When the Hype Won

The hype wasn’t worth the wait. The excitement that we were supposed to witness evaporated into an Arizona night. The high-powered engines known as the Blur and Cam chugged along instead of accelerating from end zone to end zone. Was that it? Did the season really end on a not-so-entertaining game-winning field goal? Exactly what happened?

Well, for starters 37 days happened. During those 37 days the hype was built on flash, speed, and quickness. Points were supposed to be put up on the board like a basketball game and offensive records were to be shattered. Cam Newton was supposed to prove his Heisman worth and dominate play after play while LaMichael James would counter with long run after long run. Defenses would be gasping for air on the sidelines not blowing up plays in the backfield. Coordinators would be shaking their heads trying to figure out how to stop each other from scoring. Auburn didn’t win this game as much as they tried not to lose it.

Great game? Hardly. Good game? Maybe. Don’t get me wrong, both teams made plays, but a week, a month, a year, or even five years from now, will you remember any specific play or moment from this game or will you just remember that Auburn won on a 19 yard field goal? Are you going to remember that Michael Dyer ‘almost’ got tackled on a 37 yard run or will you remember that Dyer ‘almost’ scored on the third to final play? I wish he would have scored on that play and Oregon probably does as well. If he goes into the end zone, Oregon gets the ball back with one timeout and 40+ seconds left in the game. Wouldn’t that have been a more entertaining ending than running a kicker out onto the field, putting the offense back on the field, running a basic kneel-down, calling timeout, then kicking a game winning field goal that was closer than an extra point?

Can you blame the field for the lack of explosive plays? Maybe, but both teams had to deal with it and you knew it was going to be an issue when Josh Huff of Oregon returned the opening kickoff for 16 yards while slipping at least three times. How about the first six possessions of the game? Punt, punt, interception, interception, interception, punt. Not exactly what you expected out of two high-powered offenses. Since Auburn won the game, will you remember Oregon’s early two-point conversion or big fourth down plays such as the fake punt?

The game was more sloppy than good. Missed throws, missed blocks, open receivers under or over thrown and red zone offenses struggling to put the ball in the end zone. Look, you can credit the Auburn & Oregon defense all you want, but it was not a defensive battle. Not when Oregon gives up 519 yards of offense and Auburn gives up 449. Both defenses made stops at big times, but are you going to remember any of them? Will you remember Nick Fairly stuffing James, Kenjon Barner, or Darron Thomas or Cam Newton missing an open receiver in the end zone? How about the Heisman winner fumbling with a 19-11 lead in the fourth quarter because of the next line in the Matthews family (Casey)?

The question when looking back at great games in history has always been, “What do you remember?” A game that was hyped for 37 days as crazy fast turned out to be a little slow. An offense that was supposed to be a blur, abandoned what they had done to get them to the Championship game turned out to be dim. A Heisman trophy winner that was supposed to be ‘the man’ turned out to be just another piece in the puzzle. A game that pundits said might be one of the greatest displays of the season, maybe decade, or longer turned out to be just another routine game with some good moments mixed in. 37 days of hype turned out to be just that, with a slow, inconsistent start and finishing with an anti-climatic 19 yard field goal. 37 days later and the hype out-played the game. Will you remember?