Prior to this season Cameron Newton had only thrown for 54 yards on 12 pass attempts in his first two years playing division I college football. The 6 ft 6 inch quarterback was named the Tigers’ starter this season and currently has the best passer rating in the country (191.44). Auburn is ranked #8 in the country and undefeated largely due to Newton’s brilliance under center. Newton has 65.5% of his passes, thrown 12 TDs and 4 INTs, racked up 928 yards, and 474 rushing yards. The 21-year-old played backup to Tim Tebow for two seasons at Florida before leading Blinn College to a 2009 JUCO National Championship. Auburn head coach Gene Chizik welcomed Newtown with open arms this season and the 21-year-old has become a instant hit in Eastern Alabama. Newtown’s poise in the pocket grabbed headlines when Auburn defeated Mississippi State, Clemson, and South Carolina. The Tigers’ young quarterback has a number of giant tests remaining on the schedule as Auburn faces Kentucky, Arkansas, and LSU in the next three weeks.

Tonight, two teams who were expected to do well this season will play each other: the Auburn Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers.  Auburn was predicted to rank #10 this year, but has had trouble generating offense.  The most recent embarrassment came at the hands of Arkansas, losing 25-22 two weeks ago.  In that game, the team rushed only 56 yards and both quarterbacks completed less than half of their passes.  This all adds up to one long afternoon of football for the Tigers.  They hope to redeem themselves this weekend.

West Virginia has also underperformed this year.  Last year, the team averaged 456 yards per game; but this year they have only been able to muster up 342.2.  Under their new coach, Bill Stewart, they have had trouble remaining consistent on either side of the ball. Stewart has seen offensive improvement recently though. The game between these two teams will be a good one, but expect it to be low-scoring.