Well, the Ducks lost tonight in heartbreaking fashion. Auburn kicks the winning field goal as time expired, giving the Tigers their second National Championship and leaving the Ducks having to wait another year for their first.
I think there are a lot of Auburn fans out there who are mildly surprised by the final score. Based on some of comments posted on ‘The Oregonian’s’ web site from Auburn fans, I think they were expecting to run all over the Ducks. Didn’t turn out that way. The PAC-10 champ gave the SEC champ all they could handle. And while the SEC continues its dominance in the championship game, this was not like previous years when the SEC team ran away early and often. The better team did win, but they weren’t THAT much better. But all you have to do is put one more point on the board than the other guy and Auburn did that (three points actually). My hat is off to them.
There were two plays that were the turning points as far as I was concerned. The first play was the opening kickoff and subsequent Duck three and out. I am fairly certain Kelly wanted to establish the tempo of the game early but it back fired. The kick returner slipped twice during the return and the Ducks were in a hole right away. The fast tempo works best when the Ducks have a shorter field. The defense doesn’t feel like they can take gamble when the Ducks have a short field. But with 85 yards of green to defend, it makes defensive play calling a little easier. If the Ducks would have kicked off, then three and outed the Tigers, I think big ol’ Mo would have been in our favor. Plus, taking the kickoff to open the game, gave the Tigers the ball to begin the second half.
