Ingredients of Greatness

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Phillip's blog: Ingredients of greatness

Phillip Marshall, Senior Editor

What does it take to have a perfect season, to win a championship? It takes talent, of course. No matter what else a football team has, of the players aren’t good enough, it doesn’t matter. It takes a cohesive coaching and staff pulling in the same direction.


Phillip Marshall, Senior Editor, AuburnUndercover.comAuburn’s 2010 Southeastern Conference champions certainly have those things. But those things alone aren’t enough. Over the years, great seasons I’ve observed have had five common denominators:

Chemistry and leadership. This Auburn team certainly has these qualities. A senior almost two dozen has played a major role in Auburn’s run to a 13-0 record. Like on the unbeaten 2004 team, the most talented players on this team are all about the team. As defensive coordinator Ted Roof likes to say, the strength of this team is the team itself. A team with selfish players won’t likely be a champion.

Injury luck. The only two significant injury losses the Tigers have suffered are safety Aairon Savage and offensive tackle A.J. Greene. Brandon Mosley at tackle and Mike McNeil at safety proved more than adequate replacements.

Plain luck. Every unbeaten team I’ve covered, somewhere along the way, won a game because the ball bounced the right way. This one is no different. There was a busted coverage in overtime against Clemson, and quarterback Kyle Parker simply missed a wide-open receiver in the end zone. Clemson made a field goal to force a second overtime, only to see it wiped out by an illegal snap penalty. The next try went wide and Auburn won.

Quarterback. Not every great team I’ve seen has had a great quarterback, but every one of them has had a winner at quarterback who is respected by his teammates. Auburn quarterback Cam Newton certainly is respected and admired by his teammates. They respect him personally as much or more than they do as a football player. And he has been, for this season, the best quarterback ever to play in the SEC and maybe the best in college football history.

Strength up front. If a team can’t win the physical battles at the line of scrimmage, not much else matters. More often than not, Auburn has won that battle on the both sides of the ball. There are four seniors on the offensive line, led by All-America tackle Lee Ziemba. All will be chosen in the NFL draft. There are four seniors in the playing rotation on the defensive line. The main man is junior Nick Fairley, the most dominating defensive tackle in the game.

Because the 2010 Tigers have these things, they are one win away from an undisputed national championship.