Iron Bowl Review

It is what it is folks. Give Auburn credit, they played a heck of a game defensively. Both Wilson and Cox actually played similar games (rushed for TDs, threw 1 INT each, and had around 115 yards passing each). But, defensive battles like these usually come down to who makes the fewest mistakes. The refs stunk for both sides, but we had other opportunities to make some offensive plays (D.J. easy catch that was bobbled comes to mind).

This defense gets an A for their performance this season. They were among the thinnest in the SEC in terms of depth, and Saban got these guys playing extremely well. They were forced to play so many minutes this season, and they did a good job with what they had.

The same cannot be said for the offense. With a decent amount of talent returning, they reverted back to their previous form of years past with sad performances after scoring 41 on UT (12, 14, & 10 points in the last 3 games). The Textbook situation hurt us more than most people may admit. Without those guys, people like Chris Capps and Terry Grant had to play more minutes than they should have. This led to constant position changes in the O-line and Grant being hurt for Auburn since he took such a beating as the main runner.

As for coaching, I would say both head coaches called pretty similar games to be honest with you. Home field advantage mixed with good Senior leadership in key positions won this game for the Tigers. Obviously, we have to win in Tuscaloosa next season. Auburn will have a rookie QB with a group of average at best receivers. Their strength will be to run, run, run, with Burns and Tate…. maybe Fannin too. I don’t know what kind of passer Burns really is, but I imagine he’ll try to run more. Auburn fans hope for him to be another Tim Tebow, but I highly doubt it. He’ll do well, but Tim Tebow is in a league of his own right now.

Recruiting must be priority #1 for Alabama this season. Coach Saban will be able to offer immediate playing time for many different positions in 2008, meaning that we should work hard on the top talent. Julio Jones is rumored to be a slight Alabama lean, so we need to keep out best recruiters on him. With Brown and Hall graduating, there will be plenty of time for Jones to play in ’08. We gotta keep him from FSU, LSU, and Auburn to a certain extent.

John Parker Wilson played about as well as he could with almost no blocking. Caldwell and the other Textbookers looked lost out there half the time. ESPN noticed this, taking the time to give us a replay of every time Caldwell and others got confused and never blocked anybody.

So basically, here is what I think of this game if you want to skip all of what I said above: Auburn didn’t win because of fancy play calling, superstar athletes, or extra prep time. Auburn won because they didn’t make as many mistakes, which is what it takes to win big time games like this one. I don’t view this as an excuse, I view this as a major part of every single game out there: if you make the fewest mistakes, chances are good for a victory. It’s called leadership and discipline. Congrats Tigers, we’ll see ya on the recruiting trail.

Let’s take a look at a few other games and situations.

The Gut and I: Auburn

I’m trying my hardest to stay positive about this game today, but it’s easier said than done. If Alabama wants to feel good about their bowl chances, we have to win this game on the road in Auburn. Tuberville will probably address the Texas A&M rumors sometime after the game since Fran just resigned after beating Texas. This is the biggest game of the year, as it should be. Is it a game with national implications? No, not really. Will it affect who goes to the SEC title game? No. Does it matter more than any other game this season. You bet it does. This post may be a bit of a downer for you Tide fans:

The Reason for my gut to say Alabama wins

Anything can happen, especially this season. I remember how Tyler Watts practiced all week long, only to have Andrew Zow play in the game in 2001, our last Iron Bowl win. Truly a special performance for a QB many wanted to label as a bust. John Parker Wilson comes into this game with a worse reputation than Zow at this point. He needs a big time road win in this series to gain back some of that respect he had after then Tennessee game. I don’t think he can do it, but it sure would be nice.

Reasons for my gut to say Alabama loses

• It’s in Auburn and we just lost to a commuter school.
• It will be wet and raining…. that is never good for teams with turnover problems.
• We can’t seem to stop Groves no matter what we do (although not playing Chris Capps is a start).
• Three good RBs for the Tigers.
• Brandon Cox can lead some big time last quarter drives for big results.
• Tuberville got embarrassed two weeks ago. He usually coaches better after such poor performances.
• Because we’ve never been able to win games like this in the past with this group of players.

In the end, I think it’ll either be very close, or an embarrassment. Auburn will probably win, but I wouldn’t be totally shocked (ok, I would be shocked) if Alabama could pull this one off. Tiger fans want to have some sort of repudiation of Nick Saban, although trying to claim it in his first year might not be the best example of it. I think Saban realizes the importance of rivalry games, as shown against Tennessee. He needs this game right now, almost as much as Tuberville does (although Tubby’s reason is for more contract money more than anything else). Still, anything can happen, which I’m hoping on. The underdog rarely wins in this series, but I sure would like to see it happen just one more time down in Auburn. Roll Tide!!!!