It’s been a mind-numbing 37 days since Oregon and Auburn last strapped on the helmets and taken the field for a meaningful football game.
In the interim, they’ve bided their time on the various awards circuit, plowed their way through banquet buffets, banged practice heads with teammates, tossed out politically correct quotes at meaningless press conferences and mixed in a little rest when applicable.
The time for talk is over, however. As is any type of continuing R&R thanks to a pair of high-octane, quick-strike offenses.
With all due respect to the respective defenses, which no doubt feature several highly-talented players on both sidelines who are destined to play on Sundays, this game has always been about “The Big O”. In reality, how could it not be when the likes of Heisman winner Cam Newton, Heisman finalist LaMichael James, Darron Thomas, Michael Dyer et al are involved? Both offenses, Oregon’s in particular, take sadistic pleasure in pinning the offensive pedal to the floor -- as well as their opponent’s throats -- and not letting up until all involved, including the scoreboard operator, have collapsed in exhaustion. Or crumpled in an on-field heap in Oscar-worthy injury performances.
The Ducks’ mantra puts a tidy bow on exactly what the Tigers’ well-oiled offensive machine will be forced to do in order to keep up with a style of play that more closely resembles fast-break basketball than it does anything seen on the gridiron at this level of college football.
“We stand for three things: playing fast, playing hard and finishing. We’ve done it with our 12 opportunities,” UO head coach Chip Kelly said in the run-up to tonight’s title game. “Our vision has not to do with championships. Our vision has nothing to do with getting a crystal ball or rings. It is all about playing the game. That’s what we’ve done all along and that’s what our vision is.”
Perhaps because of the distance between the end of the regular season and now, the offensive prowess of the respective teams may have lost some of their luster, some of the “wow” factor. The numbers, though, are truly stunning.
Oregon led the country in points per game at 49.1, nearly five points a game ahead of No. 2 Boise State. Auburn’s not exactly points poor, either, as they averaged 42.7 a game, good for fourth in the country. Only one time this season did Oregon score less than 37 points in a game, an inexplicable 15-point performance in a two-point win over Cal. Auburn, on the other hand, was held to under 24 points once -- a 17-14 win over Mississippi State the second game of the season -- and under 35 points on just two other occasions.
The most staggering aspect of the offenses, Oregon’s in particular, is the lethally efficient rate at which they score. Oregon finished 103rd in time of possession, having control of the ball for just 27:59 out of every sixty-minute game, yet were still far and away the highest-scoring team in the country as they averaged 1.8 points for every minute they were on the field on offense. The only other school, relatively speaking, in UO’s rarefied scoring air was Oklahoma State, which averaged 1.6 points per minute. Auburn, though, wasn’t far behind; the Tigers averaged 1.5 points every minute they possessed the ball.
With bushel loads of points, of course, comes yards, and both offenses plowed their way through their fair share of enemy territory. The Ducks finished first in yards per game (537.5) and third in rushing yards per game (303.8); the Ducks fast-paced spread, though, was more run-based as they finished No. 56 in passing yardage. Their opponents, as it turns out, had the same disparity in run vs. pass. The Tigers finished seventh in total offense (497.7 ppg), fifth in rushing (287.2 ypg) and No. 70 in passing (221.2 ypg).
The defenses that will be charged with slowing down offenses seemingly fueled by a Four Loko IV drip, though, weren’t exactly sieves throughout most of the regular season. Oregon was 12th in scoring defense (18.4 ppg) while Auburn was a middle-of-the-pack 54th (24.5).
Besides, with all of the talk geared toward how the offensive fireworks will come early and often, perhaps each defense will be playing with a boulder-sized chip on their shoulders.
“I think both defenses have something to prove and want to show up and are tired of answering questions about how it’s going to be 55-53,” ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said. “I think they have a point to prove. I think it will be a low-scoring game, lower-scoring because of the way the two defenses are going to show up in a bad mood.”
Based on a body of work that consists of 12 games for Oregon and 13 for Auburn, it won’t matter what kind of mood the other’s defense is in; these teams will score. Maybe not at will as they have throughout most of 2010, but enough that one of the easiest bets to make is the Vegas over/under on points scored that’s currently set in the neighborhood of 73.
In fact, perhaps the only stunning development will be if the two teams don’t sniff the combined century mark before all of the dust settles and the confetti falls.
Three yards and a cloud of dust? Try six yards and a plume of smoke enveloping Glendale. We’re on the verge of an epic desert showdown, a title game that could be one for the ages; no need to get defensive now.