The full timeline of Cam Newton's record-setting 2010 season with Auburn football

AUBURN — To call the Cam Newton era at Auburn football a whirlwind is certainly true, but it somehow feels like an understatement.

In one season, Newton put up generation-defining numbers, accounting for 50 touchdowns and 4,327 total yards as the Tigers went undefeated with a program-record 14 victories.

The season ended with Auburn as national champions and Newton a Heisman Trophy-winner. It brought plenty of theatrics on the field, but the same could be said for the storylines off it, as an NCAA investigation into Newton's recruitment lingered throughout.

Newton was cleared of any wrongdoing before the season's end, and 15 years later, he and his season's legacy as one of the best ever remain intact. More than 88,000 fans will be reminded of that this weekend, when Auburn retires Newton's jersey number at halftime of its game against No. 9 Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Here's a full timeline Newton's record-setting, Heisman-winning season and the storylines that dominated it.

Dec. 31, 2009: Cam Newton commits to Auburn football

The day before Auburn played in the 2009 Outback Bowl, Newton verbally committed to the program, with plans to enroll in a matter of days. He picked the Tigers over Oklahoma and Mississippi State.

Newton spent two seasons at Florida but departed the program in November 2008, after being arrested on felony charges of burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice for allegedly stealing a laptop. Those charges were dropped a week before his Auburn commitment.

Following his arrest and Florida dismissal, Newton transferred to Blinn College, where he became the top-rated junior college recruit in the country, passing for 2,833 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 655 yards and 16 touchdowns.

April 28, 2010: Gene Chizik names Cam Newton Auburn football's QB1

Following spring practices, Chizik named Newton his starting, choosing the JUCO transfer over incumbents Barrett Trotter, Clint Moseley and Neil Caudle.

"We made it very clear to our team that there's a long time before September and the journey is still out there," Chizik said regarding the decision. "But at this point in time, we just felt it was the best decision."

Sept. 4, 2010: Cam Newton shines as Auburn football beats Arkansas State to open season

Preseason camp didn't create much shakeup under center, as Newton was Auburn's starting quarterback in its season-opener, a 52-26 win against Arkansas State.

Newton was 9-for-14 passing, but a third of his completions were touchdowns. He threw for 186 yards, good for 13.3 yards per attempt, and rushed for 171 yards and another two touchdowns, averaging 11.4 yards per carry.

Sept. 25, 2010: Auburn football beats South Carolina for first win vs. ranked opponent

After beating Mississippi State 17-14 in Week 2 and squeaking past Clemson, 27-24, in overtime in Week 3, Auburn beat then-No. 12 South Carolina 35-27 to start the season 4-0. Trailing 27-21 heading into the final quarter, the Tigers out-scored the Gamecocks 14-0 in the final frame. Newton accounted for both touchdowns.

It was Newton's best game yet, as he amassed 300 total yards and five touchdowns for the second time. But on this occasion, against top-25 competition.

Oct. 23, 2010: Cam Newton runs through LSU, setting SEC QB rushing record

Auburn secured another victory against then-No. 6 LSU. But, this time, Newton made his biggest difference on the ground, with a season-high 217 rushing yards.

It put him over 1,000 rushing yards that fall, with the performance setting the SEC's single-season rushing record for a quarterback.

At the time, Newton was the second quarterback in the league's history to reach the century mark on the ground. He ended the year as the first college quarterback to average at least 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards per game.

Nov. 4, 2010: ESPN reports alleged payment scheme, NCAA investigation into Cam Newton's JUCO recruitment

ESPN reported that Kenny Rogers, who played football at Mississippi State in the mid-1980s, sought "a six-figure payment" for Newton's signature on a national letter of intent during his junior college recruitment.

The report said Rogers claimed to represent Newton throughout his recruitment and that he'd told a former teammate multiple schools offered $200,000 for Newton's signature. ESPN interviewed Newton's father, Cecil Newton, who claimed he had no knowledge of Rogers' actions.

NCAA officials declined to comment for the story, but ESPN's report indicated an investigation had been ongoing for several months. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, then its associate commissioner, told ESPN the league received "specific information" regarding the allegations in July 2009.

Nov. 26, 2010: Cam Newton pushes Auburn football to 'Camback' Iron Bowl victory

Following ESPN's initial report, Auburn beat FCS Chattanooga and Georgia. What followed was perhaps its toughest test of the regular season: A road trip to then-No. 9 Alabama.

The defending national champions, Alabama had two losses at that point. Auburn handed the Crimson Tide their third and final loss of the year, a 28-27 result, in dramatic fashion.

Alabama raced out to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but Auburn out-scored the Crimson Tide 28-3 in the final 37:59 of game time. Newton scored all four of the Tigers' touchdown, throwing for three and rushing for the other.

Nov. 30, 2010: Cam Newton ruled ineligible in part of days-long frenzy

On Nov. 29, the NCAA concluded a violation had been committed by Cecil Newton and Rogers. In accordance with NCAA bylaws, Auburn declared Cam Newton ineligible the next day, Nov. 30, while immediately requesting his eligibility be reinstated.

The next day, the NCAA cleared the quarterback to compete without conditions, saying his father and Rogers were the individuals who violated amateurism rules.

“We do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity, which led to his reinstatement,” NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs Kevin Lennon said in a press release. “From a student-athlete reinstatement perspective, Auburn University met its obligation under NCAA bylaw 14.11.1. Under this threshold, the student-athlete has not participated while ineligible.”

Dec. 11, 2010: Cam Newton wins Heisman Trophy in landslide fashion

Following the Camback, Auburn blew out South Carolina, 56-17, on Dec. 4 at the Georgia Dome to win the SEC championship. One week later, Newton landed another accolade, winning that year's Heisman Trophy over Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oregon's LaMichael James.

Newtown did so in landslide fashion, with 729 first-place votes and 81.5% of the voting point total.

At the time, Newton's first-place vote total and percent of the total vote were both fifth most in the award's history, and Newton was the first Heisman winner since 1998 to land at least 700 first-place votes. Currently, Newton's eighth all-time in first-place Heisman votes and ninth in total voting percentage.

Jan. 10, 2011: Cam Newton caps Heisman season in Auburn football's national championship win against Oregon

In what was fittingly another thriller, Auburn and Cam Newton capped their perfect season with a national championship, beating then-No. 2 Oregon 22-19 in Glendale, Arizona. Auburn kicker Wes Byrum walked it off, converting a 19-yard field as time expired.

James, who finished third in that year's Heisman voting, ran for a touchdown with 2:33 remaining, and the Ducks converted a game-tying two-point try.

Newton orchestrated a 73-yard drive that set up Byrum, with Auburn running back Michael Dyer making a heads-up play after being tackled on a short run. Dyer's knees never touched the ground, as he fell onto Oregon's Eddie Pleasant. He continued running, for what'd be a 37-yard gain that was upheld after review.

Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam's work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: A timeline of Cam Newton's 2010 season with Auburn football