The 2010 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers, led by second-year head coach Gene Chizik were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference and played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium. The Tigers completed a 12–0 regular season record and defeated South Carolina in the 2010 SEC Championship Game.
On January 10, 2011, Auburn defeated Oregon in the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona, 22–19, to win the 9th national championship in school history and first since 2004.
The Tigers were led on offense by junior quarterback Cam Newton, who became the third Auburn player to win the Heisman Trophy, distinguishing him as the best player in college football. Newton led the nation in touchdowns responsible for, finishing with 30 passing touchdowns, 20 rushing touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown for a total of 51. He also led the Southeastern Conference in total yards and passing efficiency rating. Newton declared for the NFL draft following the season, and was drafted 1st overall in 2011.
Defensive and offensive strategies In the second year of the Chizik era of Auburn football, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn continued use of his hurry-up no-huddle schemes. This offense relies on an attacking ground game from different spread sets, using fakes and misdirection, to set up a play action passing attack through the air, while snapping the ball almost as soon as it is placed to give the defense less time to react to different looks. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof's efforts were aided by replenished depth at the linebacker and secondary positions, utilizing a collection of the 3–4 and 4–3 defensive formations, also known as Multiple D strategy.
Eventual Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton led the Tiger offense to a 13–0 record, SEC Championship, and a berth in the BCS Championship game, which was played on January 10, 2011. Auburn led the SEC in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense, pass efficiency, first downs and first down conversions. Defensively the Tigers were improved from 2009 but less impressive than on offense, ranking in the lower half of the SEC for most defensive categories. However, the Tiger defense was notably improved in the second halves of its 2010 games, allowing an average of only 3.7 fourth-quarter points and shutting out five opponents (Mississippi State, South Carolina, Louisiana-Monroe, Georgia and Alabama) in the final period.
Schedule
Schedule source: 2010 Auburn Tigers football schedule
Personnel
Coaching staff
2010 Auburn Tigers coaching staffHead coaches Head coach – Gene Chizik Ass. HC for Offense/OC/QB – Gus Malzahn Ass. HC/WR – Trooper Taylor
Offensive coaches Offensive line: Jeff Grimes Running backs/Recruiting Coordinator: Curtis Luper Quality Control: Casey Woods
Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/Linebackers: Ted Roof Defensive Line: Tracy Rocker Cornerbacks: Phillip Lolley Safeties: Tommy Thigpen Special teams Special teams coordinator/tight ends – Jay Boulware
Supporting Strength and Conditioning coach S&C Support – Kevin Yoxall
Depth chart
References
Game summaries
Arkansas State
Auburn came into the season against an Arkansas State team ready to show off their new spread offense. Although Auburn only surrendered 43 yards on the ground, a total of 366 yards offensively were given up by a soft Auburn defense. Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin threw for 278 yards while completing 28 of 42 passes. However, Auburn's offense shined despite very basic playcalling. New quarterback Cam Newton set a school record for quarterbacks running the ball with 171 yards on the ground, as well as 186 yards passing, while completing 9 of 14 passes. Also, true freshman running back Michael Dyer ran 14 times for 95 yards in an impressive college debut.
Mississippi State
Auburn traveled to Starkville to kick off the SEC season with a Thursday night tilt with the Bulldogs. In a back-and-forth game, the Tigers pulled out a 17–14 victory when State's late attempt to tie or perhaps win the game failed. Cam Newton followed up his debut by going 11/19 for 138 yards and two passing TDs. He also showed off his running ability once again by gaining 70 yards on the ground on 18 carries. Newton was Auburn's leading rusher for the second straight week. Sophomore Onterio McCalebb added 68 yards for the Tigers. The Auburn defense looked much improved from their week one game with Arkansas State and kept the Bulldogs in check most of the night. DT Nick Fairley led the charge on defense. He recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass, and had 1 sacks. Fairley was rewarded for his performance by being named SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
Clemson
It was a battle of the Tigers at Jordan–Hare Stadium as Auburn hosted Clemson. This game was the site of ESPN's College GameDay and lived up to the hype. Early it looked as if Clemson was going to blow Auburn out of its own building as the visiting Tigers stormed out to a 17–0 lead. Auburn rallied to get a FG before half time and then showed no ill effects of the 1st half in scoring three 3rd-quarter touchdowns to take a 24–17 lead. Clemson rallied for a TD of their own and this game ended up going to overtime. Auburn managed only a FG on their OT possession and it looked as if Clemson had tied the game with a FG of their own, but a procedure penalty ended up costing the visiting Tigers big time. Clemson missed the second FG attempt and Auburn had survived another heart stopping game, 27–24. Cam Newton bounced back after a horrible first half and finished the night 7/14 for 203 yards with 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Onterio McCalebb was big in the running game again for Auburn, gaining 81 yards on 10 carries. Freshman Michael Dyer added 69 yards on 16 carries. Darvin Adams finally had a breakout game, catching 5 balls for 118 yards and a TD. Philip Lutzenkirchen and Terrell Zachery caught the other TDs, with Zachery's on a long 78-yard pass play.
