Seriously, congrats

[BamaGrad03 0]

Just want to say that today's game was the best I've seen all year. Auburn came to play. You guys have NOTHING to hang your head about.

We haven't seen that much fire and heart out of an opponent all season.

Kudos for Auburn for having a gameplan that could be effective on both sides of the ball. And while I think the better team won, that one could have gone either way. One slip up on that last drive of ours and we could be having a completely different discussion.

Great game. Roll Tide.

[280TIGER 12]

Just want to say that today's game was the best I've seen all year. Auburn came to play. You guys have NOTHING to hang your head about.

We haven't seen that much fire and heart out of an opponent all season.

Kudos for Auburn for having a gameplan that could be effective on both sides of the ball. And while I think the better team one, that one could have gone either way. One slip up on that last drive of ours and we could be having a completely different discussion.

Great game. Roll Tide.

BG, I normally mess with you, but thanks for the classy post. I thought it was a great game and I was very proud of the effort. Enjoy the win.

[TigerHeat 9]

Just want to say that today's game was the best I've seen all year. Auburn came to play. You guys have NOTHING to hang your head about.

We haven't seen that much fire and heart out of an opponent all season.

Kudos for Auburn for having a gameplan that could be effective on both sides of the ball. And while I think the better team one, that one could have gone either way. One slip up on that last drive of ours and we could be having a completely different discussion.

Great game. Roll Tide.

Thanks. I'm as happy as one can be with a loss to Bammer.

BTW, at Auburn we spell the word "won" W-O-N and not O-N-E.

[RunInRed 16,991]

Most competitive IB in a good while, for sure. I enjoyed 58 minutes of the game

[CovingtonTigerFan 0]

Just want to say that today's game was the best I've seen all year. Auburn came to play. You guys have NOTHING to hang your head about.

We haven't seen that much fire and heart out of an opponent all season.

Kudos for Auburn for having a gameplan that could be effective on both sides of the ball. And while I think the better team one, that one could have gone either way. One slip up on that last drive of ours and we could be having a completely different discussion.

Great game. Roll Tide.

Thanks, BG. Classy post. Bama definitely showed their mental toughness on that last drive. That's the kind of series championships are made of.

I know I'm probably in the minority among folks on this board, but I'll be pulling for the Tide the rest of the way.

[TexasTiger 13,556]

Just want to say that today's game was the best I've seen all year. Auburn came to play. You guys have NOTHING to hang your head about.

We haven't seen that much fire and heart out of an opponent all season.

Kudos for Auburn for having a gameplan that could be effective on both sides of the ball. And while I think the better team one, that one could have gone either way. One slip up on that last drive of ours and we could be having a completely different discussion.

Great game.

Thanks, BG. Now don't go and ruin it.

[AUgrad00 7]

Classy post. Good game. That was a very very good game.

[AURaptor 1,137]

Thanks, BG. Classy post. Bama definitely showed their mental toughness on that last drive. That's the kind of series championships are made of.

I know I'm probably in the minority among folks on this board, but I'll be pulling for the Tide the rest of the way.

Yeah, you're in the vast minority. 12-0 is suppose to beat 7-5, and we'll be on top next year. At least we came to play, and nearly won this year, which is a far cry from how things turned out last year.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

[boyjeddah 1]

Congrats you guys on the hard fought out game, that game took 7 years out of my life...

this is my assessment if anyone care and I am sure most (if not all) do not.. I knew that Bama was the better team with the better talent and stamina but I was worried about the mental psych of the team and i think that's what affected the outcome of this game. I told my wife that AU has nothing to lose and if they played like it the whole game, then I am really worried. So I was not optimistic when AU came out swinging and it showed in the first quarter. However, once your coaches started worrying about keeping up the lead and playing not to lose, I realize that we have a shot coming back into this one. I do not know why they decided to stop doing all the "tricks" plays and taking more shots down the field regardless of the interception.. YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE..!!! even if you're up by 14. Chizik told the team not to worry about the scoreboard and play till the end, and it seemed that he forgot to remind himself and his coaches of that as well.

[Grumps 3,706]

Congrats you guys on the hard fought out game, that game took 7 years out of my life...

this is my assessment if anyone care and I am sure most (if not all) do not.. I knew that Bama was the better team with the better talent and stamina but I was worried about the mental psych of the team and i think that's what affected the outcome of this game. I told my wife that AU has nothing to lose and if they played like it the whole game, then I am really worried. So I was not optimistic when AU came out swinging and it showed in the first quarter. However, once your coaches started worrying about keeping up the lead and playing not to lose, I realize that we have a shot coming back into this one. I do not know why they decided to stop doing all the "tricks" plays and taking more shots down the field regardless of the interception.. YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE..!!! even if you're up by 14. Chizik told the team not to worry about the scoreboard and play till the end, and it seemed that he forgot to remind himself and his coaches of that as well.

