Finebaum says Auburn is the new Bammer

[whiteplainstiger 0]

Here is the link.

http://www.al.com/sports/mobileregister/pf...&thispage=1

I jumped into my car Saturday night and flipped on the radio and the cheap shots on Auburn came early and often.

"Auburn looked horrible today against Ole Miss," said the commentator on ESPN radio. "This team is going backward."

About 20 minutes later, at a gas station, a guy yelled at me with the same message.

"What's wrong with Auburn? They haven't shown me anything."

I shook my head and tried to compute the information. Didn't Auburn win on the road in the SEC earlier in the day? Aren't they ranked No. 6 in the BCS standings?

Nobody bothered to mention that Alabama had trailed what is arguably the worst football team in America and led only 10-3 at halftime (it's a good thing Florida International suspended 18 players or that score might have been reversed). Nobody uttered a word about Mike Shula having to put back in a hobbled starting quarterback (with no reliable backup) in the second half to seal the deal. And it finally dawned on me what was going on here.

Auburn is the new Alabama.

Because of the success by Tommy Tuberville in the last three years and the cumulative record against the Tide, we are now judging the Tigers on a much different scale. They not only have to win but are expected to win impressively.

I noticed this earlier in the year while watching the Tigers in Columbia against South Carolina. When Auburn failed to score an early knockout during that Thursday night ESPN game, fans began looking frustrated. When it happened again Saturday, the same result occurred. Auburn is supposed to roll over these teams by two or three touchdowns and when the Tigers fail to do so, the media and public start looking for a scapegoat. When Alabama struggles against the dregs, it is business as usual.

This is what happens when you are the hunted vs. the hunter. This is what happens when you replace Alabama as the team to beat and the dominant program in the stateThis opinion isn't unique. It's being shared throughout the land.

John Adams, the sports editor of Knoxville News-Sentinel, recently wrote about the two programs:

"Who has the best coach? Auburn's Tommy Tuberville. Who has the hottest assistant coach? Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges. Who has the more proven quarterback? Auburn's Brandon Cox."

Adams noted that the Tide did resurface with last year's 10-2 mark and high ranking but it really didn't change anything.

"Here's reality," wrote Adams. "Alabama has emerged from the Dark Ages, only to find itself in Auburn's shadow."

Quite frankly, I don't know what to make out of the play of Auburn this year. It has been somewhat surprising. However, the Tigers, with one embarrassing exception, have found a way to win. Remember, the Tigers are currently No. 6 and did beat Florida, which is ranked No. 4 in the latest BCS.

Auburn is now the benchmark in these parts for discipline while Alabama (see Juwan Simpson) has become a laughingstock.

Like it used to be for Alabama under Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings, fans are grumbling but the Tigers are amazingly alive again for both the SEC championship and, yes, the BCS national title game.

And Alabama? With the monumental win over Florida International -- coupled with the other stirring victories over Hawaii, Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Monroe, Duke and Ole Miss, who have a combined record of 13-37 -- the Tide is now bowl eligible. I'm sure the travel agencies will start getting busy with packages for hungry Tide fans anxious to follow this team into the postseason.

Has any team ever done less to receive a bowl bid? If you throw out Hawaii, which has a 6-2 record, Alabama's last five wins since the season opener are against teams with a combined 7-35 mark. And don't forget Mississippi State, at 2-7, is on deck.

If you needed more evidence, in the recent NCAA Division I-A power ratings of all 120 football schools, here is how the teams Alabama has beaten rank: Hawaii (32), Vanderbilt (62), Ole Miss (94), Louisiana-Monroe (113), Florida International (119) and Duke (120). In other words, three of Alabama's four non-conference opponents are ranked among the seven worst football programs in the country.

So while Auburn tries to get to Atlanta for the rematch with the Gators and maybe (although a longshot) to Glendale, Ariz., for a shot at Michigan or Ohio State, the Tide can start making plans for Shreveport, Memphis or maybe even Nashville.

Like I said earlier, times have changed.

Auburn is the new Alabama.

[rolltoomer 0]

You really need to be fair to uat. After all, FIU only started SEVEN true freshmen, the bullies. If they had been more sporty, they would have started maybe 10-11.

