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Weekend SAT—NBA — Warriors at Timberwolves, 5 p.m., CSNB SAT—NBA— Bulls at Kings, 7 p.m., CSNC SAT—NCAAF — LSU at Arkansas, 12:30 p.m., CBS SUN—NFL— Packers at Falcons, 10 a.m., FOX SUN— NFL—Dolphins at Raiders, 1 p.m., CBS SUN— NFL— Chargers at Colts, 5:30 p.m., NBC Sports 1B Weekend November 27, 2010 Campbell confident as Raiders’starter ALAMEDA (AP) — Oakland Raiders quarter- back Jason Campbell insists he’s not concerned about being benched in the middle of games, even though it’s happened twice already this season. Coach Tom Cable isn’t worried about the situation either, but stopped short of saying Campbell could quit looking over his shoulder. Campbell was pulled out of last week’s loss to Pittsburgh in the third quar- ter and replaced by Bruce Gradkowski. It followed the benching of Campbell in Week 2, when Grad- kowski took over after half- time and led Oakland to a 16-14 win. That’s not exactly stabil- ity for a team trying to stay in the playoff hunt, but it’s become life as normal in Oakland, where the Raiders have had a revolv- ing door for quarterbacks nearly every season since 2005. ‘‘We talk about a lot of things all the time (and) he is OK with where we’re going and what we’re doing,’’ Cable said Friday. ‘‘He understands it’s the job. It comes with it.’’ Campbell was chosen the team’s starter in the off- season shortly after being acquired in a trade from Washington, but has strug- gled most of the year. His 75.8 quarterback rating is 29th in the NFL and he’s thrown only seven touch- downs with six intercep- tions. Although Campbell was MIAMI (5-5) at OAKLAND (5-5) Sunday, 1:05 p.m., CBS OPENING LINE — Off RECORD VS. SPREAD — Miami 6-4; Oakland 5- 5 SERIES RECORD — Raiders lead 19-13-1 LAST MEETING — Dolphins won vs. Raiders 17- 15, Nov. 16, 2008 LAST WEEK — Dolphins lost to Bears 16-0, OT; Raiders lost to Steelers 35-3 DOLPHINS OFFENSE — OVERALL (21), RUSH (21), PASS (15) (20), PASS (5) (2), PASS (29) DOLPHINS DEFENSE — OVERALL (6), RUSH RAIDERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (16), RUSH RAIDERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (11), RUSH MCT file photo Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell scrambles out of the pocket during a game against the 49ers Oct. 17. the starter during Oak- land’s three-game winning streak that ended with the loss to Pittsburgh, many felt — and still feel — the Raiders are better off with Gradkowski running the offense. Campbell shrugged off No. 7 Stanford closes regular season vs Oregon State STANFORD (AP) — When Sione Fua first arrived at Stanford, he spent this time of year just waiting for the season to end. Enduring a 1-11 season on a campus full of sports teams competing for championships just added to the frustration. As he prepares four years later for his final home game, the football team is as dominant as many of the school’s other sports — a remarkable turnaround. ‘‘It was definitely the hardest thing,’’ said Fua, who was a freshman defensive lineman in 2006. ‘‘All the work you put in, all the time, all the hours, all the meetings. It’s a long season when you only have one win. You don’t really have that desire to play anymore. You just come in and look at the clock the whole time and can’t wait for the practice to be over.’’ Instead of playing out the string, No. 7 Stanford (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) has plenty on the line going into its regular season finale on Saturday against Oregon State (5-5, 4-3). The Cardinal likely need a win to keep alive their hopes to make it to the Rose Bowl or another BCS game. Few outside of Stanford would have predicted such a turnaround. But coach Jim Harbaugh came in after that season talking about Rose Bowls and national titles and the players quickly bought in to what he was selling. ‘‘The more you play, the more you know it’s possi- ble,’’ said cornerback Richard Sherman, who was also a freshman in 2006. ‘‘Coach Harbaugh came in here and changed the mindset of all the players and coaches and general public and people started believing you can win these games regardless of recruiting or things people believed held Stanford back in the past. He overlooked that and said it was an excuse and forced people to start believe we could win.’’ The progress has been steady ever since. The Cardinal won four games the following year, including the memo- rable upset at No. 2 Southern California and a home win over California in the Big Game. Stanford won five games in 2008, falling just short of making it to a bowl, but finally broke through last season. Led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart, the Cardinal won eight games and made it to the Sun Bowl for the school’s first bowl bid since 2001. With Gerhart gone, some expected the Cardinal to take a step back this season. But led by quarterback Andrew Luck, Stanford has put together one of the best seasons in school history. The Cardinal can set a school record for wins on Sat- urday and stay in position for a possible BCS bid. ‘‘You always hope for this,’’ Sherman said. ‘‘To be in the position we’re in now is an amazing position but it’s nothing unless we win this upcoming game. If we go 10- 2 and go to a bowl game it’s really kind of Mr. Irrelevant. You want to enjoy it, but you can’t enjoy it until it’s over.’’ This game has big meaning for the Beavers, who are hoping to become bowl eligible for a school-record fifth straight season. A home loss two weeks ago to Pac-10 doormat Wash- ington State appeared to end those chances, but Oregon State responded with a 36-7 victory over USC last week and now needs to beat either Stanford or No. 1 Oregon in the regular season finale at home next week to make it back to a bowl. the criticism and said it comes with the territory. ‘‘I feel like for the most part in this season I had a pretty good year,’’ Camp- bell said following Friday’s short practice. ‘‘It happens. The main thing is you’ve got to push forward and keep winning and under- stand we’re still in the fight.’’ Part of the issue has been injuries to Oakland’s receivers. Wideouts Dar- rius Heyward-Bey and See RAIDERS, page 2B Newton leads Auburn to improbable win TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Cam Newton ran around Bryant-Denny Sta- dium with a hand over his mouth, having hushed up those who might have thought his shot at the national title was done, along with the Heisman Trophy. He’s very much on track for both, thanks to his most audacious performance yet in this season of triumph and controversy. No one had ever rallied a team to victory over Alaba- ma after trailing by 24 points. That’s just what Newton did Friday, leading No. 2 Auburn to a stunning 28-27 triumph that kept the Tigers in the thick of the BCS championship race and might have swayed any Heisman voters who had their doubts about voting for a guy hounded by unsavory allegations. Newton threw for three touchdowns against the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide. He ran for the other score. And a day that started like Auburn might be headed for a staggering blowout ended with No. 2 taking a victory lap around Alabama’s hal- ‘That was a game that will certainly go down in history. It’s hard to come back when you’re down 24-0 against anybody’ Auburn coach Gene Chizik lowed home field. ‘‘Cameron Newton is physically and mentally as tough as I’ve ever seen,’’ Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. ‘‘Period.’’ When Auburn fell behind 24-0 in the first half, it looked as though all those turned off by the prospect of Newton hoisting the Heis- man and national champi- onship trophies after his father was accused of seek- ing a huge payout might not have to worry about it. Both awards, it seemed, were slipping away. Not so fast. Newton again rallied a team that has trailed in eight of its 12 games, leaving the crowd of 101,821 in disbe- lief. Well, except those orange-clad faithful crammed into one end of the stadium amid all the crimson, celebrating a win no one could have seen coming just a couple of hours earlier: the biggest comeback in school history. Newton had a 1-yard TD run and threw scoring pass- es of 36 yards to Emory Blake, 70 yards to Terrell Zachery and, finally, a 7- yarder to Philip Lutzenkirchen with 11:55 remaining that gave Auburn its first lead of the day. It held up, keeping the Tigers perfect heading to next week’s Southeastern Conference championship game against South Caroli- na. If Auburn wins that one, the reward will certainly be a berth in the national title game. ‘‘That’s the kind of team we have,’’ Zachery said. ‘‘We never give up.’’ Auburn (12-0, 8-0 SEC) trailed 21-0 before it even picked up a first down, and Alabama (9-3, 5-3) had a 314-2 lead in total yards when things looked espe- cially grim for the Tigers. Newton’s day started with a rendition of ‘‘Take The Money And Run,’’ blaring over the loudspeak- ers during pregame warmups, and he got off to a very shaky start along with the entire team. Rattled? No way. Love him or deride him as a tainted star, Newton certainly has no peer on the field. It’s unlikely that any- one in the country could lead a team back from such a daunting deficit in Tuscaloosa, where Alaba- ma had won 20 in a row. Then again, the Tigers have come back time and time again this season, over- coming double-figure deficits three other times. This was their best one yet, their best one ever. ‘‘That was a game that will certainly go down in history,’’ Chizik said. ‘‘It’s hard to come back when you’re down 24-0 against anybody.’’ No. 1 Ducks rally to beat No. 20 Arizona EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Darron Thomas passed for three touch- downs and ran for another and top- ranked Oregon earned at least a share of a second consecutive Pac- 10 title with a 48-29 victory over No. 20 Arizona on Friday night. LaMichael James shrugged off talk of an injury to run for 126 yards and two scores for the Ducks (11-0, 8-0), who trailed 19-14 at halftime but surged in the second half to stay on course for a trip to the BCS national title game. The Ducks can lock up an out- right conference title and a spot in the national championship game in Glendale, Ariz., next week with a victory at Oregon State. It was the third straight loss for Arizona (7-4, 4-4), which ultimately couldn’t keep up with the Ducks’ speedy spread-option. With temperatures in the mid-40s and periodic rain showers, there were concerns that the Wildcats would have trouble with their pass- ing game, which had been averaging about 300 yards a game. But Nick Foles passed for a career-high 448 yards and three touchdowns, including an 85-yard score to Juron Criner. Thomas completed 14 of 24 pass- es for 148 yards and an interception. Oregon finished with 537 yards total offense, but Arizona kept up with 506 yards. Oregon was playing catch-up the entire first half and trailed for just the second time this season at the break. But the Ducks bounced back early in the second half with Josh Huff’s 85-yard scoring run, the longest play from scrimmage for the Ducks this season. While the conver- sion failed, Oregon had a 20-19 lead. Arizona hurt itself on Oregon’s next series, when they were called offside on Rob Beard’s missed 42- yard field goal attempt. That gave the Ducks a first down and Thomas followed with a 20-yard touchdown run to make it 27-19. The Wildcats cut the lead on Alex Zendejas’ 41-yard field goal, but James ran for a pair of scores, one for 13 yards and another for a yard, to make it 48-22. James has 19 rushing touchdowns this season, surpassing LeGarrette Blount’s score record 17 set in 2008. James came into the game as the nation’s rushing leader at 158 yards per game, but there were concerns about his health. After Oregon’s last game, a 15-13 win over California, the Heisman Trophy hopeful was on crutches with a leg injury. He was able to rest the injury over a bye week and practiced on a limited basis. He quickly showed he was fine by busting for a 38-yard run on Oregon’s first series. With the run, the sophomore became just the sec- See DUCKS, page 2B (25), PASS (4) STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Miami 0-8 in Oakland before Raiders move to Los Angeles and 4-1 since Raiders returned in 1995, winning four straight. ... Raiders have been called offside 18 times — second worst in the league; Dolphins have committed one off- side penalty. ... Dolphins 4-1 on road. ... Miami WR Davone Bess’ 179 catches are most for Dolphins play- er in first three seasons. ... Miami has scored on its first drive a league best seven times, including four TDs. ... RB Ronnie Brown has topped 100 yards rushing his past two games against Raiders. ... Dolphins LB Cameron Wake leads AFC with 9 1/2 sacks. ... Raiders look to win four straight home games for first time since 2002-03. ... Raiders have had 38 drives start inside own 20 — most in league. They have scored on 10 of those drives, tied for second most in NFL and ninth best percentage. ... DT Tommy Kelly has five sacks over past six games. ... K Sebastian Janikowski leads NFL with 23 FGs and 92 points. ... Raiders have committed league-worst nine pass interference penal- ties for 192 yards.