2011 BCS National Championship Game The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was the final college football game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) season . The finale of the 2010 - 2011 Bowl Championship Series was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium , the host facility of the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale , Arizona on January 10 , 2011 ( 8 : 30 p . m . ET ) . The Auburn Tigers from the Southeastern Conference faced the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific - 10 Conference for the National Championship . A 19 - yard field goal by Wes Byrum , as time expired , won the game for the Tigers , with the final score 22 - 19 . The game was the first BCS National Championship Game not televised on network television , instead being aired on ESPN and simulcasted on ESPN3 . com and Xbox Live , and recorded a 16 . 1 rating , the highest overnight rating on record for a cable television program , topping the previous high of 14 . 4 , set by Patriots / Saints on ESPN in 2009 . This marked the second time that the National Championship under the current system was played in Arizona . It was also the first time that the BCS National Championship was streamed to a video game console , specifically the Xbox 360 . Teams . Finishing No . 1 and No . 2 in the final BCS ranking respectively , the Auburn Tigers from the Southeastern Conference faced the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific - 10 Conference for the National Championship . Both teams finished the regular season undefeated . The coaches ' poll had Oregon as the No . 1 team in the country , with Auburn as No . 2 . Oregon Ducks . The Ducks led the conference in scoring offense ( 592 points , 49 . 3 average ) , rushing offense ( 42 touchdowns , 303 . 8 yards per game ) , rushing defense ( 11 touchdowns , 117 . 6 yards per game ) , and total offense ( 71 touchdowns , 537 . 5 yards per game ) . The team was led by tailback LaMichael James , who tops the conference with 1 , 682 yards on 281 carries , 21 touchdowns and averaging 152 . 9 yards per game . His longest carry was for 76 yards . Jeff Maehl was Oregon ' s top receiver at 78 . 58 ypg for 12 touchdowns . Casey Matthews had averaged 6 . 08 tackles per game for the Ducks , followed by Spencer Paysinger ( 5 . 7 ) , Talmadge Jackson III ( 5 . 6 ) and John Boyett ( 5 . 6 ) . Oregon was wearing the Nike new Pro Combat uniforms , their 13th uniform combination worn this season . Auburn Tigers . The Tigers completed the season on top of the conference in scoring offense ( 42 . 7 points per game ) , rushing offense ( 287 . 2 yards per game ) and total offense ( 497 . 7 yards per game ) . Auburn also led the conference in pass efficiency ( 174 of 261 passes , 6 interceptions , 66 . 7 % , 29 touchdowns ) , third - down conversions ( 77 of 145 , 53 . 1 % ) and first downs ( 316 or 24 . 3 per game ) . Quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton led the conference in rushing , pass efficiency , total offense , and scoring . On the receiving end , Darvin Adams caught 13 of 48 passes for 909 yards ( 69 . 92 ypg ) and 7 touchdowns . Josh Bynes , Zac Etheridge and Neiko Thorpe made 199 tackles for the Tigers during the season . Game summary . Before the match a moment of silence was held for the victims of the shooting in Tucson , Arizona two days before the game in which US Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and 6 others , including Federal Judge John Roll , were killed . The first half ended up with Auburn leading 16 - 11 . The half included a safety where the Auburn defense tackled Oregon ' s LaMichael James in the Oregon end zone . In the 3rd quarter Auburn kicker Wes Byrum kicked a 28 - yard field goal to give Auburn a 19 - 11 lead . The teams traded possession several times until Oregon recovered a fumble on the Auburn 40 - yard line with 5 : 05 minutes left . Oregon then drove down the field and scored a touchdown with 2 : 33 minutes remaining in the game . They added a two - point conversion to tie the score at 19 - 19 . On the game ' s final possession , Auburn drove 73 yards to the Oregon 1 - yard line and won the game with a field goal as time expired . The drive included a run by Michael Dyer in which he appeared to be tackled after 6 - 7 yards , but fell on top of defender Eddie Pleasant with his knees nor the ball touching the ground . The Auburn sideline urged Dyer to continue after getting back up , and the Oregon defense finally tackled him after a 37 yard gain . The play was reviewed and the ruling on the field was upheld . Michael Dyer would then rush for a touchdown , however a subsequent review would show that Dyer ' s knee went down before crossing the goal line . The touchdown would be reversed and the ball would be placed at the Oregon 1 yard line . From there , Auburn would run the clock down to 2 seconds . The Tigers would go on to be named national champions after a game winning kick by Wes Byrum as time expired . Aftermath . By winning the game , Auburn was crowned as the BCS National Champion . In addition , Auburn was ranked as the number one team by the Associated Press .