Tide dominates...

Position by position points to 'Bama...

      Taking a look at the two Iron Bowl teams position by position gives the appearance of an Alabama victory.  It might be hard to find a single area where the Tigers outshine the Tide. Let's look at the positions one by one and some intangibles.

• Coaching:  Alabama gets the nod in what might be Gene Chizik's farewell song... Some fans believe that Chizik will  tell his squad that Saturday is his last game as the Auburn's head coach.  Edge: to Alabama. 
• Mental Attitude:   Alabama will be focused on this game. Tide fans are looking forward to Atlanta and beyond. Auburn has one game left this season. The Iron Bowl is their bowl game.I'm not worried about Alabama. I think that the Tigers will play hard. Early success might help them.  Bama has more to play for in this game: Edge: Alabama

Quarterback:  Auburn's quarterbacking woes have been well document and highly lamented by Tiger fans. Of late, the Tigers have turned to Jonathon Wallace. Wallace is the third quarterback the Tigers have used this season. Failed experiments with Frazier and Moseley caused Chizik to simplify the offense and turn to Wallace. With Wallace at the helm the Tigers and have won two games. First, they beat New Mexico State and last weekend they defeated Alabama A&M. Hey, it's a start. Wallace is 41/66 for 650  yards. That's  a 62% completion rate and a 158.5 quarterback rating. Those are not bad numbers. Alabama will have A.J. McCarron under center. A.J. is 163/244 for 2291 yards. He has an phenomenal TD to interception ratio. He's thrown for 21 touchdowns and had only 2 picks. His rating is an sky high 178.9. That is a lofty number. It would be silly to think that Wallace has the skills of McCarron. The real questions is whether Wallace can bring enough to the Tiger offense to win. I don't think so. Edge to Alabama

       Running backs:  The Tide's one-two punch of Eddie Lacey and T.J. Yeldon has a lot more press and hype. They also have the luxury of running behind a great offensive line. Lacy has gained 870 yards on 146 rushes for an average of 6 yards a carry. He is a load inside, and finally looks to be one hundred percent well. His teammate, T.J. Yeldon has 801 yards on 121 carries for a 6.7 pop per carry. The Tide tailbacks are tough, elusive, and someone is always  has fresh legs.  Auburn's backs are not that far behind Alabama's. Tre Mason is a hard running, quick, and tricky little back who has gained 920 yards on on 150 carries for a 6 yard average. Despite the Tigers problems on offense the running backs have done well. Anonio McCaleb, who seems to have been on the Plains for decades,  has run the ball 91 times for 573 yards and a 6.1 average. The truth here is that Alabama and Auburn both have excellent running games which have been effective. Auburn's backs are better than you think.  McCaleb has also run back a kick-off for a TD All things considered, and the difference isn't as large as you'd think.  Edge to Alabama.

         The Receivers: In fairness to the AU receivers, judging them is a little difficult because of the problems the line and quarterbacks have faced. Two AU wideouts stand apart from their teammates. Emory Blake is as good as anyone in the SEC. He gets open with his speed and running precise routes. He has great hands and can lay out to make some great catches. Sammie Coates hasn't caught but 6 passes this season. But he has the talent and speed.He is back from fighting some injuries. He is averaging a whopping 20 yards per catch. The Auburn backs, McCaleb and Mason, have caught a total of 31 passes. The Tigers use them primarily to get to the corner.  Auburn's great tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen is out of the season. That is a huge loss for Auburn. He is a great player.

       Alabama has some outstanding recievers. Start with freshman sensation Amari Cooper. He has been sensational since overcoming an early season injury. Kevin Norwood seems to have the knack of making the important catches. Tight end Michael Williams makes some key catches when he isn't sealing off the corner for the running backs. Christian Jones caught a nice TD pass from McCarron last week.. Kenny Bell is the downtown threat and he can fly.  You cannot leave out Lacey and Yeldon when talking receiving. The Tigers have a lot of talent, but the Tide is more versatile. Both teams have wide outs who could change the outcome of a close game. Hopefully, for the Tide it won't be close.  Edge goes to Alabama

         The Offensive Line ...  Alabama's offensive line has been touted as the best in the nation and maybe the best in college football history. Those are pretty lofty expectations. The Tide has looked that good at times, and not so good on others. The Tide has had some problems with pass defense. However, I haven't seen a better offensive line than the Tide and we certainly won't see one on this Saturday. The Tiger offensive line has done a decent job in run offense, but have had a hard time in defending the pass rush. This is going to be fun to watch. The Tide's defensive strength is against the run, and everyone says the Tide has no outstanding individual pass rusher. Splat and pancake are words you often hear when talking about the Tide OL.  It is amazing how far Tide backs run without being touched. Big Edge goes to Alabama.


Tomorrow the Defense and special teams...



Coach Kirby Smart was named Assistant Coach of the Year. Hey, we could have told them that. Roll Tide Roll



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