Editor's Note: Ten years ago on this date, Auburn improved to 8-0 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.
AUBURN, Ala. – If there were any doubt about which player would win the Heisman Trophy in 2010, it ended when Cam Newton raced through, around and over five LSU defenders on the way to a 49-yard touchdown run.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator in 2010, knew it when he saw it.
"Everybody knew at that point," Malzahn recalled a decade later. "Over the headset, I think I told the staff, 'He just won the Heisman.'"
Newton's jaw-dropping jaunt, his second rushing touchdown of the game, broke a 10-10 tie early in the third quarter. LSU equaled the score at 17-17 early in the fourth quarter but Onterio McCalebb's 70-yard TD run with 5:05 to play gave Auburn a 24-17 win in a battle of unbeatens.
"It was just a simple play we were calling all night," Newton said. "Coach Malzahn and the staff called that play numerous times, but that particular play the offensive line did their job. And I guess it was left to me to do my job. A lot of missed tackles, and I just tried to make the most of it. It's just a play that is in my job description to make. "
Outside the stadium afterward, sports anchors tried to make sense of what they'd just witnessed during live broadcasts.
A veteran Baton Rouge sportscaster compared Cam to Shaquille O'Neal nearly two decades earlier for Newton's combination of talent, charisma and ability to take over.
A Montgomery anchor said, "In a season filled with breathtaking plays, this was the 'breathtakingest.'"
If ever a performance required the invention of new words, this was it.
Auburn's victory over the sixth-ranked Bengal Tigers further catapulted the Tigers up the rankings, from No. 5 to No. 3. Just when you thought you'd seen it all from Cam Newton, more magic awaited the following week at Ole Miss.
IMPACT PLAYER: Nick FAIRLEY
What Cam meant to Auburn's offense in 2010, Nick Fairley meant to the Tigers' defense. Against LSU, Fairley dominated once again, recording 2.5 sacks among 3.5 tackles for loss, along with a quarterback hurry. Fairley made six tackles, outstanding production for an interior lineman who faced double teams much of the game.
PLAY OF THE GAME: McCALEBB'S MAD DASH
As important and memorable as Newton's Heisman moment was, Auburn still needed another knockout punch to send LSU to the canvas for good. Enter Onterio McCalebb.
After Fairley's sack forced an LSU three-and-out, Auburn's drive began at its 10-yard line with 6 minutes, 10 seconds to play. Newton began the drive with a 16-yard rush up the middle. A 4-yard Michael Dyer run put the ball on Auburn's 30.
With LSU's defense firmly focused on not letting Newton repeat his third quarter rushing heroics, Cam handed off to McCalebb on a jet sweet to the left. The speedster made one cut and outraced the LSU defense 70 yards for the go-ahead score.
"It took a lot for us to run that play. We put the work in," McCalebb said in a 10-year anniversary podcast with Andy Burcham. "Cam's been running up the middle all day, and that set the trend for me to get to the outside."
"Earlier in the game, Cam made a lot of runs," Malzahn said. "We were talking in the early in the fourth quarter. 'Hey guys, he's going to give it here in a minute. Just make sure you're blocking and you're ready.' Sure enough, he did."
"That play was built on the offensive line, receivers, the quarterback, everybody playing their part," McCalebb said. "When I got the ball and I got to the outside, I had a crease with the receivers when I cut it up and I saw nothing but green grass. I was like, ''Ain't nobody stopping me from getting to that pylon.'
"Once I got out in front of everybody, nobody was going to catch me. I was going to do whatever I could to get to that pylon."
As fast as McCalebb was, he is the first to praise the downfield blocking of Terrell Zachary, Kodi Burns and Darvin Adams for clearing his path to paydirt.
"If it weren't for those guys, there wouldn't have been a 70-yarder," he said, an assessment with which Malzahn agrees.
"The three receivers blocking on that play is a thing of beauty. Just great effort," Malzahn said. "Onterio used his speed and that was a huge play in the game."KEY STAT: 440 RUSHING YARDS
Auburn more than doubled LSU's offensive production, outgaining the Bengal Tigers 526-243 in yards. The advantage was especially pronounced in rushing yardage, with Auburn outrunning LSU 440-115. The home team averaged 8.5 yards per carry while the visitors netted 3.1.
"I think the numbers speak for themselves," Auburn coach Gene Chizik. "I just don't want to lose sight of the fact that our offensive line has become a really good offensive line. From left tackle to right tackle, those guys have played every snap now for eight games. They are beat up. They are tired. They get beat up during the game. They find a way to continue to press on."
Newton led Auburn with 217 rushing yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns. Michael Dyer also eclipsed the century mark with 100 yards on 15 carries. McCalebb added 84 yards on four rushes.IN THEIR OWN WORDS
"That was another great game that came down to the end and somehow or another our football team found a way to win it. I've said this for the last seven weeks, but my hat's off to our football team. I thought we were a little bit beat up tonight going into the game defensively. I could not be more proud of our defensive staff, our defensive players. We were playing with true freshmen. We were playing with walk-ons. We were just fighting, clawing and scrapped our way to playing well today." – Gene Chizik
"We played real well, but there were times we didn't execute like we should. We went into halftime and said that we have to get to the quarterback if we are going to win this game. We harped on that all offseason not just for us to win but to have a successful season. So far it's worked for us." – Nick Fairley
"LSU is an excellent team. Going into this game, we knew No. 1 offense, No.1 defense. Clash of the titans. There were licks being taken, different people left and right. We knew that would be the case going into the game. And I think we were prepared for that." – Cam Newton
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Perfection on the Plains: 2010 vs. LSU
