You heard it. I heard it. We all heard it, especially in the days after the Chizik hire was announced: 36-0 was just the beginning.
No, it wasn’t. It was the end. That was the day that the facsimile of Auburn that took the field all 2008 long finally slunk away, as it turns out for good. That day was the only day the Iron Bowl was going to be a foregone conclusion, the only day Alabama was going to play Auburn and walk off the field without blood in their mouths. 36-0 wasn’t a beginning; it was a fluke. We know that now, and so do they.
That’s not to say Auburn is poised to turn the rivalry around, not even to say they’re due for a win next year or the year after that. That’s not to call yesterday a “moral victory”; I didn’t lay awake in bed for an hour-and-a-half last night re-imagining the dozen different plays that Auburn could have made to win the game because I was happy with the final result. (Did I “enjoy this,” as I’d advised Auburn fans to do during the week? The game itself, yes, I did. Watching an Auburn team give its all and our seniors leave everything they had on the field against a superior opponent was unquestionably something I enjoyed. But the loss itself … that, no.) Alabama won. Auburn lost. Nothing changes that.
But like the season as a whole when you’re coming back from 5-7, when you’re coming back from 36-0 the game becomes about more than the win and the loss. It’s been detailed both here and elsewhere how rare Iron Bowl upsets are, but the ones that do happen happen not when one team is on lesser footing and staring up the kind of mountain Auburn stared up in 2008 and was presumed to be staring up a few days ago. Before knocking the Tide over, the Tigers had to first look them in the eye.
And that much, Auburn did. Our thin and allegedly soft defense outplayed their top-ranked pack of world-beaters, and anyone who thinks otherwise has no concept of field position. Our loser of a head coach, his high-school offensive coordinator, and the DC even certain Auburn fans decided they would write off at midseason outprepared and outcoached–vastly outprepared and outcoached, in my opinion–the $4 million-man and his assistants. The rushing game that would never be manly enough for the SEC outgained the Tide’s 2-to-1, and outrushed them straight up even after you take out Zachery’s 67-yard reverse.
So: the gap we saw last year is already closed. The playing field is already level again. And that is something. It’s not enough, no one who wore that blue jersey yesterday would tell you it’s enough, but it’s something.
We know that 36-0 will not happen again, and now so do they. Congratulations, Tide. We’ll see you next year.
Photo via.
Indeed.
Funny the spin coming from the “dark side” had us almost win because we ran “trick plays” (same ones we’ve run all year), and they played their worst game, us our best.
I still think that if Todd hits Trott on the 3rd down pass over the middle early in the 2nd quarter instead of overthrowing by 5 feet and we go on to take a 3 score lead, we win. He did that 2x if I recall. And the mystery screen call on 3rd and one in the 3rd quarter (I think it was) hurt also. Why not run Tate up the middle? (twice if you have to.)
Maybe next year if we add some depth we’ll be better “closers” but I must admit this “blowing the early lead” thing has me a little worried. This game was almost the mirror image of the UGA game. We woulda, coulda, shoulda won one or both of them.
As I’m in the shower this morning listening to some guy on sports talk radion screaming about calling a toll free number to get the “lock of the week” and it dawned on my that even though Bama won on the scoreboard, a whole bunch of Bama fans are going to have to pay their bookie Monday since the Tide didn’t cover. A little bit of cold comfort from that.
JB
Well said, Jerry. Another postscript note on this theme are Sabot’s hagard appearance and pathetic post-game comments. Classless excuses instead of simply tipping his hat and thanking his stars in a game where he got outcoached, outprepared, and his players got their hats handed to them? It says everything about him, and underscores why I am so thankful he is their coach and not ours. What a tool.
Just can’t say enough about our players, coaches, and fans. The future is indeed bright. War Damn Eagle!!!
