Let me make sure I’ve got this World Cup mess right.
The American team’s top attacking threat was slapped with a highly questionable red card after “upon further review” in last Wednesday’s match against Bosnia. In soccer terms, that kind of call is no small thing: the player is out for the rest of that game and the next one, which matters plenty when the knockout rounds are on the line.
Even with a man down for most of the second half, the United States still beat Bosnia. That set up tonight’s round-of-16 showdown with Belgium, but without its best offensive player. Then, out of nowhere on Sunday, the next-game suspension was put on hold for a year, clearing the way for the American side’s top scorer to suit up.
If that whole sequence feels oddly familiar, it should.
Swap futbol for football, Folarin “Flo” Balogun for Auburn quarterback Cameron “Cam” Newton, and FIFA for the NCAA, and you’ve got the local prequel to this kind of off-field drama. The parallel is hard to miss.
Back in early December 2010, Newton was in the middle of the most dominant individual season college football has ever seen when the NCAA started circling. On that Monday, three days after Auburn’s wild comeback in the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa, the governing body said Newton’s father and a former Mississippi State player had shopped the quarterback to Mississippi State during his junior-college recruitment.
Auburn responded the next day by declaring Newton ineligible and filing for his reinstatement. Then, a day after that, the NCAA put him back in action, saying it found no evidence that Newton or Auburn knew about any impermissible recruiting activity.
Three days later, Newton answered in the Georgia Dome in his hometown. South Carolina and Steve Spurrier had no shot in that 2010 SEC Championship Game.
Newton went 17 of 28 for 335 yards and four touchdowns through the air, then added 73 rushing yards and two more scores on 14 carries. His six total touchdowns still share the SEC Championship Game record with former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel, and his 208.36 passer rating that day remains untouched. He’s still the only quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in that game on fewer than 30 attempts.
A week after that, Newton won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide. A month later, he and Auburn finished off an undefeated national title run.
Across Auburn’s final three games against Alabama, South Carolina and Oregon, Newton piled up 992 total yards and accounted for 12 of the Tigers’ 13 offensive touchdowns while the spotlight and scrutiny kept getting hotter.
That’s what it looks like when a player gets dragged through the mud for something he didn’t do and then makes the most emphatic possible statement once the dust settles.
Now it’s Flo’s turn.
In Other News...
Auburn Fans Wont Love How Alex Golesh Is Being Judged
Brian Hartline did not waste much time putting his own stamp on USF, and part of that meant taking a public shot at the program Alex Golesh left behind. Hartline acknowledged there was some success during Goleshs three-year run, but he also made clear he believed the Bulls were still nowhere near where they should have been when the handoff took place. For Auburn fans, it is a reminder that the coach arriving on The Plains comes with a rsum that is still being argued over in another part of the sport.
Golesh has already moved on to a bigger stage in the SEC, where the expectations are different and the margin for progress is thinner. Auburn is betting that his next stop gives him a better chance to build something more complete, and maybe even put the Tigers in position to chase bigger goals in the rivalry picture. The frustration at USF is part of the backdrop now, but the more interesting question is how quickly Golesh can turn that fresh start into something Auburn can feel good about. [Read more 🡒]
Miles Kelly Just Gave Auburn Fans A Real Reason To Watch
Miles Kellys first Summer League run with the San Antonio Spurs gave Auburn fans something to track beyond the usual offseason box scores. In the California Classic against Miami, Kelly was one of the more productive players on the floor, showing the kind of two-way activity that can matter for a guard trying to carve out a pro role. He has been trying to make that case after being waived by Dallas, where he was mostly on the margins, and this was a chance to show he can do more than just fill a roster spot.
Keyshawn Hall and Tre Donaldson were also in action, but their debuts were quieter and a little rougher around the edges, with limited offense and turnover issues slowing both down. For Auburn followers, the bigger question is whether Kellys outing was the start of a real summer push, while the early returns on Hall and Donaldson leave more uncertainty about how their college games translate once the pace and pressure pick up. [Read more 🡒]
Andre Jordan Jr. Could Be Auburns New Answer At Corner
Andre Jordan Jr. arrived at Auburn with a track record that made him easy to notice before he ever took a snap in orange and blue. The transfer from UCLA brought All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition from last season, and since then he has quickly worked his way into the conversation as one of the Tigers top cornerbacks, giving Auburn a veteran presence in a spot that needed one.
Spring practices have only strengthened that impression. Jordan has stood out in scrimmage work, and Auburns cornerbacks coach and teammates have pointed to his experience and upside as reasons for optimism in the secondary, which has started to look less like a concern and more like a group with real potential if he settles in the way the staff expects. [Read more 🡒]