AUBURN, Ala. – Actions are speaking louder than words these days for Cam Newton.
Auburn’s junior quarterback continued to display why he is college football’s greatest player this season, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for two in Saturday’s 49-31 win over Georgia before a crowd of 87,451 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He was not made available for interviews following the game, and Tigers coach Gene Chizik answered questions only about Newton’s performance and not the ongoing NCAA investigation about his controversial recruitiment.
Newton shredded the Bulldogs for 151 yards on 30 carries and completed 12 of 15 passes for 148 yards.
“I was just really proud of the way he played,” Chizik said. “He’s a really, really talented, extremely gifted football player who means a lot to our football team. I feel like he did just about what he’s done in every other game this year.”
The Tigers improved to 11-0 with their first victory over Georgia since 2005 and clinched a berth in the Southeastern Conference championship game Dec. 4 in Atlanta as the West Division champion. They will face South Carolina, which upset Florida in the Swamp on Saturday night to win its first East crown since joining the league in 1992.
Auburn defeated the Gamecocks 35-27 on Sept. 25, when Newton rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns and threw for two scores. Before the Tigers make their Georgia Dome appearance, they will visit rival Alabama on Nov. 26.
“We still have one more game in the regular season that we have to tackle,” Newton said on a provided quote sheet. “We have to finish strong. The Iron Bowl speaks for itself.”
With 51 seconds left in the first half, Newton threw an 18-yard touchdown pass over the middle to tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen to tie the game at 21. That score enabled Newton to become the first in SEC history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.
Yet his performance didn’t enthrall everyone.
“For me personally, he wasn’t that special,” Bulldogs outside linebacker Justin Houston said. “He didn’t do anything special to us tonight. We just had some blown assignments, and they capitalized off our blown assignments. It’s what’s been going on the whole season.”
Georgia dropped to 5-6 and has a week off before hosting Georgia Tech on Nov. 27. The Bulldogs need that win for bowl eligibility, but their nation-leading streak of 13 seasons with at least eight wins has ended.
The Bulldogs had hoped to tie the Deep South’s oldest rivalry but now trail the series 54-52-8.
Newton was the first one out of the tunnel moments before kickoff and the first one in the end zone, scoring on a 31-yard run 2 minutes and 24 seconds into the game. The Bulldogs answered with not one but three Aaron Murray touchdown passes, including 31- and 40-yard scores to A.J. Green, to go up by a surprising 21-7.
From that point on, Auburn outscored Georgia 42-10.
“They scored just about every time after that, and we couldn’t stop them,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We didn’t continue to score, and that’s all there was to it. They were very efficient in what they were doing offensively.”
Auburn opened the second half with a successful onside kick performed and recovered by Wes Byrum, and the Tigers marched 59 yards in nine plays to go up 28-21.
“We felt really good about the onside kick during the week,” Chizik said. “We felt like we needed to take one possession away from them in the second half.”
The Tigers did not attempt a pass in the third quarter but racked up 140 yards and two touchdowns. Terrell Zachery had a 31-yard run off a reverse to ignite one drive, and Onterio McCalebb ran a reverse 48 yards to open Auburn’s ensuing possession.
McCalebb finished with 71 yards on 12 carries, while Michael Dyer added 60 on 13.
“Basically it got down to gadget plays,” Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “They ran two reverses for big gainers, and you’ve got to be able to defend all kinds of runs.”