January 11, 2011 Postseason Neutral site Belt defended

Auburn defends the belt, 22–19, at a neutral site over Oregon.

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Oregon 19

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Auburn 22

AI-Written

Recap

Auburn's defense forced three first-half interceptions of Darron Thomas to establish control early, but Oregon's offense proved resilient throughout the Gator Bowl. After Auburn jumped ahead 20-8 with Cameron Newton's two touchdown passes to Kodi Burns and Emory Blake in the second quarter, Oregon clawed back with a pair of Thomas touchdown passes—one to LaMichael James for 8 yards and a two-point conversion, then another to James for 2 yards with a successful two-point conversion to Jeff Maehl in the fourth quarter. Auburn's defense couldn't stop Oregon's late surge, and the Tigers' 19-22 defeat meant they failed to protect their lineal championship despite out-gaining Oregon 519-449 total yards.

Cameron Newton's 35-yard touchdown pass to Kodi Burns gave Auburn an early 7-3 lead and showed the Tigers' offensive firepower
Auburn's three first-half interceptions of Darron Thomas kept Oregon's high-powered offense off balance and led to Auburn's 20-8 halftime advantage
Oregon's fourth-quarter comeback, capped by LaMichael James's 2-yard touchdown reception and Jeff Maehl's two-point conversion reception, sealed Auburn's first loss of the season

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

OregonAuburn

Total yards449519

Rushing yards75254

Passing yards378278

First downs2328

3rd down conv.5/159/17

Turnovers22

Penalties–yards6–375–47

Time of possession16:2720:13

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 9:19	Oregon	+0 yd	Darron Thomas pass intercepted by Demond Washington at the Oregn 47, returned for no gain to the Oregn 47.
Q1 10:41	Oregon	+21 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to LaMichael James for 21 yards to the Oregn 39 for a 1ST down.
Q1 8:40	Auburn	+22 yd	Cameron Newton pass intercepted by Cliff Harris at the Oregn 25, returned for 22 yards to the Oregn 47.
Q1 5:01	Oregon	+0 yd	Darron Thomas pass intercepted by Zac Etheridge at the Aub 14, returned for no gain to the Aub 14.
Q2 14:13	Oregon	+26 yd	Rob Beard 26 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 12:00	Auburn	+35 yd	Cameron Newton pass complete to Kodi Burns for 35 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 12:00	Auburn	+0 yd	Wes Byrum extra point GOOD.
Q2 10:58	Oregon	+8 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to LaMichael James for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 12:00	Oregon	+81 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to Jeff Maehl for 81 yards to the Aub 12 for a 1ST down.
Q2 10:58	Oregon	+0 yd	Two-point conversion attempt, Rob Beard rush GOOD.
Q2 3:26	Oregon	-1 yd	LaMichael James rush for a loss of 1 yard to the Oregn 0, tackled by Mike Blanc for a SAFETY.
Q2 1:47	Auburn	+30 yd	Cameron Newton pass complete to Emory Blake for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:47	Auburn	+0 yd	Wes Byrum extra point GOOD.
Q2 1:47	Auburn	+23 yd	Wes Byrum kickoff for 70 yards returned by Kenjon Barner for 23 yards to the Oregn 23.
Q3 15:00	Oregon	+24 yd	Rob Beard kickoff for 65 yards returned by Demond Washington for 24 yards to the Aub 29.
Q2 0:13	Auburn	+22 yd	Cameron Newton pass complete to Darvin Adams for 22 yards to the Oregn 46 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:19	Auburn	+20 yd	Onterio McCalebb rush for 20 yards to the Aub 32 for a 1ST down.
Q3 12:20	Auburn	+39 yd	Cameron Newton pass complete to Philip Lutzenkirchen for 39 yards to the Oregn 16 for a 1ST down.
Q3 11:30	Auburn	+28 yd	Wes Byrum 28 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 4:24	Oregon	+43 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to Lavasier Tuinei for 43 yards to the Aub 3 for a 1ST down.
Q4 12:15	Oregon	+33 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to David Paulson for 33 yards to the Oregn 41 for a 1ST down.
Q4 2:33	Oregon	+2 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to LaMichael James for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 4:09	Oregon	+29 yd	Darron Thomas pass complete to D.J. Davis for 29 yards to the Aub 11 for a 1ST down.
Q4 2:33	Oregon	+22 yd	Rob Beard kickoff for 67 yards returned by Demond Washington for 22 yards to the Aub 25.
Q4 2:33	Oregon	+0 yd	Two-point conversion attempt, Darron Thomas pass to Jeff Maehl GOOD.
Q4 1:56	Auburn	+37 yd	Michael Dyer rush for 37 yards to the Oregn 23 for a 1ST down.
Q4 0:00	Auburn	+19 yd	Wes Byrum 19 yard field goal GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Darron ThomasOregon	27/40	363	9.1	2	2	41.4
Jackson RiceOregon	1/1	11	11.0	0	0	100.0
Cam NewtonAuburn	20/34	265	7.8	2	1	36.4

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
LaMike JamesOregon	13	49	3.8	14
Kenjon BarnerOregon	11	32	2.9	9
Darron ThomasOregon	8	-6	-0.8	5
Michael DyerAuburn	22	143	6.5	37
Cam NewtonAuburn	22	64	2.9	18
Onterio McCalebbAuburn	6	47	7.8	20

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jeff MaehlOregon	9	133	14.8	0	81
Lavasier TuineiOregon	3	75	25.0	0	43
Drew DavisOregon	6	60	10.0	0	29
David PaulsonOregon	3	48	16.0	0	33
LaMike JamesOregon	4	39	9.8	2	21
Marvin JohnsonOregon	1	11	11.0	0	11
Kenjon BarnerOregon	2	8	4.0	0	7
Emory BlakeAuburn	4	54	13.5	1	30
Darvin AdamsAuburn	4	54	13.5	0	22
Philip LutzenkirchenAuburn	2	48	24.0	0	39
Terrell ZacheryAuburn	6	48	8.0	0	14
Kodi BurnsAuburn	1	35	35.0	1	35
Mario FanninAuburn	1	16	16.0	0	16
Onterio McCalebbAuburn	2	10	5.0	0	8

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS
Cliff HarrisOregon	1	22
Zac EtheridgeAuburn	1	0
Demond WashingtonAuburn	1	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Josh HuffOregon	2	35	17.5	19
Kenjon BarnerOregon	2	30	15.0	23
Demond WashingtonAuburn	5	92	18.4	24

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Rob BeardOregon	1/1	100.0	26	0/0	3
Wes ByrumAuburn	2/2	100.0	28	2/2	8

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Kenjon BarnerOregon	2	5	2.5	4
Cliff HarrisOregon	1	1	1.0	1
Darvin AdamsAuburn	1	0	0.0	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Jackson RiceOregon	5	184	36.8	0	0	41
Ryan ShoemakerAuburn	5	202	40.4	0	0	50

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

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