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