Last year in the BCS National Championship game Freshman Michael Dyer made a play that may have changed the outcome of the game and earned offensive MVP honors. The headline: “Dyer Dazzles and Defense Wins Championship’s;” And the play:
With the ball back and just two minutes remaining, Auburn’s true freshman Michael Dyer (pictured) dazzled on what would be the final drive of the game. Dyer took a handoff from Cam Newton and rushed for about six yards, at which point he was tackled — or so it appeared. But because Dyer had maintained his balance and put only his hand down (by rule his hand is not deemed to be a part of his body), the Auburn sideline yelled at him to keep running. Dyer did, and the result was a 37-yard gain into Oregon territory. That play set up Wes Byrum’s game-winning field goal, and earned Dyer the offensive player of the game distinction.
But this year when Auburn faces Virginia on Dec. 31 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, the headline will not include Dyer’s performance. He has been suspended indefinitely for violating undisclosed team rules. This year Dyer rushed for over 1200 yards this year, becoming the first Auburn running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons.
There’s been some thought that his attitude could be a problem and potentially caused Dyer to be listed as second on the depth chart heading into the season. But, a suspension is pretty significant so one would have to think that he did something significant to deserve it. Stay tuned…
