AUBURN WINS THE END GAME

GLENDALE, ARIZ. - Michael Dyer, Auburn's diminutive freshman running back, followed a simple instruction from a teammate that led to the Tigers' first national championship in 53 years.

With the score tied and time running out, Dyer took a handoff to the right, rolled over an Oregon defender, stood up and came to a brief halt. But wideout Darvin Adams noticed Dyer never made contact with the ground. At Adams's urgent direction, Dyer - who finished with 143 yards rushing - resumed running for a 37-yard gain.

Moments later, with no time left on the clock, Auburn place kicker Wes Byrum made a 19-yard field goal to provide the Tigers a 22-19 victory Monday night in the Bowl Championship Series title game. The Southeastern Conference has produced five straight national champions.

Heisman Trophy-winning Auburn quarterback Cam Newton fumbled the ball near midfield with just less than five minutes to play, and finally, Oregon's offense was able to capitalize on a gifted opportunity. The Ducks faced a fourth and five from the Auburn 40-yard line, but quarterback Darron Thomas completed a 29-yard pass.

With 2 minutes 33 seconds remaining, Thomas completed a shovel pass to tailback LaMichael James for a two-yard touchdown reception. The two-point conversion was good, which tied the score. But there proved to be too much time left on the clock for Oregon to keep Auburn off the scoreboard.

While Newton contributed to the outcome with a few dazzling plays, much of the credit should be afforded to the Tigers' unit on the other side of the ball.

Auburn's stoutness against the run all season largely had been overlooked in the run-up to Monday night's contest, but that was exactly what carried Auburn to its first national title since 1957.

Oregon averaged more than 300 rushing yards per game this season, but registered just 75 against an Auburn defense that had been forced to answer questions for the past five weeks about how it would hope to keep up with the Ducks' incendiary tempo.

And yet, James gained 49 yards on 13 carries, well below his season average. And Ducks Coach Chip Kelly's bag of tricks wasn't deep enough to bail out his team's sputtering offense.

Meantime, Newton had just enough firepower to create a sustainable advantage for the Tigers. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 264 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

It wasn't the sort of awe-inspiring performance college football followers came to expect from Newton after a campaign in which he became the third player in division I-A history to total at least 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season.

But Newton's showing helped produce a result that now will sit discomfited while questions loom regarding his eligibility.