Newton spoke with the media for the first time in nearly a month, but he refused to take questions about the allegations that threatened to wreck his glorious ride. The NCAA ruled that his father, Cecil Newton, concocted a payment scheme for his son to sign with Mississippi State, but also ruled that neither Cam nor Auburn knew anything about it.

"I've done nothing wrong," Newton said, reading from a statement. "I will only answer questions about football and this game. I ask that you respect that."

Newton won the SEC title in his hometown of Atlanta and just one year removed from Blinn Junior College in Texas, where he spent last season after beginning his college career at Florida as a little-used backup behind Tebow.

Boy, the Gators would sure like to have Newton now.

Auburn will give the SEC a chance to add to its already unprecedented streak of four straight national titles, which began with Florida in 2006 and was carried on by LSU, Florida again and Alabama last season.

Spurrier was denied another SEC title. The offensive mastermind who led Florida to a half-dozen championships in his 12 years at the Swamp was a flabbergasted, visor-throwing mess on the sideline. His Gamecocks — possibly headed to the Outback Bowl — were blown out by an Auburn team that had struggled to beat the Gamecocks in the opening month of the season.

In fact, the Tigers have played from behind much of the year, overcoming double-digit deficits four times — most notably, rallying from 24 points down against Alabama — and smaller margins in four other wins.

The drama was lacking in this one. It became a full-fledged rout when the defense took aim at South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia, whose attempt at flipping away a screen pass under heavy pressure wound up right in the arms of cornerback T'Sharvan Bell, who returned it 10 yards for a touchdown and a 42-14 lead midway through the third period.

Hannah Foslien / Getty Images The Week in Sports Pictures

Newton could have some fun. After his final run — a typical effort in which he faked out one defender and jumped over another — he flipped the ball to an official and inadvertently knocked off his cap. No problem. Newton scooped it up, put the hat back on his head and, with a big smile, gave the official a pat on the backside.

The Tigers set an SEC championship game record for points and piled up 589 yards. Newton had a hand in 408 of them, breaking his previous best of 317 yards passing against Chattanooga and leading Auburn in rushing with 14 carries for 73 yards. Despite two big drops, Adams set another SEC championship record with 217 yards on seven receptions.

After picking up his MVP award, Newton headed off on a familiar victory lap. He ran all the way to the opposite end of the Georgia Dome, slapping hands with the Auburn fans gathered along the railing.

Now, it's on to the Big Apple, and then to the Arizona desert.