Monday, January 10, 2011, 9:06 AM
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NCAAFB]
Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton leads No. 1 Auburn and its highly-potent offense as slight 2-point favorites against second-ranked Oregon in a first-ever BCS title game for both schools.
The total at most sportsbooks is sitting at 74 in expectation of a high-scoring affair with expectations that Cam Newton could break the 100-yard rushing mark, according to some prop odds offered on the game.
Newton’s stellar season included 1,409 yards off the ground with 20 touchdowns. He has an air attack that is equally intimidating - tossing 28 TD passes as the top-rated passer in the nation – and had just six interceptions.
The Tigers seem battle-ready, having to fight back several times in an undefeated season that needed heroics from Newton. They also faced five teams ranked in the Top 18, while Oregon met just one team inside that mark.
[ BCS Title Game - Oregon vs Auburn Matchup Stats ]
Auburn went 12-0 SU while capturing the SEC, and went an impressive 9-3 ATS during the year. With less than a field goal on the betting lines between the two, Auburn could be a popular choice in the BCS Championship Game odds.
The top-ranked rushing offense of Oregon is led by Heisman candidate tailback LaMichael James, who led the nation with 152.9 yards per game and 21 touchdowns. [ Oregon ATS Game Logs ]
What’s most impressive about James is he ran for 622 yards with eight touchdowns against ranked teams. This guy is a gamer.
Darron Thomas is not Cam Newton, but he sure can sting opponents with his arm – giving the Ducks a dual-threat combo. [ Auburn ATS game logs ] Thomas amassed 2,518 yards with 28 touchdowns, while rushing for another 492 yards with five scores.
Thomas and James will pose huge problems for the Auburn defense, which surrendered 28 points per game over its final eight outings.
Oregon puts up a nation-leading 49 points per game, and getting down early could be too much for Newton to dig his team out of this time.
The Ducks were also undefeated in 13 games this season in capturing the Pac-10, but not quite as good against the spread as Auburn, standing at 6-4-1 ATS.
Football odds updated daily at Fox, a service provided of college bowl live lines by Odds Shark.