South Carolina
For the third straight week, the Auburn Tigers had a game go down to the wire; and for the third straight week, the Tigers came out on the right side of a close battle. The Tigers improved to 4–0, notching their 700th win all-time, after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks. Cam Newton proved once again just how special a player he is by accounting for all five Auburn TD's. Newton threw for 2 and ran for the other 3 while accounting for 334 yards of total offense. Freshman Michael Dyer gained 100 yards on 23 carries. Stephen Garcia played well but two fumbles led to Steve Spurrier pulling Garcia in favor of freshman Connor Shaw. Shaw threw INT's on each of his possessions and the Tigers once again survived. The Auburn defense played better against the run, but South Carolina still threw the ball pretty much at will. Alshon Jeffery had 8 catches for 192 yards and 2 TD's.
Louisiana–Monroe
Auburn scored 31 points on their first five possessions of the game en route to an easy victory over the Warhawks of Louisiana–Monroe. The Tigers went ahead 7–0 on their second play from scrimmage on a 50-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Onterrio McCalebb and the ensuing PAT by Wes Byrum. Junior quarterback Cam Newton connected on 94-yard pass touchdown pass completion to wide receiver Emory Blake on the Tigers' fourth play from scrimmage, making the score 14–0 with 10:22 remaining in the opening period, and the rout was on. Unlike the previous four games, Newton had no rushing attempts except for a 4-yard loss on a quarterback sack, but he completed 14 of 19 passes for 249 yards. Mario Fannin led the Tigers' rushing attack with 89 yards on 10 attempts. The Tigers offense totalled 505 yards as they improved their record to 5–0.
Kentucky
Senior kicker Wes Byrum connected on a 24-yard field goal as time expired to cap a 37–34 victory over the homestanding Kentucky Wildcats. The Tigers offensive attack was once again led by quarterback Cam Newton, who scored four touchdowns in the first half to lead Auburn to a 31–17 halftime lead. Newton contributed 408 yards of offense to the Tigers' attack. He rushed for 198 yards on 28 carries, and completed 13 of 21 passing attempts for 210 yards.
The Wildcats' attacks was led by quarterback Mike Hartline, who completed 23 out of 28 passing attempts for 220 yards, and senior wide receiver Randall Cobb, who rushed for 47 yards, caught seven passes for 68 yards, and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass of his own to freshman tight end Jordan Autmiller. The Tigers' victory avenged a 21–14 defeat they suffered against the Wildcats in 2009—the Wildcats' first victory over Auburn since 1966. With the victory, the Tigers improved their record to 6–0 overall, and 3–0 in the Southeastern Conference, where they moved to a half-game behind Western Division leader LSU. Kentucky fell to 3–3 overall, and 0–3 in the SEC Eastern division.
Arkansas
Arkansas and Auburn combined for 1036 yards of total offense and 108 points in the highest scoring non-overtime game between two conference opponents in SEC history as the Tigers defeated the Razorbacks. The Tigers were once again led on offense by quarterback Cam Newton, who rushed for 188 yards and completed 10 of 14 passes for 140 yards. The much-anticipated duel between Newton and Razorbacks' quarterback Ryan Mallett failed to materialize when Mallett left the game in the 2nd quarter because of a concussion. Mallett was replaced by sophomore backup Tyler Wilson, who completed 25 of 34 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns. Before Mallett left the game he completed 10 of 15 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown.
The Razorbacks took an early 7–0 lead on 7-yard touchdown pass from Mallett to Van Stumon, but barely two minutes later the Tigers tied the game on 5-yard rushing touchdown by Newton. The two teams combined for 34 points in the second quarter. Auburn scored two touchdowns, one on a 4-yard run by Mario Fannin and the other on 13-yard run by Onterrio McCalebb. Wes Byrum kicked two field goals in the period, including a 26-yarder on the first half's final play to give the Tigers a 27–21 lead.
Wilson, the Razorbacks' back-up quarterback, connected on touchdown passes of 37 and 24 yards in the third quarter, while Byrum kicked a 28-yard field goal and Newton rushed for a 1-yard touchdown, making the score 37–35 in favor of Auburn at the end of the 3rd quarter. Newton's touchdown was set up by a 99-yard kick-off return by McCalebb.
Arkansas went ahead 43–37 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, but Auburn went ahead for good when Newton completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Emory Blake with 11:44 left in the game, making the score 44–43. The Tigers' defense was responsible for their final three touchdowns. Zac Ethridge returned an Arkansas fumble 47 yards for a touchdown. On Arkansas' next possession, linebacker Josh Bynes intercepted a Tyler Wilson pass and returned it to the Arkansas 7-yard line. Two plays later, Newton scored on a three-yard rush, making the score 58–43. Three plays later, Bynes intercepted another pass by Wilson. The Tigers wrapped up the scoring on a 38-yard run by freshman running back Michael Dyer.
LSU
Onterrio McCalebb scored a touchdown on a 70-yard run with 5:05 remaining in the game to give Auburn a 24–17 victory over LSU. The Tigers gained 526 yards on offense against the vaunted LSU defense, including 440 yards rushing. Cam Newton scored two touchdowns and rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while Michael Dyer rushed for 100 yards. The Auburn defense, who gave up 566 yards against Arkansas the previous week, held the Bayou Bengals to just 243 yards on offense.
Newton's 217 rushing yards enabled him to eclipse the SEC record for most rushing yards by a quarterback, set by Auburn's Jimmy Sidle in 1963.
Ole Miss