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| Oregon's 13th uni of the season. |
I was playing golf with my SEC sycophant buddies here in Texas a few months ago and it was about the time Oregon was ascending to the top of the rankings. A guy on the course commented on Oregon and one of my buddies -- an LSU fan -- commented that they hadn't seen a "real defense" yet and if they played a team "like Alabama" they would get smoked. You know, the usual SEC fan propaganda.
As we got back into our carts, I was riding with a buddy who is a Georgia fan (a fan, not a graduate, as he simply grew up in Georgia) and I said, "I can't wait for Oregon to play an SEC team in a BCS bowl and absolutely paste them."
Not surprisingly, he scoffed at me.
It's always interesting how a conference to steeped in tradition and rivalries and intense, quality football is so quick to band together to tell everyone else how awesome they are, collectively. While we sometimes defend the Big Ten, I know that I personally almost always open with "Look, don't make me defend Ohio State..." Yet, these SEC clowns will be cheering for Auburn tonight, despite allegedly hating them all season long. Eh, whatever. Clowns.
As for the game itself, there's no doubt that here at BS HQ the support goes to the Ducks. We don't like a whole lot about them or the program, but we sure do want to see the SEC shut the hell up. Seeing Cam Newton lose also seems appropriate, given the filthy nature of his father. Sorry, but whether the NCAA says so or not, they're dirty.
Comparing the teams is always hard since they play completely different schedules in difference conferences. I'll of course admit the SEC is far superior to the Pac 10. However, when you look at Auburn's schedule, you'll see they had many close games, including some shootouts where they gave up a lot of points. On the other hand, Oregon had only on close call, a 15-13 win at Cal. Otherwise, the Ducks absolutely bludgeoned their opposition. Auburn spent the season "escaping" games with close wins, usually relying on Newton to make magic.
I'll tell you this much -- if Auburn sleeps through the first half like they did against Alabama and goes down 3 or 4 scores, they are cooked. There will be no coming back from a deep hole against this Oregon squad. Sure, Auburn is the only one out there who could but I don't think they will. That said, if the game is close at the end, you'd have to put your money on Cam. (Pun intended.)
I think Oregon will win this game, but that's going back to how I felt during the college football season, which ended almost two months ago. I can barely remember it now. Smooth, NCAA, smooth!
Oregon 38
Auburn 26