Iron Bowl Preview: An Iron Bowl For The Ages

Much of the discussion concerning Saturday's epic showdown in Jordan-Hare Stadium between Nick Saban's No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and Gus Malzahn's No. 4 Auburn Tigers has focused on whether this might be the biggest Iron Bowl in the heated rivalry's long and intense history.

First of all, and of course if you live in this state you do not really need me to pass this on to you as it is not exactly breaking news, but any Iron Bowl is going to be off the charts in terms of the importance and significance of the game to both schools and their respective supporters whether the teams are playing  for a possible berth in the national championship game or if they are just playing for a winning record or simply bragging rights.  That is the way it is when you are talking about the nation's top college football rivalry, and no rivalry game comes close in terms of the animosity, tension and just raw emotion that is generated by Alabama vs Auburn. So, I really don't want to hear it from the fans of games such as USC/UCLA, Michigan/Ohio State, Florida State/Florida or even Army/Navy (with of course no disrespect intended to our nation's armed forces). And while the players and coaches for both the Tigers and Crimson Tide have always seemed to have a healthy respect for each other, it is far different for the fans of both schools and this year is certainly no different.

Saying all that, I do not think one would be overhyping Saturday's contest on The Plains by calling it the biggest Iron Bowl in the legendary history of the series.  Certainly there are many facets to this particular contest that seem to confirm that bold comment, although each individual Iron Bowl always seems to have its own unique identity and heroics whether those famed feats be provided by an expected source, such as a Bo Jackson or a  Johnny Musso, or someone not quite as predictable, like a Rory Turner or a Tre Smith.  Several storylines regarding this weekend's game, however, place the 2013 Iron Bowl at the top of the list in terms of sheer magnitude, and these include:

* RANKINGS:  With two-time defending national champion Alabama entering the game still holding the top spot in the land and in the BCS rankings, and the Tigers carrying a No. 4 ranking along with its sparkling 10-1 record, the two teams bring the highest combined rank in the rivalry's history, and an upset by the Tigers over a Tide team that is favored by around 10 points would certainly throw a lot more chaos into the final year of the Bowl Championship Series.

* AUBURN TURNAROUND: If an Auburn team still riding a miraculous comeback victory against Georgia is able to somehow defeat the 11-0 Crimson Tide,  a program which has captured the past two Iron Bowls by a 91-14 margin, it would not only represent a stunning turnaround from last season's 49-0 dismantling of the Tigers by the Crimson Tide, but it would also put a fitting end to a remarkable regular season rebound campaign by Malzahn's team from a dismal 3-9 season in 2012. It would also send Auburn to the SEC Championship Game as Western Division champs and give the Tigers an outside chance of playing in the BCS title game.

* ALABAMA CONTINUES TO CHASE HISTORY: Whether it be this week's Iron Bowl, or Alabama's first game this season against Virginia Tech, every game on the Crimson Tide schedule is a mammoth one and a huge headlining event because every win by quarterback AJ McCarron and company moves Alabama one step closer toward its historic goal of winning an unprecedented third consecutive BCS national championship. Auburn is just the latest obstable in the way of that quest. Whether or not Auburn proves to be the toughest roadblock in the way of possible trips to Atlanta and Pasadena for the Crimson Tide remains to be seen.

As far as the game itself goes, I see this game going in two possible ways.  Much like the 2009 Iron Bowl, also at Jordan-Hare during the Tide's first national championship season under Saban, If Auburn gets off to a fast start and gets its crowd into a frenzy, I could see the Tide getting into an early 14-0 or 17-0 type hole. This was also the predicament that the Tide found itself in during an earlier road game this season against Johnny Manziel and the Texas A & M Aggies. Of course the 2009 Tide eventually settled into the game and pulled out a 26-21 victory late in the game, and this year's Tide team eventually rallied to pull out a scary 49-42 triumph in Kyle Field. It would be interesting to see if Alabama would have the discipline and maturity to be able to withstand an early Auburn uprising and rally yet again in a dangerously perilous environment.

