Newton entering uncharted Auburn territory

[Saniflush]

Auburn, Ala. -- For 40 years the record has stood at Auburn. Bo didn't break it.

Neither did Cadillac Williams nor Ronnie Brown.

Dameyune Craig and Jason Campbell got close but could not get past it.
   
QB Cameron Newton is already in the Auburn record books with just seven games under his belt. (US Presswire)    
It is the school record of 26 touchdowns in a season. In 1970, the year before he won the Heisman Trophy, Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan ran for nine touchdowns and passed for 17 more in 11 games.

"Hard to believe that it's been that long," said Sullivan, now the head coach at Samford University in Birmingham. "I never do remember records until somebody calls and brings it up."

I called old No. 7 because there is a pretty decent chance that this Saturday, after four decades on the books, Sullivan's record is going down. Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton has passed for 13 touchdowns and run for 12 more in just seven games. Saturday he will lead No. 5 Auburn (7-0) into a nationally-televised SEC West showdown with No. 6 LSU. If Newton can stay healthy against one of the best defenses in college football, you have to figure that he'll break Sullivan's record at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"I'll tell you this," said Sullivan. "I'm pulling for him because he's a great player, but more important than that he's a great person. He's representing Auburn in a first-class manner and that's important to me."

Lest any doubters remained, Newton's performance in last Saturday's 65-43 win over Arkansas put him on everybody's Heisman Trophy list and at the top of most. He ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 140 yards plus another score.

It was the fourth time this season that Newton has rushed for more than 170 yards in a game. In fact, he became the first player in school history to go over 170 in three consecutive SEC games. Not even Bo Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, did that. Jackson had four games over 170 yards that season. If Newton does it one more time this season then he'll have that record as well. Newton has played only seven games at Auburn and he already owns four of the top 50 rushing performances in school history.

It's gotten to the point where Auburn coach Gene Chizik is starting to run out of adjectives.

"He gives us a chance to win every week and the level of play from our players around him needs to get elevated from every position from every spot," said Chizik. "He just brings a dynamic to our team that ... can be special. I haven't seen everybody, but he has to be playing as good as the best ones."

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, who knows a little something about developing quarterbacks, is convinced. There is nobody else quite like Newton in college football. It's hard for a defense to know what to do against him, said Petrino.

"Mainly [it's] his ability to run the ball, even though you have guys there," said Petrino. "He breaks the tackles. He's fast and big and can really run the ball. He's just a really good player."

The guys who coach defense in this league look at Newton and see their worst nightmare. Chizik was the defensive coordinator on Auburn's undefeated team in 2004. The next season he was the DC on a national championship team at Texas. The Longhorns had a quarterback named Vince Young, who was pretty good. Chizik said he is glad he doesn't have to scheme against Newton.
Auburn: Most TDs Season
Player, Year    Rush    Pass    Total
Pat Sullivan, 1970    9    17    26
Cameron Newton, 2010    13    12    25
Dameyune Craig, 1996    8    16    24
Jason Campbell, 2004    3    20    23
Pat Sullivan, 1969    7    16    23
Dameyune Craig, 1997    4    18    22
Pat Sullivan, 1971    2    20    22

"I would think that it would be difficult," said Chizik. "He brings so much to the table because he is not one dimensional. Let's put it this way. He throws a really nice ball. He makes really good decisions. He usually doesn't make the same mistake twice. Then we all know what he can do with his legs. He is a special guy."

As with any SEC quarterback who can run and throw with success, the comparisons to Florida's Tim Tebow are inevitable. Newton knows Tebow well. Newton signed with Florida out of Westlake High School near Atlanta in 2007. That fall he watched Tebow win the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore with one of the best seasons ever put together by a quarterback. Newton moved on to Blinn College in Texas where he won a JUCO national championship before transferring to Auburn for the 2010 season.

Newton said he is always honored any time somebody compares him to Tebow.

"I don't know about the Heisman Trophy, but if you want to compare me to Tim Tebow, I'll take that all day," said Newton. "He is a great person and a great player. I appreciate being mentioned with him."

Both of Auburn's two previous Heisman Trophy winners knew how to step up their games on the big stage. As we move forward with the 2010 season Newton is going to have one of the biggest stages in long, long time.

There will be Saturday's meeting with LSU. There will be a Nov. 13 home game with the Georgia Bulldogs, who always seems to have something special for the Tigers. And if Auburn survives both of those then comes the ultimate test: A Nov. 26 trip to Alabama, the defending national champion. A berth in the SEC Championship Game could be on the line.

If Newton can navigate that gauntlet and get the Tigers to Atlanta, it's going to be hard to keep him out of that very small club of Heisman Trophy winners from Auburn.

"I know I'm impressed," said Sullivan. "He is the perfect quarterback for what Auburn wants to do. I can't imagine that anybody has meant more to his team than Cameron has meant to Auburn. I just don't know if we've seen anybody quite like him before."

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

This is my fiance's first year going to any games at JHS.  Her first AU game PERIOD, was the Outback Bowl.   I remember telling her as we left Auburn this last Sunday that I could only hope that she could somehow appreciate the rarity, and special situation we were watching with Cam Newton.

Regardless of the team record at the end of the year, no player has had a more significant impact on an Auburn team than Cam.  It's simply amazing, and I'm excited I've been able to watch, and will continue to watch in person.