I’ve read a lot of those other blogs and have heard everything the Saban nation is saying. Yes, it’s a moral victory. And I feel like Auburn fans on the whole are happy with that – for now -because we believe. Read Jerry’s article ‘We are Auburn, they are Alabama’… We don’t feel the sense of entitlement to greatness that T-town seems to harbor. We see a team and a staff and even fans who are EARNING it this year and building towards something special and having fun while doing it – not to mention being unselfish, humble, and steadfast while in this pursuit.
You won the game yesterday, ‘Bama. Great for you.
Where is the glory in belittling your fallen opponent? How does that make you look better…ever?
I love Auburn. I love this team and I’ve never been more proud of a collection of players and staff.
The success reaped from these seeds will be sweet. I make no other predictions than that humble stab.
War eagle – always – and thank you for all your great work, Jerry.
UT-AU co moral victory National Champs.
Couldn’t disagree more with the article. This game clearly shows the balance of power in this series has shifted. Auburn had every off-the field-advantage in this game–an off week compared to a short week of preparation for Bama; no championship game next week to prepare for or to distract; playing at home with 85,000+ rabid fans cheering for them; heck, Bama even showed up to the game late because of a car wreck on the interstate.
On the field, Auburn let it all hang out with trick plays, onside kicks, and selling out 100% to stopping Ingram (strangely enough, the same intensity never transferred to Richardson). New looks on both sides of the ball. Bama came out flat emotionally and uncharacteristically gave up the big play, including on the ground (with the reverse). Looked confused at times on defense. Again in the second half Bama was caught in a corner blitz when AU scored on the 73 yard pass play (longest scoring play of the year on this D, I believe).
And in spite of all this, Bama weathered the storm and won the game in a hostile environment. After basically shutting their offense down in the first half, Bama just willed themselves down the field for the go-ahead TD.
I think this game shows that last year was not a “fluke”–Bama has regained the solid upper hand in the series, particularly in recruiting in-state talent. I think that depth showed up big time on Saturday, and will continue to tip in Bama’s favor.
Not saying that means there will be blowouts like 36-0 in the game in the future–although the margin of victory in this game for both sides has grown since the game moved to the campuses.
But I am saying that, with Saban’s system still not fully in place (after only 3 seasons), this would’ve been the year for them to catch Bama. They didn’t. Next year will see AU come to Tuscaloosa in Saban’s year 4, Chizik’s year 2. To me, AU’s best opportunity to win the game won’t probably come until Chizik’s 3rd (game will be played at AU) or 4th season.
Anyway, no fear from this Bama fan. 12-0 two years in a row will do a lot for your confidence in the future. Not that Auburn would know anything about that…
I thought we played pretty much like we always did on offense, while our defense was nearly the same. Love the fight of the players though.
Class. Pure class. Spewing hate and showing your face/ass on another team’s blog.
This is why I love Auburn and hate Alabama. I hope Tebow hangs fifty on your team. I’d say school, but I seriously doubt you ever attended.
War Damn Eagle.
Sullivan013
Tide trolls, it really bothers you that we’re not intimidated, doesn’t it? That we’re not more hurt by the loss. That we feel good about ourselves. Why do you need our attention so badly?
Does anyone else think it’s funny that they’re making excuses for their WIN? I’ve actually had a Bama fan as much as say, “Wait ’til next year.”
I’m so proud of our team. War Eagle!
Big surprise! A bammer who believes commanding the English language involves using profanity. If your so in “control” of the English try making an intelligent point without the continual use of profanity; or better yet any profanity. Can’t do it can you. Well if you could I guess that would make you an Auburn fan. Unfortunately the difference is AU fans know that the way they conduct themselves is not limited to the physical world but ALSO the virtual one. One more thing rtr, how about you and your buddy crimsondynasty tell me how your going to spin it next year when AU whips you on your own grass. I guess it will be because you just ” looked confused” again. Anyway I’m sure it will be good. Oh and tell your bammer turd nation to please predict that AU won’t score on you next year either. War Eagle For Life!!!
I have to agree with CrimsonDynasty323…
AU fans need to calm down… anytime that AU plays Bama tough,
or wins the game… Bama was not prepared, looking ahead, not ready,
the sun got in their eyes, their dog ate their playbook…..
