Is the End Near for Auburn?

Is that the band I hear playing “Nearer My God to Thee”? If not, they might as well be playing “Living on a Prayer” because as of this moment, it seems that is all Auburn is hanging by. Some Auburn folks are rearranging the deck chairs but the fact is that Kenny Rogers back tracked on his story and MSU alums are coming out of the woodwork to confirm that Cecil Newton just screwed us over.

I think at this point we must concede that Cecil Newton was trying to shop Cam around to Mississippi State. There are too many people putting their careers and reputations on the line to confirm this. MSU Alum Bill Bell confirmed that not only was Cecil seeking money, but that Bell spoke with the NCAA earlier in the week. It seems like they might just have enough now to declare him ineligible and to tank Auburn’s amazing season. At this point in time, all I have to cling to is the blind hope that they will not find anything in the form of hard evidence that incriminates Cecil. That seems to be about the only chance of saving our season. The bigger question lies in what happens to Auburn if the doomsday device goes off?

First off, there is nothing out there that says Auburn paid Newton to come play here. Anyone who says that is just trying to make a very thin connection between allegations. Cecil wanted Mississippi State to pay and so Auburn must have out bid them. It's still a possible scenario, but I think it's also possible that Newton came to Auburn simply because he was pissed at Mississippi State for turning them in. Until we start hearing about the Bill Bell of Auburn, I will continue to think we are in the clear. This would have a huge impact on what kind of penalties the NCAA levies at Auburn. If we can still maintain deniability, then we might lose the season, but we wouldn’t lose the next ten years trying to rebuild the program. If they find out that Auburn paid Cam and that everyone in the entire Athletic Department was lying, well….yeah.

This story broke a week ago today and it has morphed from a far-fetched rumor being denied by all involved to a very likely scenario that might just end up blowing up in Auburn’s face. I think I speak for all Auburn people when I say that I hope we didn’t cheat. I hope we didn’t pay Cam to come play for us. A part of me hopes that if we did cheat, then hopefully we were at least good enough at it to hide our tracks. However, the other part of me thinks that if we did do something this egregious and broke the most basic rule of college football then we deserve everything that is coming our way and then some.

Regardless, this has turned from a season of fun and excitement to one of horror, shock, and downright depression. When Cam Newton takes the field on Saturday, I think we might just be looking at a dead man walking.