[SKCAUB 0]

We can't be the new Bamar...we didn't lose to Southern Miss.....

[WarTim 3,457]

We didn't lose to La Tech or Central Florida either (@ Homecoming, no less)

"DOMINANT Team in the STATE!"(That's gonna leave a mark ! ! !)

pondscum will stir up the unwashed masses with this article. Mission accomplished.

[TigerOne 1,152]

what an insult, we are not anything like uat.

Auburn is the new Auburn.

But yeah the stagnant pool of bammers needed stirring this Halloween and that article should do it.

[AU alum 2]

what an insult, we are not anything like uat.

Auburn is the new Auburn.

But yeah the stagnant pool of bammers needed stirring this Halloween and that article should do it.

I agree. We are better than SPUAT ever dreamed of being. But I guess Finebaum actually saw that as a compliment. Forget that!

[eibua12 81]

Since BAMA lives in the past does that make them the Old Auburn.

[jared52 4,354]

I don't want to be the new uat. I just want to be Auburn. We are we are and that will never change whether we are 13-0 or 0-13. Yeah, the 0-13 would really hurt, but it wouldn't change my feelings one bit.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

what an insult, we are not anything like uat.

Check out some of the posts on this board after the Arky State game Saturday. If doesn't win by 100 points, you'll see some of the truth in Finebaum's assertion.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

We don't have to worry about ever being like bama. Our fans know the way to Auburn.

[AFTiger 282]

This is when Alabama fans are most dangerous. Usually ends with Auburn being set up for trouble with the NCAA.

[KunzelTiger 0]

Do we have to accept the toothless uneducated that usually root for UAT as Auburn fans?

[GalensGhost 0]

Do we have to accept the toothless uneducated that usually root for UAT as Auburn fans?

Whether you want to recognize it or not, that paradigm shift is already in full transition. Should Auburn dominate another four or five years (Dear Mal, please extend Shula's contract and give him a $10M buyout) you will see a seismic shift in allegiances. It's already evident if you just stop and look around the smaller towns in this state. Where there were once crimpson strongholds, there are now spreading pockets of AU fans. Most are younger (under 35) and have never known a time when Bama was truly dominant.

The bama dinosaurs are dying off. As they go, they're being replaced by people who don't remember Bear and who view Auburn as the prestigious program.

[AU! 0]

Do we have to accept the toothless uneducated that usually root for UAT as Auburn fans?

Whether you want to recognize it or not, that paradigm shift is already in full transition. Should Auburn dominate another four or five years (Dear Mal, please extend Shula's contract and give him a $10M buyout) you will see a seismic shift in allegiances. It's already evident if you just stop and look around the smaller towns in this state. Where there were once crimpson strongholds, there are now spreading pockets of AU fans. Most are younger (under 35) and have never known a time when Bama was truly dominant.

The bama dinosaurs are dying off. As they go, they're being replaced by people who don't remember Bear and who view Auburn as the prestigious program.

and yea how the bammers bowed their heads in shame as their children donned the colors of their parents' most hated rivals as a new era began in the southern state of Alabama. An Era of Auburn domination.

[KunzelTiger 0]

Our state dominance is going to cause fights and broken homes. The younger generation will root for a dominant Auburn team...the older generation will root for a Bear resurgance. This will lead to fights and arguements...

Auburn will be responsible for ruining the institution of family in the state of Alabama.

As an aside, I was able to convince a life long Bama fan that I was interning with one summer to go to Auburn and be an engineer. In her first semester on the plains she has sat with me at every game I've been to and she screams as loud as anyone.

War Eagle!

[TigerOne 1,152]

Our state dominance is going to cause fights and broken homes. The younger generation will root for a dominant Auburn team...the older generation will root for a Bear resurgance. This will lead to fights and arguements...

Auburn will be responsible for ruining the institution of family in the state of Alabama.

As an aside, I was able to convince a life long Bama fan that I was interning with one summer to go to Auburn and be an engineer. In her first semester on the plains she has sat with me at every game I've been to and she screams as loud as anyone.

War Eagle!

No Auburn will be responsible for putting people on the the right path to success and truth. Stronger

families will be the result. uat has always been the cause of despair and arrogance.