Then again, these are the type games that Alabama often starts fast in and plays some of its best games, especially on the road, as the Crimson Tide often seems to play fairly comfortably in an "us against the world" type of situation. If this were to happen and Alabama was able to dictate play and perhaps expose the Tigers as somewhat overrated, I think the Crimson Tide could win fairly comfortably. I am not saying that Alabama could win 49-0 again or even in that range, but I definitely think it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see Alabama win by two touchdowns or so.  Alabama, despite a sloppy performance against Mississippi State in Starkville, has played much like a team on a mission during the past month or so.  This was especially true in its impressive win over a good LSU team that dominated Auburn earlier this season. LSU was the only team that Auburn has played this season that remotely resembled the Crimson Tide, and Auburn was no match against Les Miles' team despite some late points that made the score closer than the game actually was.

So what happens on Saturday?

I think the contest will range somewhere in the middle of my two scenarios listed above.  I think Auburn will start fast, still riding the momentum from the Georgia game, and it would not surprise me to see the Tigers with an early 10-0 lead or so, but I don't think the Alabama defense will allow Auburn to get too much of a cushion as the Tigers will not run roughshod over the Crimson Tide as it has run over pretty much everyone else on its schedule. Auburn will not be able to be one-dimensional and have a lot of success against C.J. Moseley and company and quarterback Nick Marshall will definitely be forced to have some success in the air to keep the game competitive. Of course the Tigers do have a lot of weapons in terms of its running game and with its receivers so I do expect Auburn to be able to score some points.  I think the biggest question of the game, however, involves the Auburn defense and how it will be able to handle emerging Heisman trophy candidate McCarron and his array of skill position weapons.  If Alabama's offensive line plays its "A" game and gets running backs such as T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake going off early then it could definitely be a Crimson Tide type of day where Alabama is able to dominate the time of possession while keeping the dangerous quick-strike Tiger offense on the sidelines.  Again, though, I think the Tigers will find ways to get some points on the scoreboard and keep it close, but I think the Tide's focus on its mission, its ability to play tough on the road and withstand periods of adversity and its offensive firepower will prove to be a bit too much for the Tigers as Alabama improves to 12-0 and gets set for a probable meeting with surprising Missouri in the SEC Championship Game.

Alabama 30, Auburn 24. 

The Wind Beneath My Wings

When I first began to write about sports for actual money instead of just for fun, back in 1994 for the Delta Democrat Times in Greenville, Miss., my dad was quick to inform me that I would never have any real success as a sports journalist until I did an interview with him.

As my newspaper career would later take me to locales such as Pell City and Andalusia, Alabama, and even gaining me a few awards, my old man would continue to evaluate my performance and overall career by noting that I was a pretty good writer, but that I would still never reach a higher plateau until I did an interview with him.

Of course I usually rolled my eyes whenever he would say this, knowing that such an interview would mean yet another rendition of the stories involving various sports figures and events in his life that he told me over and over.

What I would give to hear one of those stories now.

But in retrospect, he was right, as he was in most cases, as some of his stories, especially involving Alabama football, the main bonding element between the two of us, probably would have translated into quite an interesting read, and I regret now that it never actually happened.

But regrets, I guess, are just a part of the unique and sometimes complicated thing that is the father-son relationship. It is easy to dismiss a father's words of wisdom, his stories and his advice, but then when your dad is no longer around, you realize just how valuable his advice was and how you should have just listened more instead of arguing and trying to be always right.

I recently lost my dad, who was also my hero and my very best friend, after he lost his final battle in what was a series of battles against cancer. I cannot tell you how much I miss seeing him everyday and talking to him, and especially eating his grilled hamburgers and watching Alabama football with him and teasing him about his pants that he held together with safety pins or his collection of cheap eyeglasses.

He was the Sheriff Andy Taylor of my life, as he was always there to attempt to educate me through his own life experiences and share his wisdom, while also being there to get me out of various situations and jams that I often created for myself because I didn't heed his words quite well enough or often enough.  Dad and I had our share of disagreements over myriad things, but I was always fully aware of how much he loved me, especially in his later years, when he mellowed and became a lot more emotional with age and we did become a lot closer.

