AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn’s game plan against LSU’s defense was simple — Cam Newton, followed by some Cam Newton and then a little more Cam Newton.
The junior quarterback added to his already impressive Heisman portfolio by slashing his way through an LSU defense that was ranked No. 6 nationally in rushing defense before kickoff.
“[Newton’s] a great player, about the best in the country,” said LSU senior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard. “Plain and simple, he’s the best quarterback in the country.”
Everyone in Jordan-Hare Stadium knew Newton was going to get the ball — including LSU’s defense. But Newton seemed to be an unstoppable force on an uncharacteristic night for the defense.
“The most frustrating thing trying to stop him was that we knew he was going to run, and we couldn’t get enough hats around the ball to corral him,” said junior cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Newton racked up a career-high 217 rushing yards on 28 carries and added 86 yards through the air. The performance was record setting for Newton, who now holds the Southeastern Conference record for single season rushing yards for a quarterback — and Auburn still has at least four games to play. He now stands at 1,077 rushing yards.
Newton’s signature dash came early in the third quarter with the game tied at 10.
After a faked handoff, Newton weaved his way through the LSU defense, making four defenders whiff before beating the ultra-fast Peterson in a race to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown.
“[In] that particular play the offensive line did their job,” Newton said. “And I guess it was up to me to do my job. A lot of missed tackles, and I just tried to make the most of it. It’s just a play that is in my job description to make.”
The touchdown, Newton’s second of the game, gave him 14 rushing touchdowns on the season and nine in his last three games.
“It was just another great run that [Newton] does a lot on his own,” said Auburn coach Gene Chizik. “He’s going to make somebody miss usually in there. Usually when he gets to the second level, he has the ability to make a guy miss.”
LSU coach Les Miles was miffed by Newton’s ability to keep the play alive.
“We kept letting them out,” Miles said. “Every time Newton dropped back he’d end up scrambling, and he can run with a lot of power. The passing game is not what beat us today, it was Newton’s ability to run.”
The LSU defense was constantly beaten down by the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Mack truck of a quarterback, who wore down the defense for 139 yards on 16 carries in the second half.
LSU defenders hadn’t seen anybody with the combination of size and speed that Newton possesses, not even in SEC legend Tim Tebow.
“He’s bigger. Obviously he’s more physical than Tim Tebow,” Peterson said. “I tip my hat off to the kid. He came out here and played hard.”
Even when Newton wasn’t toting the ball, he was having an effect on an LSU defense that was tricked by Auburn’s use of the read-option several times.
“We came in here and did exactly what we couldn’t do,” Sheppard said. “We missed tackles, and guys getting out of their gaps trying to do too much. We emphasized that all week, and for some reason, we couldn’t come in here and execute the game plan.”
The LSU defense was caught out of position on multiple occasions, including a 70-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Onterio McCalebb.
Auburn tallied 440 yards on the ground using a combination of Newton, McCalebb, freshman Michael Dyer and sophomore Mario Fannin. All four averaged more than 6.6 yards per carry against the vaunted LSU run defense.
“We weren’t in position to make the plays we needed to,” said junior linebacker Ryan Baker, who led the team with 12 tackles.
Auburn’s 440 rushing yards were the fifth-highest total in school history, and their most ever against an SEC school.
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]