Thoughts on Auburn's National Championship

Now that Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers have won the National Championship, and I've been able to get a (half) nights sleep, I'll give my opinion on what this means for all parties involved. Speculation shall begin on what the future holds for both Auburn and Newton, my assumption is that they won't follow the same path, maybe the same success (or lack thereof) but they won't be together much longer.

It seems like a sure bet to me that Newton will declare for the NFL draft sometime in the next month or so. He's going to have to take a pay cut from what Auburn's paying him, partially because there's a new rookie cap on draft picks beginning this year, and partially because he's not going to be drafted that high anyhow. I project him as a late first/early second round pick. He'll be a decent fit for very few teams but the fact that he didn't play in a pro style offense and he's DEFINITELY not a pro style quarterback is going to make a lot of teams think twice about drafting a guy that's going to have to sit and learn for at least two seasons before he's ready for real action, and that's not even bringing up the fact that he's got more off-field issues than the entire Cincinnati Bengals team alone.

As far as the Auburn team goes, Chizik seems to have done an incredible job with this team in only his second season, but you can put most of this teams success squarely on the shoulders of Newton. Michael Dyer will be a silver lining seeing as he gained over 1200 yards as a Freshman and will stick around but Newton was the teams leading passer AND rusher this season and there really isn't a solution for when he enters the draft. The fact that they have to compete in the SEC doesn't fair in their favor either.

The biggest problem for Auburn will be when the NCAA finds that Newton was ineligible this season by taking money from the school. This will, I repeat, THIS WILL happen. Auburn will lose the designation of this year's National Champions and more importantly, they will lose TONS of scholarships, which we all know means years and years of mediocreness.

So, with all that said, Tiger fans shall celebrate until camp begins and try not to think about the future. Congratulations, you were the best team this year but don't hold your breath for another Championship anytime soon.