So you think we lost because of coaching? It seems to me either, 1. UAT was not much better than AU last night, or 2. AU was much better coached than was UAT.

I believe than UAT has more talent on its team and more depth than AU. If I am right then how else can you explain the fact that AU outplayed UAT for most of the game if not for coaching/preparation? The only difference I saw in the game is we had two turnovers and UAT did not. UAT played the game with superior talent, no turnovers, had near-flawless QB play, had much better special teams than AU and still could not have won without AU miscues. To me, this means either UAT is way overrated or AU was better coached. Which do you think it is?

[boyjeddah 1]

So you think we lost because of coaching? It seems to me either, 1. UAT was not much better than AU last night, or 2. AU was much better coached than was UAT.

I believe than UAT has more talent on its team and more depth than AU. If I am right then how else can you explain the fact that AU outplayed UAT for most of the game if not for coaching/preparation? The only difference I saw in the game is we had two turnovers and UAT did not. UAT played the game with superior talent, no turnovers, had near-flawless QB play, had much better special teams than AU and still could not have won without AU miscues. To me, this means either UAT is way overrated or AU was better coached. Which do you think it is?

I think you're reading too much into my post. I do not know if it's coaching or not, but I am telling you the AU play-calling past the 1st Qt passed over my head. Dont get me wrong, I am glad the coaches thought they can hold the lead and play conservative because a couple of two more big plays may have killed whatever wellpower we were trying to gather. As to which team played better, I think AU did bring its A game while UA brought (outside the last drive) its D game. Have both teams played to their full potential on Fri on offense and defense, I am sorry this game would have been over by the 2nd Qt. I am not being ignorant or cocky here, you guys played your guts out but no way Bama's all cylinders were throttling on Fri. So much was going inside this team's head mentally or maybe even physically because of the short week. Overall, we have way too much firepower compared to AU these days just like I think that FL has more firepower than us these days.

[aubrandon 5]

Congrats you guys on the hard fought out game, that game took 7 years out of my life...

this is my assessment if anyone care and I am sure most (if not all) do not.. I knew that Bama was the better team with the better talent and stamina but I was worried about the mental psych of the team and i think that's what affected the outcome of this game. I told my wife that AU has nothing to lose and if they played like it the whole game, then I am really worried. So I was not optimistic when AU came out swinging and it showed in the first quarter. However, once your coaches started worrying about keeping up the lead and playing not to lose, I realize that we have a shot coming back into this one. I do not know why they decided to stop doing all the "tricks" plays and taking more shots down the field regardless of the interception.. YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE..!!! even if you're up by 14. Chizik told the team not to worry about the scoreboard and play till the end, and it seemed that he forgot to remind himself and his coaches of that as well.

I could not agree with you more. Once we threw the kitchen sink at them and built a solid lead, the coaching staff took their foot off of the accelerator. We had UAT stunned and they were looking at each other like weren't you supposed to cover him. With all of that said, the better team did win. Auburn gave the best performance I have seen since the Florida win. I know we tried the reverse again and UAT was ready. I think that once the trickery stopped your middle linebacker called a great game. It was almost like he was in our huddle. We ran out of gas. Julio is a freaking beast. Richardson,voh my gosh,is he gonna be special. Bottom line is we got beat by a better football team with absolute freaking beasts. We are headed in the right direction. Auburn will be a GREAT team in a couple more years.

[JB33 1]

Just want to say that today's game was the best I've seen all year. Auburn came to play. You guys have NOTHING to hang your head about.

We haven't seen that much fire and heart out of an opponent all season.

Kudos for Auburn for having a gameplan that could be effective on both sides of the ball. And while I think the better team won, that one could have gone either way. One slip up on that last drive of ours and we could be having a completely different discussion.

Great game. Roll Tide.

Well said. This game (the first 58.5 minuts, anyway!) was what the Iron Bowl is supposed to be. Congrats on a gutty win vs. an inspired opponent. As much as it gauls me to think of uat getting another MNC (to crow about for all eternity), I hope y'all get it done this year. Hope Ingram can recover in time to play next week - but, then again, Trent Richardson is a player, as well. Beat the Gators, and then the 'Horns.

[AURaptor 1,137]

What I don't understand is how Todd could overthrow a wide open Tommy Trott, twice in a row, on the same exact play. It was the right call, and didn't seem all that unusual a throw to make, in fact, it seemed rather routine. WTF was he thinking ? Trott was well beyond the 1st down marker, so it's not like he needed to go that much further down field. A few plays like that during the game are what I question, but I can't say if that's just player error or there was some miscommunication.

