Never Say Never Again

To spy or not to spy? Nick Aliotti led the media on an entertaining truth chase at a media event for the national title game, and Rob Moseley reported he was at his passionate best. He called his defense "the red-headed stepchild" of the Auburn-Oregon matchup. It's evident he relishes the challenge.

The national media, particularly the babbling gaggle that wears earpieces for ESPN, keeps saying Cam Newton can never be stopped. Aliotti has heard that kind of talk before. In fact he's heard it for four weeks now, reporters insisting that this will be a high-scoring game in which the defenses have no say. He's heard it all through his long Oregon career, beginning with the early years, working 70 and 80-hour weeks to devise and scheme ways to thwart five-star all-everythings with heart and hustle. Ten years ago the media told him the Ducks would never be able to stop the offensive juggernaut from Colorado, that they'd be run over by the Buffaloes. Week after week, season after season he's heard it, from Napoleon Kauffman to Reggie Bush, from Cade McNown to Cam Newton. How are a bunch of two and three-star nobodies going to stop Superman? Maybe that's why he snapped a little this morning.

The Oregonian's Aaron Fentress caught the scene:

Then he was asked, “so, do you think it’s going to be a high-scoring game?”

With a smirk, Aliotti responded: “I don’t think anything. I think that everybody is talking about it being a high scoring game so I might as well go with the status quo. What do I think? Here’s what I think: I think that there’s going to be a game on Jan. 10. Cam Newton is going to play for Auburn in a very high-powered offense. LaMichael James and Darron Thomas, et al., are going to play for Oregon in a high-powered offense. There are going to be two defenses that have to get on the field at some point in time. And the one that does the best job at stopping the other team’s offense is probably going to win. How that’s going to happen (long pause), I don’t know.”

That's Aliotti at his fiery, wily best. Keep in mind he's been hearing this stuff for twenty years. He's a warrior who loves his players, and is deeply proud of them. They're underappreciated, and so is he. All through his career in Eugene, Oregon has won with offense. All the best players wound up on the offense. See Dante Rosario, Jeff Maehl and Kenjon Barner. The Ducks score quickly and the defense winds up back on the field. Opposing teams air it out to try and keep up. No matter how many wins, it was inevitable the defense would give up yards, and sometimes points, and Aliotti bore the brunt of sharp and sometimes unfair criticism.

This year in particular, the Ducks' Tenacious D is underrated. He rotated 26 players and attacked from all angles. They were tough in the red zone and forced 35 turnovers and took away the ball. They took on a conference full of amazing offensive stars, even some future NFL greats, and won 12 games without a loss. People read the stat sheet, and give the defense a "meh." They don't see the heart and will with which they contested every yard.

And that's the secret to Monday night's championship game. It isn't that Aliotti is going to devise some secret scheme to do what no one in the SEC could do. The Ducks won't stymie Cam Newton with a 9-man line or a four-quarter jailbreak blitz. Aliotti and his players are going to bring fierce heart to this game, and they will pursue and attack on every play. Sometimes Pleasant will spy on Newton. Sometimes Brandon Bair will rise up and block out the Jumbotron. Josh Kuddu and Kenny Rowe will hunt him down. Casey Matthews and Spencer Paysinger will swarm. John Boyett and Cliff Harris will ball hawk and cover and scrap.

The Oregon defense will leave everything on the field. And so will their coach. While Newton is flashing his 50,000-jigowatt insincere smile at strip clubs and bars, they're in town to play a football game. We'll see who wins, six days from now.

But don't say they'll never stop him.