2010 Auburn Tigers football team The 2010 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2010 – 2011 college 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 first undisputed national championship in school history , and their second overall . The Tigers ' previous national title came in 1957 , when the Associated Press crowned them as their national champions . Defensive and offensive strategies . In the second year of the Chizik era of Auburn football , offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn continued use of his no - huddle hurry - up 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 . Game notes . 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 were able to pull out a 17 – 14 victory when State ' s late attempt to tie or perhaps even win the game failed . Cameron Newton followed up his impressive debut by going 11 / 19 for 138 yards and 2 passing TD ' s . 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 recoved a fumble , intercepted a pass , and had 1 . 5 sacks . Fairley was rewarded for his great 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 . Cameron 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 . Cameron 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 outplayed South Carolina freshman Marcus Lattimore , by gaining 100 yards on 23 carries . Lattimore only had 33 yards on 14 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 Cameron 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 Cameron 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 running back 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 Cameron 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 the 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 the 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 . Cameron 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 . Cam Newton was held to only 45 rushing yards on 11 attempts , but he threw for 209 yards and caught a 20 - yard touchdown pass from Kodi Burns as Auburn easily defeated Ole Miss 51 – 31 . Freshman tailback Mike Dyer ran for 180 yards and one touchdown and Onterrio McCalebb ran for another 99 yards , including a 68 - yard touchdown run as the Tigers improved their record to 9 – 0 overall and 6 – 0 in SEC play . The Tigers , ranked # 1 in the BCS standings for the first time ever and carrying their first # 1 ranking in a major poll since 1985 , scored more points against the Rebels than they had in any of their 34 previous meetings . The win also ended a three - week streak that saw the # 1 ranked team in either the wire service polls or the BCS standings lose on the road . Chattanooga . Auburn scored 48 points in the first half — one point short of the school record — to coast to an easy Homecoming victory over Chattanooga . Quarterback Cam Newton passed for a career - best 317 yards and threw four touchdown passes , all before halftime as the Tigers improved their record to 10 – 0 . Auburn totaled 624 yards on offense in defeating the FCS Mocs for the 21st time in as many meetings between the two schools in a series that was first contested in 1925 . The Tigers ' rushing attack was led by Mario Fannin , who gained 96 yards on 12 carries , and Michael Dyer , who gained 76 yards on just four carries . Georgia . In the 114th renewal of the Deep South ’ s Oldest Rivalry , Auburn defeated Georgia 49 – 31 . The Bulldogs led 21 – 7 at the end of the first quarter thanks to three touchdown passes by redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray , but Auburn fought back to tie the game at 21 – 21 on an 18 - yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen with 51 seconds remaining in the first half . The Tigers began the third quarter by recovering an onsides kick . Senior kicker Wes Byrum recovered his own kick at the Auburn 41 yard line . Nine plays later , Onterrio McCalebb rushed two yards for a touchdown , and Auburn went ahead 28 – 21 . It was the first time Auburn had led in the game since the Bulldogs tied the game near the midway point of the first quarter . Auburn ’ s lead was short - lived , as the Bulldogs tied the game at 28 – 28 six plays later on seven yard run by Washaun Ealey . The Tigers went ahead for good on the ensuing drive . The Tigers began at their own 19 yard line , and on the first play from scrimmage , McCalebb rushed for 48 yards to the Georgia 33 yard line . Four successive runs by freshman tailback Michael Dyer and a one yard run by Newton gave the Tigers a first and goal opportunity at the Bulldogs 4 yard line . McCalebb scored his third touchdown of the day , and the Tigers went ahead 35 – 31 . The Bulldogs finished their scoring for the day on 28 - yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter , but the Tigers added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter . As it had been throughout much of the season , the Auburn offense was led by quarterback Cam Newton . He passed for 148 yards and rushed for 151 yards . The Tigers ’ victory ended a four - game losing streak against the Bulldogs . Alabama . Down 24 – 0 in the second quarter , Auburn rallied to defeat Alabama 28 – 27 in the 75th edition of the Iron Bowl at Bryant - Denny Stadium . Quarterback Cam Newton threw for three touchdown passes and rushed for another touchdown in the biggest comeback in Auburn football history . Alabama , the 2009 BCS National Champion , came into the game with a 9 – 2 record . The Crimson Tide went ahead 7 – 0 with 11 : 34 to go in the first quarter on a 9 - yard touchdown rush by Mark Ingram , the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner . Auburn was forced to punt the ball back to Alabama after three plays , and the host team took possession at their own 19 - yard line . Two plays later , senior quarterback Greg McElroy completed a 68 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julio Jones , and the Crimson Tide led 14 – 0 less than seven minutes into the game . Alabama added to their lead when McElroy completed his second touchdown pass of the first quarter , this time a 12 - yard pass to Darius Hanks , and they led 21 – 0 with 1 : 53 remaining in the first quarter . Early in the second quarter , the Crimson Tide threatened to score again , but Auburn ' s Antione Carter forced Mark Ingram to fumble the ball away as Ingram was running towards an apparent touchdown . The ball rolled towards the Auburn endzone , and the Tigers ' Demond Washington recovered it in the endzone for a touchback , but the Tigers ' offense could not move the ball . Alabama went back on offense , but their drive stalled out at the Auburn 3 - yard line . After Jeremy Shelley ' s 20 - yard field goal , the Crimson Tide lead 24 – 0 midway through the second quarter . The Tigers ' offense finally got on track , and Cam Newton completed a 36 - yard touchdown pass to Emory Blake , cutting the Tide ' s lead to 24 – 7 at halftime . On Auburn ' s second play from scrimmage to begin the third quarter , Newton completed a 70 - yard touchdown pass to Terrell Zachery , making the score 24 – 14 just 56 seconds into the second half . The Tigers pulled to within three points with 4 : 25 remaining in the third quarter when Newton rushed for a 1 - yard touchdown . Alabama ' s final scoring play of the day was a 32 - yard field goal by Shelley , making the score 27 – 21 . The Tigers went ahead with 11 : 48 remaining in the game . Newton threw a 7 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen . Never in Auburn ' s football history had the Tigers come back from a 24 - point deficit to win a game , and never had Alabama led in a game by 24 points and lost a game . The CBS telecast of this game earned a 7 . 5 rating , the highest for any game of the 2010 college football season through week 13 . South Carolina ( SEC Championship Game ) . Auburn defeated South Carolina in the SEC Championship game by a score of 56 to 17 . This was the most amount of points scored in the history of the championship game and the largest margin of victory . As it had been through the previous twelve games of the season , the Auburn offense was led by quarterback Cam Newton , who threw for a career - best 335 yards . Newton threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more touchdowns as the Tigers tied the school record for most wins in a season with their 13th victory . The Tigers went ahead on just their fourth play from scrimmage , a 12 - yard pass from Newton to Onterrio McCalebb . The highlight of the opening drive was a 62 - yard pass from Newton to Darvin Adams . The Gamecocks came back to tie the game on a 25 - yard touchdown pass from Stephen Garcia to Patrick DiMarco . However , Auburn scored on their next two possessions to lead 21 – 7 at the end of the first quarter . There was no scoring in the second quarter until South Carolina cut the Auburn lead to 21 – 14 with 16 seconds remaining in the period . Garcia threw a 1 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Alshon Jeffery . The Tigers returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 41 yard line . On their first play Newton threw an 8 - yard pass to Emory Blake , then Newton threw a Hail Mary pass towards the Gamecocks end zone that was deflected by a Carolina defender and caught by Adams for an improbable 51 - yard touchdown pass on the last play of the first half , making the score 28 – 14 . The Tigers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter . The first was on a 1 - yard run by Newton with 7 : 56 remaining in the period . On the Gamecocks ’ next possession , Auburn ’ s T ’ Sharvan Bell intercepted a Garcia pass and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown , making the score 42 – 14 in Auburn ’ s favor and essentially putting the game out of reach . The Tigers set several SEC Championship game offensive records in the victory . The 56 points easily eclipsed the previous mark held by the 1996 Florida team , who scored 45 points . Newton ’ s 408 total yards ( 335 passing , 73 rushing ) was the most total yards gained by an individual , and Darvin Adams ’ 217 receiving yards was also a record . Oregon ( BCS National Championship Game ) . This was the first meeting between the two schools . Coming into the game , Auburn had a 5 – 3 record against Pac - 10 teams while Oregon was 4 – 4 against the SEC . The game was expected be a high - scoring shootout between two high - powered offenses , and while the teams combined for nearly 1 , 000 yards of total offense , both teams amassed their second - lowest point totals for the 2010 season . After a scoreless first quarter , Oregon went ahead 3 – 0 early in the second quarter on a 26 - yard field goal by Rob Beard . On their next offensive possession , Auburn went ahead 7 – 3 . Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton completed a 35 - yard touchdown pass to former quarterback Kodi Burns and a successful PAT kick by Wes Byrum with 12 : 00 remaining in the first half . Oregon quickly retook the lead , scoring on 8 - yard touhdown pass from Darron Thomas to LaMichael James and a two - point conversion run by Beard , the kicker , making the score 11 – 7 in favor of the Ducks with 10 : 58 remaining in the first half . The Tigers cut the deficit to two points when Mike Blanc tackled James in the end zone for a safety with 3 : 26 remaining in the half , making the score 11 – 9 . They took the lead on a 30 - yard touchdown pass from Newton to Emory Blake with 1 : 47 left in the first half . Byrum ' s successful PAT made the score 16 – 11 . The only score in the third quarter came on a 28 - yard field goal by Byrum . Auburn held onto its eight - point lead until Oregon ' s LaMichael James caught a two - yard touchdown pass from Darron Thomas with 2 : 33 remaining in the fourth quarter and another successful two - point conversion tied the score at 19 – 19 . Senior kicker Wes Byrum kicked a 19 - yard field goal as time expired to give Auburn its first BCS National Championship , its second national championship in school history . RB Michael Dyer and DT Nick Fairley were voted offensive and defensive most - valuable - player respectively . Depth chart . Starters and backups . NFL Draft . 1st Round , 1st Overall Pick by the Carolina Panthers — Jr . QB Cam Newton 1st Round , 13th Overall Pick by the Detroit Lions — Jr . DT Nick Fairley 7th Round , 212th Overall Pick by the Tennessee Titans - Sr . DT Zach Clayton 7th Round , 244th Overall Pick by the Carolina Panthers - Sr . OT Lee Ziemba