You are either a brilliant troll, or the most arrogant Bama fan I have
come across in a long time…
Can’t wait for you excuse for Bama next year..
WDE AU, especially the AU seniors.. what leadership!!..
PS Jerry I refrained from saying BA*MER to this troll….
though it was hard… Thanks for your coverage of AU..it captures
the spirit of AU…
Auburn’s defense shut down Alabama’s running game. HUZZAH!
Bama was forced to attack our green secondary to make a play.
On the whole, Auburn used the tools available to maximize results on the field. I love it when anyone tries to diminish the playcalling by characterizing the plays as “trick” or “gimmicky.” Misdirection is effective and if the opponents were caught offguard, then so be it. Pay attention next time.
It’s still blocking and tackling, guys. What offense in college football doesn’t have an end around in it’s playbook? Is the fact that we caught you guys in a corner blitz on the Adams catch a ‘trick’? Is the fact that nobody could catch Zacchery after he hit the second level of the defense a ‘misdirection’? Or are you guys just upset that YOU’RE ‘trick’ HB pass to a wide open Julio didn’t work?
Give it a rest.
We know you won the game. But it doesn’t sting as much as you’d hoped because we have faith in what is to come. So you’re on every Auburn website and blog doing everything you can in insecurity to diminish that.
It’s not pretty.
On paper, Alabama was clearly better than Auburn this year. Oddsmakers had about a 12 or so spread on the game. In reality, not many of my Bama friends, or myself, saw this as a blowout coming. Auburn has a good team this year; they’ve sputtered a bit, but overall they are not bad.
Last year’s game was an aberration. All of the intangibles were on Bama’s side: stopping the streak, a season long emphasis on finishing strong, playing at home, etc. Perhaps the biggest intangible, though, was Auburn’s heart. In 2008, they just quit and got mudholed as a result.
This year, a lot of the intangibles were on Auburn’s side: playing at home, an off week to prepare, Bama possibly looking ahead to Florida, etc. When you add those to the fact that Auburn is not a bad team, who knows what can happen?
From my perspective, I’m perfectly happy with how the game went. We took Auburn’s best shot and won the game in the fourth quarter. Auburn had a good game plan, they just couldn’t close the deal. Alabama banked on playing solid and in the end that approach worked. Did they play their best game? No, but they fought through tremendous adversity and pulled it out.
I don’t believe in “moral victories,” as I’m sure most Auburn fans don’t. However, there’s no shame in playing your best and losing. From a fan’s perspective, I think that’s all we can ask.
Have a good one and Roll Tide,
BD
Bama fans are sad.
Leave the Auburn blogs, you’re not wanted now and never will be.
Guys, guys… where’s the love. RTR is trying to rile you up and you are letting him. Let them spin their “moral defeat” however they want.
I would like to point out that how one behaves in the context of internet comment sections actually says MORE about their character than what they do in person. That is the true you, the you that speaks without concern for social norms or consequences.
And I agree that Todd has not been what we needed in big games. Congratulations, you won because Tuberville couldn’t evaluate or develop quarterbacks (or receivers). Now I feel even better about the future.
I loved the 46 we ran, pure genius to maximize what value we could get out of having to start Jonathan Evans. I’d like to see us run that regularly.
If Auburn gives out a game ball it should go to the DTs as a whole, they did a fantastic job of getting pressure in the passing game and handling the O-line in the run game so that Bynes (and the other Lbs) could do his job unmolested, something that hasn’t happened all year.
2 things I heard all season that proved untrue.
#1, Auburn doesn’t have linebackers big enough to tackle Ingram and he will run over our defense, he’s too strong and we’ll have to team tackle him.
#2, Auburn hasn’t seen a defense like Alabama’s and Au will not score. the bammer D (best since 92!) would blow up any play (reverse specifically) that has to develop in the backfield, they are just too good, too fast, and too aggressive to let Auburn run their offense.
