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.
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