Gene Chizik

The Auburn Tigers football team, under the guidance of Head Coach Gene Chizik, finished the 2010 season with a perfect 13-0 record and won the school's 7th Southeastern Conference Championship. After a disappointing 2008 campaign that saw the team finish 5-7 the year before Chizik was named head coach, Auburn went 8-5 in 2009, Chizik's first season in Auburn. Gus Malzahn, Gene Chizik’s Offensive Coordinator at Auburn, continued to employ the spread offense that ended the season ranked 16th among all FBS teams. Furthermore, new community college recruit Cam Newton looked poised to lead the Tigers to new levels of on-field success. A true dual-threat quarterback with a natural understanding of the hurry up offense run by Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn, Newton set out to become the driving force behind the Auburn Tigers high-powered offense.

In its first game of the 2010 season under Gene Chizik, the Auburn offense racked up 52 points in a convincing win over Arkansas State. After initial success in the first week of play, Gene Chizik and the Auburn Tigers experienced a pair of narrow escapes in the following weeks. In an SEC showdown with Mississippi State, Auburn required a last- minute defensive stop to deny the Bulldogs a memorable comeback and win the game 17-14. In the following game against Clemson University, the Tigers needed an overtime field goal to eke out a 27-24 victory. Defensive Coordinator Ted Roof's defense played much better against the run at home versus South Carolina, holding the Gamecocks to only three touchdowns in a 35-27 victory.

In the ensuing weeks, Gene Chizik and Auburn won comfortably against Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas, Chattanooga, and Ole Miss. The Tigers also continued to win the close games, beating Kentucky, LSU, and Georgia by a small margin. Chizik led Auburn to a historic comeback in a 28-27 win over Alabama and a 56-17 romp over South Carolina in the 2010 SEC CHampionship game.