Truth is our D stoned their running game, and our offense worked against their D just like it worked against every other good D we’ve played. The difference was penalties and turnovers just like it’s been all year. Auburn turned it over 2 times to bama’s 0, and bama only had 4 penalties.
In 5 losses Auburn has turned it over 11 times, their opponents: 2
Attention commenters:
1. Don’t feed the trolls. We can take care of it as soon as we notice it. Just leave them alone until then, thanks.
2. Don’t troll in response. Jokes about players getting injured, etc., are for the al.com threads.
Basically, we just want to keep things as civil as we can, thanks.
In response to the slightly more measured response from “Crimson Dynasty” …
— ‘Bama fans using the short week of preparation as an advantage for Auburn is sad. If you think Saban and Co. spent the first minute preparing for Chattanooga, you’re deluded. The gameday routine and first half of effort meant Auburn was maybe a little fresher … but ,uh, whatever disadvantage ‘Bama had there was quadrupled by Auburn’s inability to substitute.
— Yes, a lot of intangibles were favoring Auburn, but all the intangibles in the world don’t matter nearly so much as the fact that Alabama has leagues more talent and depth. They have the better players, period–none of those intangibles change the fact that Auburn’s coaches and players put forth the effort to get the most out of the talent they had while ‘Bama’s players and coaches didn’t.
I would like to point out that Auburn did not even come close to playing their best game. Alabama may SAY that they did not play their best, but I don’t believe they have anything tangible to back that up.
Auburn on the other hand, had 3 picks that they should have caught but did not, Todd clearly overthrew numerous recievers (passes that he has made in other games), and clearly this was not the special teams highlight game.
I could go on, but everyone gets it. Alabama played as good as they could, Auburn did not, there is your 5 points difference in the game.
Was checking out a Bama blog and this site was posted for some interesting reading, so I must chime in.
The fact of the matter is that the game was played evenly. It was a typical toe to toe battle. There’s been plenty of these tough Iron Bowls where one team was drastically more talented than the other and yet the underdog came out with energy and a good gameplan to create havoc on the other. Auburn dominated the 1st qtr, Bama dominated the 2nd qtr, the 3rd was wash, and Bama domnated the 4th qtr. The 4th qtr is where the superior talent and depth tends to take over and it definitely did on Friday.
You guys have improved this year and so you should be excited about the future. Of course, we are not expecting to have 12-0 regular seasons every year, but with Saban at the helm and the influx of talent that is continuing to come to the Capstone, we are back to competing for championships every year. The Iron Bowl will always be a hard fought and great rivalry game. That will never change. Whether you win 26-21, or 36-0, or 3-2; it don’t matter. A win is a win and in this gigantic rivalry, you’ll take them any way you can get them. Good luck in the bowl game! Represent the SEC well! rtr
I must say that auburns offense was one designed to give bamas defense problems with it’s misdirections and cuts- auburn can claim a moral victory but they still have to beat the middle of the sec teams consistently to say that the power has changed- championship teams find ways to win day in/ day out. If the game was a blowout it wouldn’t have been as enjoyable- I’m a bama fan but proud to see auburn fighting so hard. Good games ahead
Todd’s turnovers cost us that game…Specifically the fumble, because that rattled him…The exact same thing happened against LSU…I glad he is leaving…He is an average at best QB, and cost us the last 2 games…But if Gus can set the AU passing TD record wih Todd, just imagine what he can do with a real QB.
As for the game…I got there an hr and half before kickoff and still got stuck under the scoreoard in the student section…So i didnt really see mcuh of the game…Couldnt see the scoreboard either…And could hear the announcers…I was basically there to make noise.
The D played lighs out…Good enough to win that game…Given they where put on short feild most of the game…Im very proud of them boys…Goggans said “He aint going to win the Heisman on us” and they made that come true
Cannot wait until we have a real QB next year, not Franklin’s version of JPW. I dont want to hear anything about him sticking out the injury because he cost us our 2 biggest rivarly games.
