Read a MORE War Eagle Excerpt

Read John 20:1-10.

“Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first”
(vv. 3-4).

In an epic battle of unbeaten Tigers, Auburn’s 2010 season was up for grabs -- until Onterio McCalebb went for a run.

On Oct. 23, Auburn hosted undefeated and sixth-ranked LSU in a game that would destroy the national and SEC title hopes of one team of cats. On the field, Auburn blew LSU out of Jordan-Hare. The Tigers set a school record against an SEC opponent by rushing for 440 yards. For the game, Auburn would outgain LSU by almost three hundred yards of total offense.

Yet, as the game wore on, the scoreboard told a different story, one that was closer to the truth: The game was a real dogfight in which everything didn’t go Auburn’s way. “There were a lot of times in that game that it did not look good,” said head coach Gene Chizik after the game.

The Tigers used a 1-yard run from Cam Newton and a 42-yard field goal from Wes Byrum to lead 10-3 in the second quarter. Despite all that offense, though, the Tigers scored only once on their next seven possessions. That was on a 49-yard romp by Newton in the third quarter that put Auburn up 17-10.

The offensively-challenged Tigers from Baton Rouge got 39 of their game total of 128 passing yards on one fourth-quarter play that tied the game at 17. After an exchange of punts, the Auburn offense set up shop at its own 10 with 6:10 to play.

Newton broke for 16 yards before freshman tailback Michael Dyer added four more. That’s when McCalebb shook the venerable stadium to its foundations. He took a handoff, hit his left tackle, made one cut, and suddenly found himself running in the open field. He didn’t slow down until he had run 70 yards, all the way to glory and the LSU end zone.

24-17. Auburn was running straight toward the national title.

Hit the ground running -- every morning that’s what you do as you leave the house and re-enter the rat race. You run errands; you run though a presentation; you give someone a run for his money; you always want to be in the running and never run-of-the-mill.

You’re always running toward something, such as your goals, or away from something, such as your past. Many of us spend much of our lives foolhardily trying to run away from God, the purposes he has for us, and the blessings he is waiting to give us.

No matter how hard or how far you run, though, you can never outrun yourself or God. God keeps pace with you, calling you in the short run to take care of the long run by falling to your knees and running for your life -- to Jesus -- just as Peter and the other disciple ran that first Easter morning.

On your knees, you run all the way to glory.

You feel good when they tell you you ran for 440 yards against the No. 3 defense in the country. -- Auburn center Ryan Pugh

You can run to eternity by going to your knees.