My Two Cents-Will Auburn play in the SEC Championship game?

Auburn hopes to have the scoreboard read in their favor come Nov. 26th.

Yes, I feel they have the best shot coming out of the SEC West. Auburn QB Cam Newton is just phenomenal. He broke the record for the most rushing yards(in history) of SEC quarterbacks in a single season at 1, 077 yards on the ground, and he has four regular season games left. Before the season started I actually thought that that Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett would make people forget about Tim Tebow but boy I was wrong. I do not think anyone knew how dynamic Newton would be and how much he means to his team. He is clearly the Heisman front runner and if it was up to me, I would give him the trophy now.

Everyone knows that the defense is the biggest problem on this team. They actually gave up only 17 points in this game compared to 43 points (against Arkansas) and 34 (against Kentucky). There are improvements on defense, even though it might be minimal. The cornerbacks need to track and play the ball, how many times have we seen them with their backs turned to the ball allowing wide receivers to make big catches?

The annual Iron Bowl will take place on Nov. 26^th and this will be another game, if Auburn wins, that will define their impressive season thus far. Alabama leads the rivalry with a 40-33-1 record, but I feel this year the Tigers will cause the tide to shift in their favor for the next couple of years. Last season they lost a close game to the Crimson Tide that came back to pull out the win, 26-21; however, Newton was not the quarterback and this brings a very interesting element to this game.

Nick Saban and Kirby Smart will have to dial up inventive defensive schemes to confuse and shutdown the running lanes, so Newton will be forced to pass. We thought, last week, that LSU was going to be that team that took away the holes in the defense for Newton but that did not happen. And that is why I strongly believe that he will continue to have success against Alabama.

The problem with ‘Bama is that this team is better suited when playing with a lead as opposed to being down. For evidence, check out the South Carolina game,  knowing that Auburn will put up points, what will happen if Alabama finds themselves down by 14 points or more? We know Auburn will not let up on the gas pedal once they have a lead so it could get ugly and embarrassing for the Crimson Tide, if they do not keep this game close. I can certainly see the Tigers coming out like gangbusters and then Saban corralling his troops, at halftime, and have them ready for the second half.

I strongly believe that this year belongs to Newton and he will give his all in the Iron Bowl, so there will be no shortage of effort on both teams. But Auburn will make a big splash with a win over Saban’s team and ride into the SEC Championship game on a high, where they could possibly face the Gamecocks again. Momentum is on the side of the Tigers this year with the SEC having a down year, so if Newton does not capture the SEC Championship this year then it will have to be the following year. One must realize that Newton will capture the conference championship before all is said and done for him at Auburn.