Editor's Note: On this date 10 years ago, Auburn dominated on both sides of the ball and began the month of October with an impressive a 52-3 home victory over Louisiana Monroe. Each week, we'll be taking you back in time to relive the journey to the 2010 national championship.
For the 2010 Auburn team, the first month of the season was full of intrigue. There were three straight one-possession games, including back-to-back games against Clemson and South Carolina where the Tigers had to come back from double digits to win.
There was less intrigue to begin the month of October with Louisiana Monroe first up. It's a game that would have been easy to overlook, but not with this group. It was one game at a time.
"It would have been easy, especially when you're feeling yourself and you know you're a very talented team, but we also were aware that we had a target on our back," wide receiver Emory Blake said. "(Gus) Malzahn always did a great job, especially reminding the offense that regardless we're going to do what we do and we're going to do it well to the best of our ability. That's the attitude we took into every game."
Auburn cracked the top 10 for the first time that season the week before the game, and the Tigers backed it up that Saturday with a dominant performance inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Thirty seconds into the game, Onterio McCalebb broke free on a 50-yard touchdown run. On the next possession, Cam Newton connected with Blake on a 94-yard touchdown pass – a play that still stands as the longest run or pass play in program history. The route was on.
By the time it was over, seven different players had scored a touchdown for Auburn. The offense accounted for 505 yards, its highest output since the season opener. The defense forced four turnovers and kept Louisiana Monroe out of the end zone. And with a 52-3 victory, the Tigers improved to 5-0 for the second straight year.
"It was a very bizarre feeling, very bizarre," head coach Gene Chizik joked when asked what it was like to not have to sweat out a win in the fourth quarter. "But I will take it every time. It was unchartered waters for us up to this point. It was a fun. A lot of kids got to play."
Impact Player: Nick FairleyThe impact player could have gone to any number of Auburn's defensive linemen. Corey Lemonier had two tackles for loss and a sack. Michael Goggans had a tackle for loss and forced a fumble. Freshman Kenneth Carter had a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.
But Nick Fairley proved to be unblockable as he finished with four tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack despite only playing the first half. On sack, he hoisted the Louisiana Monroe quarterback in the air before throwing him to the turf.
"That was his signature move," Carter said. "He did that a lot that year."
Through the first five games in 2010, Fairley had 11.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.
"Nick was very talented, very quick-twitch, great footwork, strong with his hands," Carter added. "He really paid attention and was always polishing his craft. Nick sometimes would be walking to class, and he'd be working on his footwork. He really invested time his craft."
Play of the Game: 94 yards to the houseWith the exception of a sack, Newton didn't attempt a single run against Louisiana Monroe. But it was the threat he might run that set up the longest play of the 2010 season.
Backed up on its own 6-yard line, Newton took the shotgun snap and started up the middle like he was going to run. The safety immediately crashed toward the line of scrimmage. So when Newton stepped back to throw, there was Blake wide open behind the defense. It was an easy pitch and catch, and once Blake caught it, he outraced everybody to the end zone.
"I actually remember having a slight hamstring strain that week, so when I caught it, I didn't full-out burn out and get after it," Blake said. "I was kind of striding it out the whole time I was running. I still made it to the zone, no problems. I guess I was fast enough."
It was fast enough to put Blake's name in the Auburn record books.
"It means a lot," he said. "I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. Just to know my name – also my grandfather's name as well – is in the history books, it means a lot to me."
Key Stat: 0 touchdownsKnown more as a second-half defense in 2010, Auburn's defense played hard from the jump against Louisiana Monroe and took pride in keeping the Warhawks out of the end zone. It was the only game all season where the Tigers didn't allow a single touchdown.
In fact, Louisiana Monroe only reached the red zone one time and settled for a field goal.
The Warhawks crossed into Auburn territory four other times during the game but came away with no points. Two of those drives ended with turnovers – a Zac Etheridge interception and the fumble which was recovered by Carter late in the third quarter. There was also a punt, and on the final drive, Auburn got a fourth-down stop to give it back to the offense.
"I was proud of our defense," Chizik said. "There were times where we didn't tackle well, but they stood up, particularly in the second half, and got off the field a good bit, which was good to see with a lot of young guys."
In Their Own Words"I think it speaks for itself that I didn't need to run the ball. A couple of guys picked up the torch and ran with it. Mario (Fannin), Michael (Dyer) and Onterio (McCalebb) all had a good game. They put this team up on their back." – Cam Newton
"That's what Coach Chizik has really been harping on. We need to come out here and make another statement because we can't take a week off. We could tell they were a good team from the film of the Arkansas game, and you can't underestimate anybody. We came into the game making sure we did everything we needed to." – Mario Fannin
"It is a great win. Any win is a good win, but next week it is not going to be the same kind of match-up. We will go and prepare a little harder and do a little extra work here and carry that into next week." – T'Sharvan Bell
Perfection on the Plains: 2010 vs. Louisiana Monroe
