Best Season: Auburn

Auburn is one of the most unique programs in the country. They have a rich tradition, and they tend to always be competitive. The Tigers do have the minor issue that their biggest rival is currently coached by the best college coach of all time, but that also has led to some of the best moments in their history.

Auburn has had 3 Heisman winners in its storied history, but only one has happened simultaneously to a national title: Cam Newton. Not only did he earn a Heisman, but he was a major factor in Auburn winning a title in 2010. Let's take a look at how that magical 2010 season unfolded.

To end 2009, Auburn was 8-5 and had pulled off an overtime win over Northwestern in the Outback Bowl. This was a disappointing end to the season, as they started 5-0 and reached number 17 to begin the season. However, they did bring in the #6 class in the country, which included 5 star running back Michael Dyer and transfer quarterback Cam Newton. The Tigers also got to watch as Alabama won the national championship the year before, so the pressure was on to bring their own back to Auburn.

The season started easy enough, with Arkansas State first. The Tigers started the 2010 season ranked 22nd, so they were on the radar, but not quite the number one pick to make the national championship game. Arkansas State provided little resistance, and Auburn cruised to a 52-26 victory. The Tigers defense allowed 278 yards through the air, which would become a weak point during the season.

Next up was an SEC matchup at Mississippi State. The Thursday night game was a good showcase for the Tigers, as they were able to get a win in primetime. The defense did improve from week one, and this game was more of a defensive battle. Auburn went to half up 17-7, and gave up a second half touchdown to escape with a 17-14 win. This win catapulted the Tigers into the top 20, as they would come into their next game ranked at #16.

In a battle of the Tigers, Clemson traveled to Auburn with Gameday on site. At first, it looked like Clemson would run away with it. Auburn was down 17-0 early, and made a field goal before half to head into the break down 17-3. Cam Newton gave a passionate speech at halftime, and the TIgers would score 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to go up 24-17. After a 4th quarter by Clemson, we went to overtime tied at 24. Auburn got the ball first, and had to settle for a field goal, giving Clemson an opportunity to win with a touchdown. Clemson tried a pass to the endzone on third down, but it was the best pass and the receiver couldn't pull it down. The Clemson kicker made the field goal to force double overtime, but the Center double-clutched the ball, and Clemson was penalized, which forced a re-kick. On the second attempt, Clemson missed and Auburn walked away with a win.

Next week the Tigers would play #15 South Carolina and it once again came down to the very end. Auburn scored two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to pull out a 35-27 win. Gamecock quarterback Stephen Garcia was pulled after fumbling twice and Connor Shaw two INTs as his replacement. This was win number 700 for Auburn as a program and it moved the 2010 team to 4-0 and #10. Next week the team would destroy Louisiana-Monroe 52-3 to get to 5-0.

The Tigers next game was against Kentucky. Senior Wes Byrum connected on a 24-yard field goal as time expired to cap a 37–34 victory over the Wildcats. The Tigers offensive attack was once again led by Cam Newton, who scored four touchdowns in the first half to lead Auburn to a 31–17 halftime lead. The Wildcats were able to storm back to tie it, but ultimately fell short.

After starting 6-0, Auburn reached #7 and hosted #12 Arkansas. People were excited to see Cam Newton and Ryan Mallet duel it out for control of the SEC West. However, that wouldn't happen as Mallet was ruled out in the second quarter with a concussion. The teams went to half with the Tigers up 27-21. Tyler Wilson, the Razorbacks' back-up quarterback, threw for touchdown passes of 37 and 24 yards in the third quarter, while Auburn kicked a 28-yard field goal and Newton rushed for a 1-yard touchdown, making the score 37–35 in favor of Auburn at the end of the 3rd quarter. After trading touchdowns, the score was 44-43 Auburn in the fourth quarter. The Tigers would then force 3 straight turnovers to end the game with a 65-43 win over Arkansas.