[Grumps 3,706]

So you think we lost because of coaching? It seems to me either, 1. UAT was not much better than AU last night, or 2. AU was much better coached than was UAT.

I believe than UAT has more talent on its team and more depth than AU. If I am right then how else can you explain the fact that AU outplayed UAT for most of the game if not for coaching/preparation? The only difference I saw in the game is we had two turnovers and UAT did not. UAT played the game with superior talent, no turnovers, had near-flawless QB play, had much better special teams than AU and still could not have won without AU miscues. To me, this means either UAT is way overrated or AU was better coached. Which do you think it is?

I think you're reading too much into my post. I do not know if it's coaching or not, but I am telling you the AU play-calling past the 1st Qt passed over my head. Dont get me wrong, I am glad the coaches thought they can hold the lead and play conservative because a couple of two more big plays may have killed whatever wellpower we were trying to gather. As to which team played better, I think AU did bring its A game while UA brought (outside the last drive) its D game. Have both teams played to their full potential on Fri on offense and defense, I am sorry this game would have been over by the 2nd Qt. I am not being ignorant or cocky here, you guys played your guts out but no way Bama's all cylinders were throttling on Fri. So much was going inside this team's head mentally or maybe even physically because of the short week. Overall, we have way too much firepower compared to AU these days just like I think that FL has more firepower than us these days.

You are pretty much making my point. With all of your supposed superior fire-power and superior coaching, near-perfect QB play, etc., I don't understand you criticizing our game plan. You can explain it away as "we brought our D game" all you want, but if UAT were as good as I thought, this game would not have been close. We did not play lights out. Yes, we were intense and the D played its best game, but our O was similar to other games, our special teams was still poor.

I still contend that either 1. you guys are not that good, or 2. We were better prepared= better coached. I congratulate you on your victory, but surely you are as surprised as I was that the difference between our programs was not that great.

[houtiger 0]

I just wanted to stop by and say congratulations to Auburn on a spirited effort and well played game on both sides of the ball. I thought your coaches did a great job, and all the players left everything they had on the field. It was a very good game to watch.

[WarTim 3,463]

Congrats you guys on the hard fought out game, that game took 7 years out of my life...

this is my assessment if anyone care and I am sure most (if not all) do not.. I knew that Bama was the better team with the better talent and stamina but I was worried about the mental psych of the team and i think that's what affected the outcome of this game. I told my wife that AU has nothing to lose and if they played like it the whole game, then I am really worried. So I was not optimistic when AU came out swinging and it showed in the first quarter. However, once your coaches started worrying about keeping up the lead and playing not to lose, I realize that we have a shot coming back into this one. I do not know why they decided to stop doing all the "tricks" plays and taking more shots down the field regardless of the interception.. YOU'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE..!!! even if you're up by 14. Chizik told the team not to worry about the scoreboard and play till the end, and it seemed that he forgot to remind himself and his coaches of that as well.

So you think we lost because of coaching? It seems to me either, 1. UAT was not much better than AU last night, or 2. AU was much better coached than was UAT.

I believe than UAT has more talent on its team and more depth than AU. If I am right then how else can you explain the fact that AU outplayed UAT for most of the game if not for coaching/preparation? The only difference I saw in the game is we had two turnovers and UAT did not. UAT played the game with superior talent, no turnovers, had near-flawless QB play, had much better special teams than AU and still could not have won without AU miscues. To me, this means either UAT is way overrated or AU was better coached. Which do you think it is?

Auburn is, obviously, FAR better coached. Anyone who saw that game will take away that fact.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I still contend that either 1. you guys are not that good, or 2. We were better prepared= better coached. I congratulate you on your victory, but surely you are as surprised as I was that the difference between our programs was not that great.

I think you also discount the fact that you had 12 days to prepare vs our 5, the fact that emotion can go a long way in college football, and that we adjusted very well after the onside kick TD drive. You scored 14 points on the first 2 drives, and were outscored 26-7 the rest of the way.

I'm not taking anything away from Auburn, because they played a great game. But I thought coaching was great on both sides. You guys put together a great gameplan (having 12 days to do it), and we coached it very well in our adjustments and melting 7 minutes off the clock in our final drive.

Also, calling the timeout to put in a pass play on the goal line was HUGE. I think the Mark Ingram pass play was indicative of well coached but not perfectly executed. It was wide open.

