Auburn's Number 1!
The BCS couldn't get Auburn and USC together, but SIOC did (well, sorta) to decide once and for all who's the best in the land
Neither Rogers nor Cody could move the ball in a game that was more exciting than the real Orange Bowl.
By Arash Markazi
By Arash Markazi
The college football championship game everyone wanted to see -- Auburn versus USC -- was finally contested last week, in Mobile, with no ABC cameras, no BCS clowns and, most important, no Oklahoma Sooners. Does it matter that the game was actually a matchup between Auburn All-America cornerback Carlos Rogers and USC All-America defensive tackle Shaun Cody, who played EA Sports's NCAA Football 2005 on PlayStation 2? We think not.
FIRST QUARTER
No pregame trash talk here. Only a bunch of lame alibis. "I really don't know how to play this game," says Rogers. Replies Cody, "No, I really don't know how to play."
On offense Cody needs some reinforcement from fellow USC defensive tackle Mike Patterson, who is watching the action. "Is [Reggie] Bush fast in this game?" Cody asks Patterson. Patterson nods, so Cody calls Student Body Right and Bush gains 10 yards and a first down. "I knew it," Rogers tells Cody. "You know what you're doing." Cody laughs. "Yeah, I knew what direction I was going."
Cody drives to Auburn's 25-yard line but leaves empty-handed as kicker Ryan Killeen pushes a 42-yard field goal wide left. "Shank," Cody says. "We ain't scoring no points in this game."
Score: Auburn 0, USC 0
SECOND QUARTER
After shutting down Rogers on offense, Cody completes a 38-yard pass to Bush. When Bush is stopped on the next play, Cody turns to Rogers and smiles. "I see what you're doing," Cody says. "You're watching to see what play I call. Oh, I see how you play." Rogers laughs. "You're crazy," he says. "I called my play before yours."
On the next play Cody hits tight end Dominique Byrd with an eight-yard touchdown pass in the right side of the end zone. "Oh, yeah," Cody yells. "Touchdown!" Rogers gets up and claims Byrd was out-of-bounds. "How can I challenge that?"
Cody begins the trash-talking. "What happened to your moves?" he asks Rogers. Rogers remains silent but answers on the next play -- an 80-yard touchdown pass to Silas Daniels to tie the game at seven. Rogers does a little dance along with the Auburn fans on the screen.
Score: Auburn 7, USC 7
THIRD QUARTER
The second half begins much like the first, with both sides unable to move the ball. "I keep running into my own dudes," Cody says. When Rogers gets the ball, he completes a 60-yard pass to Daniels. "He pushed off," Patterson chimes in. "No way," Rogers says. "We got it now." A few plays later Rogers completes a five-yard touchdown pass to Ben Obomanu.
Score: Auburn 14, USC 7
FOURTH QUARTER
After Cody is unable to score, Rogers gets the ball but makes a hasty play call. "Hey, how do I change the play?" he asks Patterson, who replies, "I don't know." Says Cody, "That's right, Mike. Don't tell him nothing."
"Put in Mike [Williams]," Patterson tells Cody. "He's in the game, but he's not a starter." After thinking about it, Cody decides not to. "No, he didn't play for us this year." Cody then loses Bush, who is knocked out with a separated shoulder after a hit by Antarrious Williams. "Bust him up," Rogers says. "Reggie's not durable." Without his high-profile offensive weapons Cody hands off to fullback Lee Webb, who dives in for a one-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14 with 2:35 remaining.
Rogers starts his final drive by running Cadillac Williams, who plows over the virtual Patterson for six yards. "Oh, he murdered you," Cody tells the real-life Patterson. "Yeah, it's not my day," Patterson responds. Rogers then completes a 35-yard pass to Devin Aromashodu. On the next play Williams runs for another 10 yards to put Auburn in field goal range with less than 10 seconds remaining. Despite being uneasy about attempting his first field goal, Rogers sends out kicker John Vaughn, who boots a 29-yarder to give Auburn a 17-14 victory and the virtual national title. "That's what I'm talking about," Rogers says. "If we played in real life, that's what would happen."
