Auburn Vs. Oregon

Auburn just won the BCS Championship game over Oregon, 22-19, on a last second field goal.

It was high drama, with Oregon scoring a touchdown and 2-point conversion with about 2.5 minutes left to go. Auburn got the ball back and began driving...and there's where a strange thing happened. Without going into the details, the Auburn running back was tackled on one particular play, but the way in which the tackle happened left him lying on his belly on top of the Oregon tackler. He spun around and hopped up, then kept running. It was another 30+ yards before Oregon chased him down (again).

Apparently, the rule is that some part of the ball carrier has to be down on the ground itself before the play is ruled dead. Since the Auburn running back was lying completely on top of the Oregon player, he was technically not touching the ground (except for his hand, which doesn't count), thus he was not technically down.

Personally, I think this was a total crap deal for Oregon. The running back was clearly laid out on top of the tackler, clearly no longer moving under his own power. But, due to the random and accidental nature of his position, he was allowed to get up and keep running.

As always in games like this, Oregon had its chances to win and failed to capitalize. Auburn certainly threw them badly off their game. However, in my humble opinion, it's clear that this play was a pivotal moment that allowed Auburn to get within easy field goal range, altering the course of the game for both teams. While the precise rule of the game appears to have been preserved, common sense is screaming out that Oregon got robbed.

Alas, sometimes the punks win.

Just ask the other remaining undefeated team, TCU...