Will They Do It?

I've been waiting six years for the Oregon Ducks football team to make it to the National Championship and I am fortunate enough to experience it today. The #2 Ducks, led by Heisman candidate LaMichael James, face the Heisman winner Cam Newton and his #1 Auburn Tigers in Glendale, AZ tonight. Kick-off is set for 7:38 Central time.

This is the first meeting in either school's history and there couldn't be a bigger stage. The Tigers are favored by 3.5 and with good reason. They leap-frogged the Ducks for the #1 spot after that epic comeback against Alabama on Thanksgiving weekend. To be honest, even if the Ducks were #1, they probably would be underdogs anyway. Everyone favors the SEC over the Pac-10. It's just how it is. I think that's how Chip Kelly likes it.


As most Championship games are, this will be a great matchup. You get the speed and agility of the Ducks against the speed and size of Auburn. It's guys like QB Darron Thomas and MLB Casey Matthews against Auburn DT Nick Fairley and Cam Newton.

"Hello Endzone...won't catch him."

I really like Oregon's chances in this one. They're defense is better than people give them credit for. For everytime that offense scored (#1 in the nation in scoring) they had to stop the opposition all those times.

Don't forget about the 1,600+ yard rusher LaMike James. He got hosed in New York at the Heisman ceremony finishing 4th in the voting, but he will make his name to the NFL tonight. The Auburn D is susceptible to the big play and watch out for LaMike to hit a couple home runs against it.

This game will most likely be fairly high scoring. Cam Newton will get his production and he'll make his share of plays but I don't think the One Man Show will be enough to beat the high-powered Ducks tonight. Oregon wins 35-24.

I'm going to eat breakfast, stay hydrated and do some warm-ups before the game. Gotta be ready. And who knows? I might do a running blog throughout the day.

-Mikko