Bama blasts Auburn back to the Stone Age

 All Bama...all day long
Is this Auburn the worst team in Iron Bowl History?
Bell out for SEC Championship game...

      

        The experts all said this would be a pummeling of epic proportions. When the  half-time score was 42-0  I wondered just how many points would the Tide score. Intellectually, I didn't think Alabama would score 84 points. Realistically, I thought they could. After the game was over I have no doubt this Tide team could have scored at least that many. As perfect as the Tide first team played you have to acknowledge that this season's Auburn team is the absolute worst team they've ever brought to the Iron Bowl. Horrible doesn't describe how bad the Tigers truly are. Perfect doesn't describe just how well Alabama played. The Alabama starters had the ball 7 times. They scored 7 touchdowns. I'm not sure that Auburn could score even after Alabama left the field when the game was over. Those scraps of orange and blue on the turf at Bryant-Denny is all that is left of the Auburn program right now. Two seasons ago the Auburn Tiger won a highly questionable national championship. Today, there is no question that Auburn is the worst team in the SEC. You might argue that Kentucky is worse.  But Kentucky isn't burdened with high expectations. In the near future Auburn won't have that burden either. Alabama will prepare for the SEC Championship game. Auburn will prepare for the NCAA infraction committee. Alabama will prepare for bigger and better things in the future. Auburn must hire a new head coach, find a coaching staff, try to convince their talented recruiting class that the great unknown is better than known greatness. Dee Liner has reportedly told 'Bama coaches he's seen enough at Auburn to jump sides. We'll see.

       In his post game press conference Nick Saban took a moment to thank the 9 seniors on Alabama's roster. Saban pointed out that when Barrett Jones and company came to Alabama they were not at the top of anything. These were the young men who came to Alabama to rebuild former greatness. They came on the promise of Nick Saban. I'd say mission accomplished. Barrett Jones was one of those seniors. Jones may be the first college player to make All-American at three different offensive line positions. On the other side of the stadium a sober Gene Chizik apologized to the Auburn 'family' for today's game and the season in general. He called what happened an embarrassment and refused to speculate on his future on the Plains. He handled all that with poise and dignity. A lesser man might not have been able to do so. I bet this is the last game for at Auburn. I wonder the logic of firing a coach who took you to a national championship two years ago.

"We're clicking on all cylinders now..." Barrett Jones

    Barrett Jones, 'Bama All-American, said it best, "I think we’re clicking on all cylinders right now going into this SEC championship (game), so it should be a great game," Jones said. "Georgia played well today. It’s going to be a great fight." Alabama has won its last two games 49-0. The first team offense has scored on every possession they've had the ball in the last two games. What has made the difference?  It looks like Alabama has returned to basics. Running behind the best offensive line in football has been a good starting place. Bama has also gone down field with long passes. This has made the short crossing lanes, which has been the Tide's passing bread and butter, wide open. Just for the record Eddie Lacy raced for 131 giving him over 1000 yards for the season.

      Another factor has been the return to form of A.J. McCarron. The lanky junior didn't have his best games against LSU and TAM. Credit him for putting Alabama in a position to win both games when it mattered most. His heart stopping final drive against LSU is the stuff of legends. The Tide comeback against TAM came up two yards short. That slip up has served to cause a refocus on what made Alabama successful. If Alabama wins its 15th national championship it may be due to the A&M loss. The next weekend both Oregon and Kansas State lost games which elevated Alabama to # 2 in the nation, and gave the Crimson a shot at another BCS National Championship game.  Bama next plays Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. They do so with a renewed sense of purpose and perhaps the recapture of some swagger and confidence. You have to have some luck along the line and Bama got their share.

Tigers suffer beyond getting beat...
  

       In the long series of this rivalry there have been some one sided games. None have occurred recently, however. Regardless of when those one sided games might have occurred none took on the theme of a execution styled killing like Saturday. Auburn should have blindfolded themselves and smoked a final cigarette. Auburn looked less like a football team and more like a cattle run at the dog food factory. 'Never Again' reverberated through Bryant-Denny like a vengeful Hatfield or McCoy. Alabama wasn't interested in just winning the game, nor were they interested in thrashing the Tigers. No, the Tide wanted take the Tigers in the alley and give them an old fashioned beat down. I have no idea where Auburn goes from here. In the past three years the Tigers thought they were creating an empire. They have nothing to show for a great season and top 10 national recruiting classes. All these problems are exacerbated by Alabama's success. As the Tide continues to elevate their program, the Tigers drop like rock in a deep lake. Who wants to come to Auburn to coach?  Who wants to come and compete head to head with Nick Saban. It kind of like the old Groucho Marx joke - I'd never join a country club who would actually accept me as a member. Whoever comes to coach at Auburn is going to be paid more money than Midas or is such a dreamer he is able to avoid reality. Name one big name big name coach who would seriously think about taking a job with Auburn. No more Gene Chizik type hires will satisfy the Tiger fan base. They want the Tiger equivalent of Nick Saban. The new man better have more than a passing knowledge of how the NCAA investigates recruiting violations. Seriously, the Tigers will be better served in allowing Chizik a few seasons to get the mess that is Auburn turned around.  Gene Chizik reminds me of the poem about the fall from grace - The fall from grace is steep and swift, and when you land, it does not make a sound, because are alone. - Cari Williams 1995.