Can we AU fans not have a place where the bammer trash comes to run their toothless mouths?
Here’s a question for y’all: When Malzhan (not sure on spelling) moves on this year or next, who would you guys want for your new OC? Don’t know if he’ll leave after this year, but if he don’t and has another productive year next year, then somebody will come get him for a HC position. If I was Marshall, I would consider coming after him right now.
I love how they hate “trick plays”. It’s legal. There’s no such thing as a trick play. Your team should have stopped it. If it’s so wonderful, why don’t you run it yourself?
Bryant Denny and BamaBacker: Thanks for your posts. I get so tired of the trolls. To YOU too I say, good luck.
I’m not sure just how “outcoached” Saban’s crew was (as evidenced by the bootleg play call to win the game, and Auburn’s lack of preparation for it… if it weren’t for a AU linebacker hanging on Upchurch’s facemask he’d have been open by miles). Yes, the Bama kick team should have been more prepared for the onside kick possibility (esp since Saban has used that trick himself a time or two), but if you look at the overall gameplan, what would Saban really change? The problems for Bama in the first half came from execution (like the misalignment on the reverse), not planning.
After the first quarter, Auburn was outscored 26-7, which is much more like what most people thought the final score would turn out to be. When given the opportunity to ice the game mid-way through the 4th quarter, Bama’s D dominated the AU offensive line.
At the end of the day, the close score was a product of Auburn players giving a hell of a lot more effort for most of the game. And THAT should concern Bama fans.
The fact that giving that much more effort didn’t win the game is what should worry Auburn fans.
I hope you guys go beat whatever pathetic opponent from a mid-tier conference (i.e. not the SEC or Pac-10) is sent your way for the holidays.
Well, Peter, it depends on how much you assign or don’t assign to coaching. If Saban and Smart couldn’t figure out how to get their guy aligned properly with two weeks to prepare for Auburn’s reverse–which as I noted in today’s post, wasn’t some new trick but a staple play of Malzahn’s offense since the spring game–why is that not on them? Auburn’s been using double-moves on the outside since game 1–if Saban and Smart couldn’t convince Barron to stay deep and not bite, that’s not poor coaching? Auburn sold out to stop Ingram from the jump, but it took the whole game for McElwain to quit throwing plays away running him into the line–that’s not a victory for Roof? And it baffles how every Tide fan I’ve read admits that ‘Bama came out sloppy and unfocused and didn’t match Auburn’s effort or emotion … isn’t job No. 1 for the head coach to make sure his players are ready to play for a game with this much on the line?
Add all that up with the fact that not a coach in America would take Auburn’s collection of athletes over the Tide’s, and yes, it’s pretty obvious to me which team got the better of the coaching matchup.
As for the “after the first quarter” thing, well, before the fourth quarter Auburn outscored Alabama 21-20. We win! Points at the beginning count for just as much as the ones at the end.
They did coach the team on the correct alignment, that was my point. Someone missed Rolando’s signal and didn’t end up where they were supposed to be… that’s an execution issue.
I’m sure you haven’t watched every Bama game from beginning to end, but if you had, you’d have seen that Ingram had very little first quarter yardage all season. It has been McElwain’s M.O. the entire season to run him into the line in the first half to wear down the defensive line. He is usually much more successful in the second half. When Ingram didn’t get traction in the third quarter, he adjusted and started throwing the ball.
I’m not claiming that Malzahn and Roof didn’t have a very good plan, or that they didn’t have Auburn very well prepared… but to claim they “vastly outcoached and outprepared” Saban’s crew is just silly. I mean, they coached them well enough to beat a very well prepared and well coached team, didn’t they?
We can agree to disagree, Pete. But very well prepared and very well coached Auburn may be, they don’t have anything like the Tide’s talent level and again, to me, the business of getting ready to play and having the players ready to match Auburn’s effort level falls on the coaches. I mean, it’s a simple question: who got the most out of their players? Whose players were playing closest to their maximum potential? No way that’s Alabama. No way.