GLENDALE, Ariz. — Talk about the eye of the Tigers.
Auburn trailed in eight of its games this season, four times by double digits. For six weeks, the Tigers were scrutinized like a Supreme Court nominee after allegations surfaced regarding the recruitment of star quarterback Cam Newton.
Auburn never blinked.
The No. 1 Tigers were a hardened, hostile team going into last night’s BCS National Championship game. It served them well as they rallied for the ninth and final time, beating No. 2 Oregon, 22-19, on Wes Bynum’s 19-yard field goal as time expired in a game for the ages.
Auburn trailed 11-7, rallied to take a 19-11 lead and was stunned when the Ducks scored a touchdown and tied it 19-19 on a sensational two-point play with 2:33 left.
“I think one of the things that’s been remarkable about being a part of a team as I’ve just watched them grow for 13 weeks is watching them never panic,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “And we’ve been in some situations where arguably you could panic.”
After Oregon tied it on a 2-yard shovel pass from Darron Thomas to LaMichael James and a great leaping reception in the back of the end zone on the two-point play by Jeff Maehl, Auburn showed its resilience once more.
Auburn running back Michael Dyer busted up the middle and was wrapped up by Oregon’s Eddie Pleasant. Dyer fell on top of Pleasant and put one hand down. His knee never hit the ground; no whistle ever blew. But Pleasant let up and Dyer bounced up and raced for a 37-yard gain.
“I thought Eddie had him; it seemed like he rolled over,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. “He did a great job of keeping himself going. The kid made a play.”
Dyer, who finished with 143 yards on 22 carries, then busted a 16-yard run to the 1 with 10 seconds left.
Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner who had 329 total yards of offense and two TD passes, took the snap and was tackled. Chizik called a timeout with two seconds left, sending Bynum out for the winning points.
Auburn finished 14-0, winning the SEC’s fifth straight BCS title. TCU (13-0) was the nation’s only other undefeated team.
For the Ducks, who finished 12-1, Thomas threw for 363 yards (27-for-40), two TDs and two interceptions. Maehle had nine catches for 133 yards.
Oregon came in averaging 49 points. Auburn was averaging close to 43. But 37 days off prepared the defense and dulled the offenses.
The game was scoreless until nearly a minute into the second quarter, when Oregon took a 3-0 lead on a 26-yard Rob Beard field goal. After Newton threw a 35-yard TD pass to Kodi Burns, Thomas found James for an 8-yard TD pass and Beard ran a fake extra point in for a two-point conversion.
Another Newton TD pass, 30 yards to Emory Blake, and a safety, when James was tackled trying to get out of the end zone, gave Auburn a 16-11 halftime lead.
Trailing 19-11 in the fourth quarter, Oregon had one last chance when Casey Matthews forced a Newton fumble that was recovered by Cliff Harris at the Auburn 45 with just under five minutes left. Thomas took the Ducks home to tie it up.
Auburn didn’t panic. The Tigers had been here before.
“We were resilient each and every game,” linebacker Josh Bynes said. “Without a doubt when we were down, everyone thought we were out, we came back and won games.
“When everybody thought he was going down because of all the things that were going on, distractions and things like that, he came back and played harder just like we do.”
Which is exactly what Newton did. He opened the drive with a 15-yard completion to Blake, then led the Tigers 73 yards in seven plays to set up Bynum’s kick.
Newton, who said he would take some time before deciding if he will declare for the NFL, showed no signs of dwelling on the previous fumble.
“We got the last laugh,” he said.
There was a twinkle in his eye.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com