For the Stanford Cardinal quarterback to really make up ground in the Heisman Trophy race, Auburn's star most likely needs to fall, or at least play badly. Cameron Newton's list of accomplishments read like the opening statements in a Hall of Fame speech.
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Didn't have a great game against Clemson, but did throw this big pass to Terrell Zachery.
- It's hard to imagine Steve Spurrier's boys holding Newton down the second time around--in their first meeting, he racked up 330 yards and five touchdowns (three rushing, two passing) and led Auburn back from a 20-7 deficit.
(via TheSportsManiak)
- Rushed for 217 yards in a 24-17 LSU Tigers to become the SEC's single-season rushing leader for a quarterback. He also had his Heisman moment when he juked out and broke the tackles of a couple of LSU defenders, punctuating his run by taking out likely 2011 NFL Top 10 prospect Patrick Patterson for a ride into the end zone with some freakish acceleration.
(via babyllamamerr)
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He brought Auburn back from an upset bid by Georgia; trailing 21-7, Newton helped lead Auburn to a 49-31 victory by piling up 300 total yards on the ground and through the air. He also became the first SEC player ever to accumulate 1,000 rushing yards and 2,000 passing yards in a single season.
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Led Auburn's offense back from a 24-0 deficit in the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa, scoring all four touchdowns and throwing the game-winning touchdown lob to Philip Lutzenkirchen.
AU Football: Every Day... Iron Bowl Wow Plays (via AuburnAthletics)
And if the Auburn Tigers do beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Georgia Dome to go 13-0, the only thing that can really stop Cam from winning the Heisman Trophy is something extra, something off-the-field that clouds the overall picture around his shiny highlight reel. You know, something like this.
Cam Newton's Journey (via ESPN)
Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News lays out that Newton is probably not clean enough to be a true Heisman winner. Remember Reggie Bush!
Voters should not interpret Newton's reinstatement -- after a one-day, hush-hush stint of ineligibility -- as a green light to hike him the Heisman. If anything, the NCAA and Auburn confirmed a damning allegation, that Newton's father, Cecil, once marketed his son in a pay-for-play scheme. Something still smells fishy with Newton. He gets to play, as long as his daddy stays away? That is not a glowing endorsement of the NCAA bylaws. While it's probably not fair to judge a player based on perception, the cloud of seediness that surrounds the talented young athlete from Atlanta could be all that's needed to push the respectable Luck to the forefront. A loss by Newton and Auburn in Atlanta couldn't hurt either.