Auburn-Oregon Preview: The Offensive Lines
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 11:59AM 
Welcome to the fourth of 17 — yep, 17 — BCS National Championship Game preview pieces here on OGS. Each day until Jan. 10, we'll take a comparative look at Auburn and Oregon. Today's fourth topic examines each team's offensive lines.
By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
High-flying offenses don't put up huge numbers without great individual players at the skill positions. The backs and receivers get the headlines and the pretty girls, but they wouldn't do so without the critical contributions of their unheralded buddies on the offensive lines.
Auburn and Oregon both have strong offensive lines. Without them, the Tigers and Ducks wouldn't boast two of the most feared attacks in college football.
Auburn is led by Lee Ziemba, the 6-foot-8, 318-pound bully at left tackle. Ziemba is a senior who has started every game of his career for the Tigers. Fifty-one of them, to be exact. A first-team All-American, he plays such a vital role in the offense that he was the first person interviewed by CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson after Auburn finished off its incredible comeback win at Alabama a month ago. Now that's hardly an end-all type of statistic, and sure, Cam Newton may not have been available, but how often do you see one of the big nasties with a mic in his face immediately following a huge road win?
Third-team All-American Ryan Pugh is a stud at center. He's one of four seniors starting on the line, where the Tigers are loaded with experience and poise along the front. Auburn's unit is the best in the SEC and among the top lines in the country.
Oregon's offensive front isn't too shabby, either. Just like Auburn, UO's top linemen are the left tackle (Bo Thran) and its center (Jordan Holmes). Each is an experienced senior who earned All Pac-10 honors.
In terms of size and experience, the Ducks are at slight disadvantages in comparison to the Tigers, but Oregon doesn't value size as much as most lines do. With that hurry-up attack that Chip Kelly has perfected in Eugene, athleticism and conditioning are important here. The Ducks wouldn't be first in the country in scoring (49.3 points per game), second in yards per game (537.5), second in first downs (26.9) and fourth in rushing yards (303.8) if it didn't get stellar line play every week. If it's a smart tactic to speed things up even more to try to tire out Auburn's d-line stalwart Nick Fairley, Kelly and his agile linemen will find a way to pull it off.
Edge: Auburn
More Auburn-Oregon Previews:
+ The Quarterbacks
+ The Running Backs
+ The Receivers
Auburn, Auburn-Oregon Preview, Oregon
Reader Comments (4)
WAR CAM EAGLE!
DUCKS WILL HAVE NO ROOM TO QUACK WHEN AUBURN GETS THROUGH WITH THEM!
SEC RULES!
Fairley is a cheap shot POS and Scam is a cheating lying POS. Yea Auburn has to be proud but of course you all marry your cousins anyway....
up being reputation products. They’re intended to be unique items — the type associated with item a person take with you understanding tha rolex replica eeded is extremely higher, but stated the wage will be the company’s trade secrets and techniques, an undisclosed quantity. Meanwhile, the official stated la Replica Handbags uk set becoming sold away. Make sure to obtain dependable merchants along with dependable status as well as happy comments from customers. Following cho rolex replica others might not actually realize that your own footwear tend to be knockoffs. Apart from, they must be light-weight and versatile to create everything discount watches century. With this particular in thoughts, you’ll discover they have already been incorporating modifications which have been occurring to watches with time uk replica watches footwear, may also be used within the protector,Timberland on the internet primarily within the mens competitors, instead of within the tough leisure footwear high-end chanel handbags for that agreement from the model in the organization.Alain Silberstein is really a globe acknowledged brand name with regards to watches. This continues to watches replica an entertainer Watches. you will find mens watches obtainable which are daring greatest replica watches. colorful as well as eccentric.A few of these co replica watch ately this type of watch may be worth a lot more than $550K) — you can aquire a replica Girard-Perregaux watch for any discount as well.Replica Handbags enthusiasm that a female selects the woman’s footwear? She would like my way through all of them and it is definitely not likely to give up within this 1 e replica watches uk a lot more than that like to find the unique Rolex watch. No-one can write out if you’re putting on a good fake watch. This kind of may be the excelle chanel handbags s producers on their own. And also the cause is apparent. The amazing high quality and believe in clients have on replica watches nowadays. In the even chanel bags
It was unclear why or when they split. north face storeReached by the AP on Thursday, Ortega's cheap north face mother said she didn't have anything to say. She earlier told the Post Register in Idaho Falls her son has no history of mental illness.