Auburn's next game was against #6 LSU, and this one would be a much more defensive game. LSU was only able to amass 143 yards on the Tigers, and Cam Newton broke the SEC record for most rushing yards by a Quarterback. The game was tied at 10 at half, and both teams would alternate touchdowns before a 70 yard rushing touchdown gave Auburn the win. Next week against Ole Miss, Auburn had an offensive explosion, going into half up 34-17 and winning 51-31. Chattanooga was much of the same, as Auburn went into half 48-14 and ended the game winning 62-24. This put Auburn at 10-0 and ranked #2 as they entered into their final two games, both rivalries.

First up was Georgia. The Bulldogs were led by redshirt freshman Aaron Murray, who would start the game by throwing 3 touchdowns in the first quarter to give the Dawgs a 21-7 lead. However, the second quarter was all about Cam Newton, as the Tigers stormed back to tie the game at 21. After half, Auburn kicker Wes Byrum recovered his own onside kick and Auburn drove down to take a 28-21 lead, which Georgia responded to by tying the game back at 28. On the ensuing drive, Auburn once again drove down to take the lead 35-28. GEorgia tried to respond accordingly, but could only muster a field goal. Auburn would go on to score two more touchdowns and win 49-31. This made the Tigers 11-0, and needed only to beat the reigning champion Crimson Tide to finish the season undefeated.

Alabama could do no wrong to start the game, as they pulled ahead 24-0 a quarter and a half into the game. Cam would throw a 36 yard pass to Emory Blake to cut it to 24-7 at the half. To start the 3rd quarter, Cam connected with Terrell Zachery for a 70 yard touchdown pass to draw it down to 24-14, and he later ran for a 1 yard TD to make it 24-21. Alabama would get a field goal to make it 27-21 as the game headed to the 4th quarter. With under 12 minutes left in the game, Cam Newton found Philip Lutzenkirchen with a 7 yard touchdown pass to take the lead 28-27. Auburn would hold on to finish undefeated, and they completed the biggest comeback in school history to do it. The win moved Auburn up to number one in the country as they went into the SEC championship against South Carolina.

The rematch was not nearly as entertaining as the first edition. Auburn ended the first quarter up 21-7, and went to half up 28-14. After 2 scores in the 3rd quarter, the Tigers held a 42-14 advantage as we entered the last quarter of play. A few more touchdowns would give Auburn a 56-17 win as they claimed a conference championship and Cam won the Heisman. This put Auburn at 13-0 and ranked #1, with a date against Oregon in the National Championship.

The National Championship was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two great offenses, but it turned out that neither team would score 24. The first quarter was scoreless, and Oregon struck first with a field goal in the 2nd. Cam would respond by leading a touchdown drive, and the Tigers went ahead 7-3. Oregon would respond with a touchdown of their own, and after a 2 point conversion it was 11-7 Oregon. Auburn would then force a safety and later score a touchdown to go into half up 16-11. The Tigers added a field goal in the 3rd, and the score was 19-11 as the teams entered the 4th quarter. LaMichael James would catch a touchdown on a shovel pass with about 2:30 left in the game, and after a 2 point conversion, it was tied 19-19. Then, on one of the more memorable plays of the decade, Micahael Dyer was brought down after a short gain, but he kept running after he got up, and wasn't tackled until he was deep into Oregon territory. The officials reviewed the play, and his knee was never down. He would then have another run that put Auburn on the goal line, and with 2 seconds left, the Tigers made a field goal to win the National Championship 22-19. This would be Auburn's second in school history.

This season was one for the ages, and it was all brought on by Cam Newton. He helped them to come back multiple times and he ultimately got picked number one in the 2011 draft. Auburn would go on to reach the Championship game again in 2013, but ultimately fell to FSU. The Tigers have not won the division since 2017, but new coach Hugh Freeze certainly hopes to change that. I like the role that Auburn plays as a spoiler, in fact, I think that Auburn always does the best when little is expected from them. Hopefully, we will see them at the top of college football soon.