Editor's Note: Ten years ago on this date, Auburn improved to 4-0 on its way to one of the greatest seasons in program history. Each week, we'll be taking you back in time to relive the journey to the 2010 National Championship.
In Auburn's first three victories of the 2010 season, Cam Newton showed plenty of dual-threat firepower.
"He made a couple plays with his legs in that first game, you just went, 'Whoa, this guy's definitely different,'" recalled Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who was the Tigers' offensive coordinator in 2010.
Against No. 12 South Carolina on Sept. 25 in a battle of unbeatens, Newton unleashed his full arsenal, accounting for all five Auburn touchdowns in a 35-27 win.
You could call it a "Camming out" party.
On Auburn's opening drive, Newton faked a handoff, broke a tackle at midfield, and sprinted 54 yards down the far sideline, diving in from the 7-yard-line for an electrifying touchdown.
Once in the end zone, Newton simulated Clark Kent's Superman uniform reveal, fitting for someone who had just shown 87,237 fans that he was indeed faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall defenders at a single bound.
"I think once we played South Carolina and Cam kind of did that Superman there in the end zone, that's when everybody started looking at one another and saying we might be pretty good," said Auburn co-offensive coordinator Kodi Burns, a senior captain in 2010. "We've got a chance to be really, really special.
"Looking back on it, we thought we were pretty good. Coach Malzahn and the staff at that time really instilled in us becoming the best offense in the country and obviously the best team in the country."
IMPACT PLAYER: CAM NEWTON After his Superman TD run, Newton was just getting started. He capped long scoring drives with short TD runs in the second and third quarters to pull Auburn within a point at 21-20.
In the fourth quarter, he threw a pair of touchdown passes to give Auburn the lead and some breathing room.
He rushed for a whopping 176 yards on 25 carries, a 7-yard average, with three touchdowns. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 158 yards and two TDs. Auburn outrushed South Carolina, 334-79.
PLAY OF THE GAME: CAM TO LUTZ FOR GO-AHEAD SCOREForeshadowing a fourth-quarter touchdown pass two months later that would help Auburn overcome a another double-digit deficit, Philip Lutzenkirchen caught a 7-yard TD from Newton to put Auburn ahead 28-27, coincidentally the same score of the Iron Bowl's final tally.
During a timeout, Malzahn inserted Auburn's tight end, positioning him at left tackle in an unbalanced formation with Newton making his first appearance in Auburn's Wildcat package.
"Kodi Burns had been our Wildcat guy up to that point," Malzahn said. "We called timeout, on the sideline, [Cam] said, 'Coach, let me do it,' so we let him do it. He threw a perfect ball to Philip Lutzenkirchen for a touchdown. He ended up being our Wildcat guy the rest of the season."
KEY STAT:4 FOURTH-QUARTER TAKEAWAYSDetermined to limit South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore, Auburn's defense held the Gamecocks' freshman running back to 33 yards on 14 carries, a 2.4-yards-per-carry average.
"We wanted to make sure he felt our presence from the beginning to the end of the game," linebacker Josh Bynes said.
South Carolina's Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes and the Tigers trailed 20-14 at halftime before outscoring the Gamecocks 21-7 in the second half.
In the fourth quarter, Auburn shut out South Carolina, forcing four turnovers, recovering a pair of Garcia fumbles and twice intercepting backup QB Connor Shaw.
"I saw the receiver stop out of the corner of my eye," said Bynes, who along with Demond Washington make Auburn's interceptions. "I just kept my coverage and didn't budge one bit. I knew that somehow, some way the ball was going to come to me."
Bynes and Daren Bates forced fumbles, which Mike Blanc and T'Sharvan Bell recovered.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS"They have the word 'respond' that we use a lot. Our guys just responded. It's not always pretty. There's a lot of things that if we look back on it, they're not good. But these guys are fighting, clawing, scratching trying to find a way to win every week." – Gene Chizik
"Coach Roof always said we were probably one of the best second-half defenses in the country, because in the second half, we would be a whole different defense, limiting yards and big plays, and putting the ball in the offense's hands because they were capable of making things happen." – Josh Bynes
"[Auburn's offensive line] got a beating from coach Chizik this week. They did what they're coached to do, and it shows in the statistics." – Cam Newton
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer