The Iron Bowl blowout

For six years, Auburn has beat Alabama in the annual Iron Bowl. With a season in the toilet, the Tigers hoped to wash the bitter taste away with a swish of victory over the Tide on Saturday, continuing their streak and ruining Bama's perfect season.

But Alabama had something else in mind. After a slow start, The Tide would shut out Auburn, 36-0 in a beautiful performance in front of a sold out crowd of 92,138.

Bama had a 10-0 lead at the end of the half. Seconds before the half was over, Auburn threatened to cut the lead by three with a field goal. But as the rookie Auburn kicker placed one perfectly down the middle, Saban called a timeout, forcing the kick again. This time, the Auburn kicke was blocked keeping Auburn scoreless into the half and sending Saban into a rare but short celebration.

But in the second half, Bama would unleash the fury. They forced three fumbles, all were converted into touchdowns. In less than six minutes, The Tide expanded their lead to 22-0 after capitalizing on two consecutive fumbled possesssions.

The first two came on consecutive possessions in the third quarter and extended Alabama's 10-point lead to 22-0 in less than six minutes. On Auburn's first drive of the half, Kareem Jackson forced a Brad Lester fumble that was recovered by Rolando McClain at the Tigers' 39. One play later, quarterback John Parker Wilson hit Nikita Stover for a 39-yard touchdown to put the Tide up 16-0.

On Auburn's next drive, quarterback Kodi Burns fumbled the snap, which was recovered by Terrence Cody at the Auburn 45. After a pair of first downs, Alabama punched the ball in the end zone on a 1-yard run by tailback Mark Ingram to go up 22-0.

Ingram would score a second touchdown in the next drive puting Bama up 29-0.The touchdown was the first of two for Ingram on the afternoon.

Bama also gave Aurburn as strong cup of Coffee, Glen Coffee that is. Coffee owned the ground attack, carrying the ball 20 times for 144 yards and the tide's first touchdown of the game.

Auburn's defense was the only hope they had before the game. Having givin up only four rushing touchdonws all season and allowing 130 yards per game, Auburn gave up three rushing TDs and 234 rushing yeards to Bama.

A spectular defense is just on piece of the Bama puzzle. THe strong offensive line makes Coffee's job easy. He said this: "[The offensive line] showed up like they do every game," Coffee said. "Running behind them doesn't really give us that much to do except hit those holes full speed and take care of the rest."

And it doesn't stop there. Wilson finished the game 8-of-16 for 134 yards and a score.

Saban would honor his seniors and his starters by taking them out one by one in the fourth, allowing each of them to enjoy the crowd's cheer. But their replacements didn't just fill in, they added to the lead.

Backup quarterback Greg McElroy finished 2-of-2 for 44 yards and a touchdown, which came with 2:49 to go in the game to put the Tide up 36-0. Marquis Maze caught McElroy's touchdown pass, finishing with one catch for a 34-yard touchdown. In total, Alabama rolled up 412 yards against the Tigers. Amazingly, the Tide had only ONE penalty!

JPW was ecstatic but showed focus and maturity when he said, "To come out and score all these points, it feels good, but we have a lot left that we have to do," Wilson said. "We will learn from this game and get ready for the next one."

Of Auburn's 14 possessions, 9 of them ended in punts, 1 blocked FG and three turnovers.

Saturday's shutout was Alabama's first against the Tigers since a 17-0 win in 1992. The 36-point win was the largest margin of victory in the Iron Bowl since Alabama beat Auburn 38-0 in 1962.

"It means a lot to earn the shutout," safety Rashad Johnson said. "We were just trying to get better every week. We practiced hard and were able to finish the game."

With the SEC championship game just around corner, Bama will look to Florida. Stay tuned for a breakdown and to see why Bama and Florida is a match made in college football heaven.

To finish off the recap, Saban said, "It was obviously a great win for our fans, and it was a great win for our players," said Alabama coach Nick Saban. "We don't have a player on our team who has experienced this before so that was our goal." When told by the of field reporter that Bama was considered the underdog next week, Saban replied, "That doesn't bother me."

And you know what? it doesn't bother me either. Anybody out there who belives that Bama doesn't have a chance against Florida, or that somehow our position is not legitimate is a f*cking idiot. Don't forget who you're talking to.

And just for fun, I will paste below a blong entry I posted in on Feb. 2, 2007.

Alright already! We get it...as Bama fans we have become accustom to your "hating" and constant trash talk. However, we have a little message for all of you out there. You know who you are, so lets not make small talk. The following was in an email that my dad sent me. The writer of this testimony said it better than I ever could so I will allow him or her to do so.

Hey my Bama faithful, you know... I was reading the article about us being on probation for the last 15 years and I realized that if most other schools had sustained a blow of the magnitude and duration that we've had to endure they would simply fold and vanish into the realm of football has been's. Sure we haven't been the usual dominate Alabama of the past, but we have been far from slouches. During these past 15 years we've had some teams that could hang with anybody and I think our 1999 SEC championship team could have been national champions if it had not been for that mental fart (LA Tech game)we lost that year. My point is...it shows our strength and why we are the Epitome of college football...second to none!!!

See below: THE DECLARATION OF THE CRIMSON TIDE...YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE IT...YOU JUST HAVE TO ACCEPT IT!

LISTEN UP!! TENNESSEE, BARNERS, LSU AND EVERYONE ELSE OUT THERE, HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR. YOU'RE DAYS ARE NUMBERED!!! NO LONGER WILL YOU BE ABLE TO WREAK HAVOC AND CHAOS OVER THE SEC AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL WORLD DUE TO YEARS OF OPPRESSION OF THE BAMA PROGRAM. THE RIGHTFUL KING OF NCAA FOOTBALL IS BACK. WE WILL SHOW YOU WHAT A JUGGERNAUT PROGRAM IS ALL ABOUT. YOUR GREATEST DAYS ARE BEHIND YOU (hope you enjoyed). TIC TOC, TIC TOC, TIC TOC....THOSE ARE THE SECONDS THAT WILL FEEL LIKE YEARS AS YOU WALK DOWN THIS GREEN MILE. DON'T BOTHER STEPPING DOWN BECAUSE WE WILL KNOCK YOU DOWN AND WHILE YOU'RE DOWN THERE....BOW!!! YOUR KING IS HERE!

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Well, only 9 months after the kingship was declared, The Tide fulfilled every prediction of the entry. And with that, I will end by welcoming The Tide back to Atlanta knowing they have earned their spot.

Get out your pen and paper, this one's gonna rewrite history.

ROLL TIDE

Lessons learned

What I have learned from college football:

- Sharing toys good; Sharing titles bad
- Beating rivals is the only form of job security
- BCS stands for BITCH, COMPLAIN, SULK
- Offense gets you ahead; Defense keeps you ahead
- People in Baton Rouge are f*ckin crazy
- Stafford is such a good QB, that he couldn't possibly screw up; it must be the wind
- They don't call 'em Rebels for nothing
- A blocked kick can ruin a season
- Mark Richt is God; Nick Saban is the Antichrist; and Tim Tebow is the Angel of Death
- The cost to get rid of a coach in the ACC: $3 million; The cost to get rid of a coach in the SEC: $6 million; The cost to get rid of a Notre Dame coach $16 million
- Vandy isn't just doctors and lawyers anymore
- Bulldog's bark is bigger than their bite
- Pete Carrol won't shut the hell up
- Nick Saban is worth $4 million a year
- Two minutes is a world of time
- Missed extra points will come back and bite ya

The tale of the Tide

It seems like only yesterday the Alabama Crimson Tide arrived at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for their opening game against the then-No.9 ranked team, the Clemson Tigers. Bama had barely busted through the gates of the pre-season BCS rankings, standing at No. 24. And who can fault the BCS for placing Bama in that spot? After coming off a medeocre season at best, 2008 was expected to be a 'building year,' a process that would take time to pay dividends under Nick Saban. Saban's $4 million contract was heavily criticized. However, while haters were hating, while Mark Richt was shopping for black jersies and while LSU was drafting their vendetta, Saban was compiling an arsenal. The recruiting genious was bringing in top talent from all over the place. The team wasn't the his only project. He rebuilt the entire program, everything from top recruits and the best coaching staff, to team celebration time limitations and a detailed, "one game at a time" philosophy.

When the big day in Atlanta arrived, Clemson's shining stars, Thunder and Lightning were less than the perfect storm, if a storm at all. By halftime, Clemson looked like they were at funeral, and the Tide, well the Tide was dancing on their grave. A team that was barely on the BCS radar, was suddenly grabbing everybody's attention. Even Sports Illustrated jumped in on the media frenzy, featuring the Tide as their cover story with a headline advisory: SEC Beware, The Tide sends out an early warning.

What was an early warning in Week One, turned into an unbelievable season -- a season in which the Tide re-established themselves as a dominant force in the SEC and in college football. Yep, the program that put the SEC on the map, began reclaiming their territory. The Tide has thier last regular season game this Saturday -- an annual "out for blood Alabama affair" against thier ultimate rivals, the Auburn Tigers.

But how did an "early warning" become the only only undefeated BCS team in the country in the final week of the season? Well, The Tale of the Tide goes something like this ...

After the big victory in Week One,The Tide would go under the radar as they played Tulane and Western Kentucky. While mildly struggling against Tulane, the Tide, as great teams do, found a way to win. Then, they stomped W. Kentucky 41-7.

Week four would bring about a familiar foe, The Arkansas Hogs. Once a competitive SEC West team, the Hogs folded under the pressure of the Tide, losing 49-14 at home. Guess I was right about them Hogs...they are far inferior after losing Coach Houston Nutt to Ole' Miss and Darryn McFadden and Felix Jones to the NFL. Who knows, maybe Petrino will turn things around, but no such luck this time around.

With four games and four wins behind them, the Tide would face UGA in a much-anticipated matchup Between the Hedges in Athens. A matchup in the past only seen every 5 years or so had reared its ugly head, lining Bama and UGA up for the second year in a row. The Dawgs gloated about their big win over the Tide last year, foolishly forgetting the the Tide took them into double overtime before ultimately losing. The Dawgs would use this matchup to rally the fans into a blackout. The Dawgs took the field in their much-reverred black jersies, but their bark would prove to be bigger than their bite. The Tide scored 31 points in the first half completely dominating. While the Tide cooled off the second half, the hole, or should I say grave, was too deep for the Dawgs to reconcile and they lost, 41-30, but atleast the Dawgs were dressed for the occassion.

Now the Tide had passed the test. UGA was preseason No. 1, but you wouldn't know it come 10 pm on Saturday Sept. 27. But as puzzling as UGA's descent down the BCS ladder, was Bama's near misses against Ole' Miss and Kentucky.

In what Saban called "a clinic on how to keep the other team in the game," the Tide would squeak by Kentucky, redeeming themselves of 10 penalties. With a 24-3 lead at the half over Ole' Miss, the Tide would once again, squeak by in "find a way to win" fashion. But nonetheless, with the season halfway over, the Tide was undefeated at 7and 0 and climbed through the top ten, sitting pretty at No. 2

As the plot thickened in college football, The Tide beat the struggling Tennessee Vols in Knoxville before rolling back to Tuscaloosa for homecoming against Arkansas State, a game they won 35-0. But outside of Tuscaloosa, the college football fan nation would watch as the race to the top became a "last man standing" battle. Top five teams such as Texas, Penn State and Oklahoma became victims of upsets, dropping like flies and leaving a room for rent at the top.

The Tide was on the winning side of BCS deal, sitting even prettier in the No.1 spot. The power came with responsibilty -- the responsibility to NOT screw it up --and as the BCS continued shifting, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the Tide would become like the one's before them, No. 1 has-beens.

But that was just the beginning of the uphill battle ahead. The Tide was only one win away from clinching the SEC West, guarenteeing them a spot in the SEC Champoinship. But not just any win would do it. The Tide would have to beat one specific team. The timing was perfect, because just their dumb luck, the one team they had to beat was next up on the schedule. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better. The one team that stood between Bama and a spot in the SEC championship was none other than thier SEC West rival,and defending national champs, the LSU Tigers, aka, The Rajun' Cajuns.

Bama would arrive in Baton Rouge for a homecoming, minus the warm welcome and hospitality. While the intense rivalry reared its ugly head, LSU fans had another bone to pick. Just a few years ago, after leading them to a national championship, Saban left for a bid in the NFL. His stint in the NFL was a failure, and Saban was on the hunt for a coaching job back where he was best, college. But after sending Saban off with a farewell and best wishes, LSU was mad as hell to see Saban reappear in the SEC as the head coach at Alabama.

Bitter and out for blood, LSU would give Saban a good-old-fashioned welcome for his first return to Baton Rouge since the leaving. LSU relished the opportunity to come back and haunt Saban as the potential spoiler of the Tide's perfect season.

The Brawl in the Bayou kicked off at 3:30 on a sunny afternoon. After the Tide's far from perfect first half, hat made every Bama fan want to crawl out of their skin, it appeared that LSU was on their way to making good on their vendetta -- the promise to wreck Bama's perfect season, thus trashing any national championship hopes.

The second half ensued. The afternoon brightness started to fade. And as the sun went down, you could begin to feel that change in the air, that spooky feeling. It was nightfall in Baton Rouge, and you could feel it in the pit of your stomach. Nighttime in Baton Rouge is creepy, something weird happens down there at night. Everybody knows night games at Tiger Stadium are no good.

But as darkness arrived, the Tide began to turn. Bama would take a lead, only to lose it, then gain it back. This tug-of-war brought the game to a field goal. The Tide lined up to kick for three and take the win, but in true LSU/Bama fashion, it wouldn't be that simple. Liegh Tiffin's would-be winning feild goal was blocked.

Overtime was the last hope for either team. But LSU made a fatal mistake ... The young Jarret Lee got greedy in their first possession of OT, throwing a deep pass into the endzone that intercepted by Rashad Johnson. After the turnover, JP Wilson would go long to Julio Jones, and at with only inches standing between the Tide and an SEC West title clinching win, JPW would leap his way into the endzone to close the deal.

While the Bayou Brawl, an instant classic, would reveal both teams' weakenesses, it would also, once again, showcase the Tide's ability to come through, even if they have to find a way to win.

After the physically and emotionally exhausing game at LSU, The Tide returned to Tuscaloosa to take on Mississippi State, led by former Bama Center and coach, Sylvester Croome. After beating us in the last two matchups, the Tide had to settle the score. After a rough start, the Tide unleashed on the Bulldogs. Javier Arenas would return a punt for a touchdown. This, along with JPW, Ingram and a solid performance from the kicking team, would lead the Tide to a 32-7 victory.

Still sitting pretty at the top, the Tide looks to their final challenge of the regular season. With one away from perfect 12-0 season, the Tide will host the Auburn Tigers. The rivalry, played out annually in the Iron Bowl, seems like a matchup the the Tide can handle After all, Auburn has struggled mightily this season and the Tide has had tremendous success this season. What could possible go wrong?

Well, despite Auburn's pitfalls, they do have thing... defense. As a matter of fact, the Auburn defense may be the toughest defense the Tide will face. Sounds funny, huh? But with a season in the toilet, a result of ineffective offense and a circle of rumors surrounding the leadership of the team, this could be the chance Auburn will finally capitalize on. Auburn lost to UGA in their last game, however they fought hard and showcased their strengths. UGA, once again, won in spite of themselves, but only by 3 in a 17-14 game. UGA had trouble breaking through Auburn's defense, but Auburn struck first, showing that their offense is improving. And not a moment too soon. But will the Tide rewrite 6 years of Iron Bowl history, or will Auburn come out on top with ONE win that can wipe out SIX losses?

And now, here we are, just days before the Iron Bowl. But after the Auburn chapter is written, The Tide, will return to the Dome, to where it all began 13 weeks ago. Except this time, a national championship is on the line against an opponent who has averaged almost 50 points a game, wiping teams like South Carolina and Vandy off the map. Will the SEC championship be the final chapter in the Tale of the Tide, or the beginning of a dynasty?

Stay tuned ........



Wrapping up, here a just a few of the highlights of the Tide's season:

John Parker Wilson (QB) has not put up big numbers, but he had done something just as important -- manage the game. He has showed poise and discipline and shined as a true leader.

The rushing game: The Tide has dominated with their running game using running back Glenn Coffee with Andre Smith as his blocker. Freshman Mark Ingraham has also had his share of carries adding to a dynamic offensive line.

Terrance "Mount" Cody: A junior college transfer, Cody has stopped offenses as the nose tackle. Teams have trouble finding a way to get through him and are forced to spread or put more than one of their guys up agianst him. And according to Cody, "He is living the dream"

Julio Jones: A highly recruited kid, JJ has made big plays at WR. And he doesn't look like a freshman. His stature and athleticism will land him in the NFL. And the best part: YAC -- he not only makes the big catches, but fights for yards with churning legs that often drag 1 or 2 along with them.

Special teams: Karim Jackson snuck in on Miss St today to block a punt. Javier Arenas returned at 90-something punt return for a TD, today. Rashad Johnson intercepted the would-be winning touch down last week to put the Tide back in the game, and the kicking team has done a good job of managing opponents' field position.