Issue date: February 3, 2005
From Sports Illustrated
The BCS couldn't get Auburn and USC together, but SIOC did (well, sorta) to decide once and for all who's the best in the land
Neither Rogers nor Cody could move the ball in a game that was more exciting than the real Orange Bowl.
By Arash Markazi
By Arash Markazi
The college football championship game everyone wanted to see -- Auburn versus USC -- was finally contested last week, in Mobile, with no ABC cameras, no BCS clowns and, most important, no Oklahoma Sooners. Does it matter that the game was actually a matchup between Auburn All-America cornerback Carlos Rogers and USC All-America defensive tackle Shaun Cody, who played EA Sports's NCAA Football 2005 on PlayStation 2? We think not.
FIRST QUARTER
No pregame trash talk here. Only a bunch of lame alibis. "I really don't know how to play this game," says Rogers. Replies Cody, "No, I really don't know how to play."
On offense Cody needs some reinforcement from fellow USC defensive tackle Mike Patterson, who is watching the action. "Is [Reggie] Bush fast in this game?" Cody asks Patterson. Patterson nods, so Cody calls Student Body Right and Bush gains 10 yards and a first down. "I knew it," Rogers tells Cody. "You know what you're doing." Cody laughs. "Yeah, I knew what direction I was going."
Cody drives to Auburn's 25-yard line but leaves empty-handed as kicker Ryan Killeen pushes a 42-yard field goal wide left. "Shank," Cody says. "We ain't scoring no points in this game."
Score: Auburn 0, USC 0
SECOND QUARTER
After shutting down Rogers on offense, Cody completes a 38-yard pass to Bush. When Bush is stopped on the next play, Cody turns to Rogers and smiles. "I see what you're doing," Cody says. "You're watching to see what play I call. Oh, I see how you play." Rogers laughs. "You're crazy," he says. "I called my play before yours."
On the next play Cody hits tight end Dominique Byrd with an eight-yard touchdown pass in the right side of the end zone. "Oh, yeah," Cody yells. "Touchdown!" Rogers gets up and claims Byrd was out-of-bounds. "How can I challenge that?"
Cody begins the trash-talking. "What happened to your moves?" he asks Rogers. Rogers remains silent but answers on the next play -- an 80-yard touchdown pass to Silas Daniels to tie the game at seven. Rogers does a little dance along with the Auburn fans on the screen.
Score: Auburn 7, USC 7
THIRD QUARTER
The second half begins much like the first, with both sides unable to move the ball. "I keep running into my own dudes," Cody says. When Rogers gets the ball, he completes a 60-yard pass to Daniels. "He pushed off," Patterson chimes in. "No way," Rogers says. "We got it now." A few plays later Rogers completes a five-yard touchdown pass to Ben Obomanu.
Score: Auburn 14, USC 7
FOURTH QUARTER
After Cody is unable to score, Rogers gets the ball but makes a hasty play call. "Hey, how do I change the play?" he asks Patterson, who replies, "I don't know." Says Cody, "That's right, Mike. Don't tell him nothing."
"Put in Mike [Williams]," Patterson tells Cody. "He's in the game, but he's not a starter." After thinking about it, Cody decides not to. "No, he didn't play for us this year." Cody then loses Bush, who is knocked out with a separated shoulder after a hit by Antarrious Williams. "Bust him up," Rogers says. "Reggie's not durable." Without his high-profile offensive weapons Cody hands off to fullback Lee Webb, who dives in for a one-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14 with 2:35 remaining.
Rogers starts his final drive by running Cadillac Williams, who plows over the virtual Patterson for six yards. "Oh, he murdered you," Cody tells the real-life Patterson. "Yeah, it's not my day," Patterson responds. Rogers then completes a 35-yard pass to Devin Aromashodu. On the next play Williams runs for another 10 yards to put Auburn in field goal range with less than 10 seconds remaining. Despite being uneasy about attempting his first field goal, Rogers sends out kicker John Vaughn, who boots a 29-yarder to give Auburn a 17-14 victory and the virtual national title. "That's what I'm talking about," Rogers says. "If we played in real life, that's what would happen."
Issue date: February 3, 2005
From Sports Illustrated