But even when we did not have anything else to talk about, sports, and especially football, was always the dominant subject that could keep us conversing for hours, and we have no doubt driven my poor mom crazy millions of times keeping the television occupied with all-day football marathons.  Although my dad, a pretty good football player and athlete during his high school days as a Holt Ironman, did not see fit to pass down some of his athletic genes to yours truly, he apparently still found a way to foretell that I would have some significant involvement in sports by naming me after one of his all-time favorite sports heroes.

Many of you already know this, but he named me after iconic St. Louis Cardinals slugger Stan "The Man" Musial.  Dad explained to me that when he was younger, the Cardinals were the only team whose games he could pick up on the radio, so he began to root for the Cards, and especially players such as Musial, a Hall of Famer known as much for his grace, class and character as his incredible talents. Of course me being a Cubs fan, he and I would trash talk quite a bit when it came to our baseball teams, especially when they were playing each other. I would have given anything, however, if he could have seen his beloved team capture one more World Series title before he left this earth.

Ironically, Musial also died this year, passing on Jan. 19 at the age of 92.  

And while dad followed baseball and many other sports quite closely, he is the one most responsible for my passion for Alabama Crimson Tide football, because he was equally passionate about all aspects regarding it.  We would spend countless hours talking about various games, players, past games and championships and of course recruiting. When Nick Saban recently secured the commitment of the nation's No. 1 prospect for the Class of 2014 in Virginia defensive end Da'Shawn Hand, my thoughts immediately turned to how proud dad would be as he would often collect clippings about recruiting and would put a check mark by the photos of different coveted prep prospects once they committed or signed with the Crimson Tide.

Like me, he was reveling in the current reign of success and championship glory for the Crimson Tide program under the direction of Saban, but his thoughts often still drifted back to the Crimson Tide football years that he enjoyed under the direction of coaches such as the legendary Paul W. "Bear" Bryant and Frank Thomas and some of his favorite former Tide standouts such as Harry Gilmer (whom he almost named me after, but I am so glad he didn't since I am already a hairy-enough Griffin), Pat Trammell, Billy Neighbors and Lee Roy Jordan.

Although he repeated them NUMEROUS times, I was more than anything fascinated by his stories regarding Crimson Tide football, especially Bama football under the direction of Bryant.  He and mom and many of his friends had quite a few adventures during their years of traveling all over the place to attend Crimson Tide games, whether they were in Baton Rouge, Knoxville or even in Mobile.

 

Not only did dad get to watch his favorite players on the football field during games, he actually got to know quite a few of them when he worked with them back when college players were allowed to actually have summer jobs, and there was even one occasion where he and a buddy wound up bunking with a few of the Tide players during one of the Crimson Tide's home games away from Tuscaloosa. Dad also told stories of sneaking into Alabama practices during Bryant's tenure at the Capstone and witnessing the legendary coach dressing down his players, nervously hoping that Bryant would not spot him watching and give him the same treatment.

There were also some stories about dad that always received a few laughs, even at his recent funeral, but also emphasized just how important sports were to him.  Dad was actually very close to being late for his own wedding because he and his best man were at Tuscaloosa's famed Foster Auditorium watching the state high school basketball tournament, a tournament that also did make him late for his rehearsal dinner.

And then, where does dad take Mom on their honeymoon? Believe it or not, he took her all the way to St. Petersburg, Fla. for Major League Baseball spring training games. Obviously it was not the most romantic honeymoon destination for sure, but I guess it gave her an early indication that sports would indeed be a major part of their lives together, and I guess she was OK with it, as they were happily married for an amazingly loving 56 years.

During the past few years, although he still followed sports, his love for it faded quite a bit.  Too many highly-paid athletes, too many scandals and controversies involving athletes and too many me-first showboat athletes. He was old-school and athletic divas totally turned him off. I guess I am just like him in that regard.

But one thing that never changed or faded was his love of the Crimson Tide on the football field, and I have to say that I am giving him a lot of grief right now for leaving me before Bama could win this latest national title, and watching games without him is just not the same. It leaves me with an empty feeling that I doubt I will ever totally get over.

Hopefully Bama can survive the rest of this season and capture that third consecutive title, and just know if that happens, it will totally be for you Dad.....

I miss you greatly, and I love you more than words can say.

ROLL TIDE!!!