolutely, positively had to score and get a two-point possession -- they did so. They lost this game, ultimately, because of one of the flukiest plays I have ever seen -- Dyer's run after everyone thought he was down. I feel very sorry for them, but I am confident they will be very formidable as long as they keep their coach. But they are now 2-14-1 in the UCFC. Auburn, on the other hand, runs its record in UCFC games to 15-8, and they get to see this page in blue and orange until at least September.
One final comment. I have watched college football since 1971, and I honestly believe this is one of the five best games I have ever seen. What a great, great game.
i am very thrilled for auburn and my niece, Annah, a native missourian who grew up a lot in kentucky but started rooting for auburn upon moving to alabama in her early teens.
ReplyDeletei got to see only part of the second half of this game, but it looked fantastic. and i was surprised to see that oregon kept things close after the possession where they executed the fake punt, had the big receiver make the astounding bobbling catch (only to be tripped up short of the goal by an astounding tackle by an auburn defensive back) and then fail on what i felt was an ill-advised fourth-down try from the 1 or 2. oregon looked to me like it was gasping for life the whole time i was watching, so good for the ducks that they kept on keeping on.