BCS National Championship

 With two high powered offensive teams playing each other one might question if this is going to be Offense vs. Offense in a gun-blazing duel? Or will a defense step up and actually slow down the high-flying offense of their opponent?  Both teams have proven their offensive prowess, however the key to this game will be defense.

Looking at the stats, both teams are pretty evenly matched on offense.  Cam Newton, Auburn’s QB and Heisman trophy winner is a headache to defensive coordinators, while Oregon’s leading rusher and Heisman finalist, LaMichael James is no easy stop.  Both offensive coordinators, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn and Oregon’s Chip Kelly have proven their methods and have had plenty of time to scheme and prepare for the showdown on January 10.

Neither team has a big name on the other side of the football.  Oregon’s Defense looks better on paper, ranked 12^th in scoring defense, 6^th in pass efficiency defense, 16^th in run defense and 25^th in total defense.  Actually, they look great on paper, however their 25^th ranked defense is shadowed by their offense.   Auburn’s defense is much weaker, ranked by 55^th in total defense, however they rank 10^th in run defense, but will they be strong enough to stop LaMichael James? 

Oregon’s defense is strong on paper, but they have only faced one top 25 offensive team, Stanford, which they allowed to go 518 yards for 31 points.  Their other opponents have been far less than elite, 7 of the opposing offenses rank lower than 58, 4 of which are ranked 96^th or worse.  Auburn on the other hand has faced 3 teams in the top 25, Kentucky, Arkansas and Alabama.

Both Oregon and Auburn dominate the second half.  Oregon shut out Stanford in the second half, which shows another aspect of Oregon’s game that could prove very helpful in stopping Cam Newton: they are adaptable. Auburn has come from behind in the fourth quarter in 8 of their 13 games.  Needless to say, don’t count either team out. 

In addition to defense, starting in stride will be crucial to winning this game.  This will be a challenge for both teams after such a long time without a game, but it will be important to get scoring from the beginning, and then never get comfortable with any lead.