Both sides had coaching mistakes too. We ran the ball into an 8-9 man front way too much in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Auburn showed pretty poor clock management on our final drive and their own final drive. It was obvious with about 4.5 mins left in that drive that we were melting clock. Should have used timeouts earlier. And with a minute 30 left in the game, there were some questionable play calls and clock management down the stretch.

I think it was a very well coached game on both sides. It'd be tough to glean from that game that Alabama "isn't nearly as good as we thought they were" especially given the history of the series and the emotion that Auburn played with.

[bigsixfive 336]

I'm sure that juggernaut of a team Bama played the week before took 100% of their practice time and focus. We all know how those bottom tier D1AA teams can sneak up on you. I must have been dreaming too when I heard that Bama practiced for LSU and AU during their bye week.

All the bye week did was give our players a chance to rest (also something Bama didn't get after playing their starters for part of a meaningless game last week). Nothing Malzahn called wasn't in the playbook already. That pass to Todd has been there all year, they just haven't used it. The other successful plays have been run before with similar outcomes.

And Bama brought their D game? Really? Did you watch the game? Both teams were playing their butt off. Bama got popped in the mouth early with some misdirection and great execution. You can belittle Auburn all you want; that's your prerogative. Saying your team played a D game is only slighting the Bama players (which is common I guess, I heard some nasty comments directed at Ingram yesterday). The MO of that team was on display yesterday: don't turn the ball over, play good special teams, and be stingy on defense. It worked. Yes, Auburn was successful at stopping Ingram and slowing down Richardson for the most part, but McElroy played a heck of a game and credit the coaches for going the other play makers when it was obvious the traditional workhorses weren't doing it. Saying that was a D effort is just plain absurd.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I didn't say Bama played their D game. I hope that wasn't directed at me. Cause I don't feel that way at all.

[Grumps 3,706]

I still contend that either 1. you guys are not that good, or 2. We were better prepared= better coached. I congratulate you on your victory, but surely you are as surprised as I was that the difference between our programs was not that great.

I think you also discount the fact that you had 12 days to prepare vs our 5, the fact that emotion can go a long way in college football, and that we adjusted very well after the onside kick TD drive. You scored 14 points on the first 2 drives, and were outscored 26-7 the rest of the way.

I'm not taking anything away from Auburn, because they played a great game. But I thought coaching was great on both sides. You guys put together a great gameplan (having 12 days to do it), and we coached it very well in our adjustments and melting 7 minutes off the clock in our final drive.

Also, calling the timeout to put in a pass play on the goal line was HUGE. I think the Mark Ingram pass play was indicative of well coached but not perfectly executed. It was wide open.

Both sides had coaching mistakes too. We ran the ball into an 8-9 man front way too much in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Auburn showed pretty poor clock management on our final drive and their own final drive. It was obvious with about 4.5 mins left in that drive that we were melting clock. Should have used timeouts earlier. And with a minute 30 left in the game, there were some questionable play calls and clock management down the stretch.

I think it was a very well coached game on both sides. It'd be tough to glean from that game that Alabama "isn't nearly as good as we thought they were" especially given the history of the series and the emotion that Auburn played with.

I did not say that UAT has poor coaching. I am just saying that if UAT has:

The best coaching in the country

One of the top 5 defenses in the country

Far superior talent

A game where your QB makes no mistakes

Superior special teams play

No turnovers

An opponent who continues to struggle on offense

An opponent who is woefully thin on defense

The fact that is takes a lst minute to drive to win does not add up. That is all I am saying. It is not like we had a lot of luck or played way over our heads. Yes, our defense was better than normal but that could be due to coaching. If you are way better than us and your coaching is superior then this game would not be a nail-biter.

[bigsixfive 336]

I didn't say Bama played their D game. I hope that wasn't directed at me. Cause I don't feel that way at all.

No, it wasn't. Sorry, should have been clearer. I was just pointing out that the bye week wasn't as big of a factor as you (and the Bama fans sitting around me) made it out to be in terms of preparation. We all know coaches on both sides have this game circled 365 days a year. They've all been planning for it more than a week in advance. The biggest thing the bye did for us was give our defense and OL a chance to rest.

[E'Town4Bama 143]

Just wanted to say good game fellows. Most everything has been said already but my hat goes off to you guys. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Auburn really surprised me. I am just glad the refs did a good job yesterday. Both teams took the others star RB out of the game. I didn't see that coming. I hope everyone has had a Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

[BamaGrad03 0]

The fact that is takes a lst minute to drive to win does not add up. That is all I am saying. It is not like we had a lot of luck or played way over our heads. Yes, our defense was better than normal but that could be due to coaching. If you are way better than us and your coaching is superior then this game would not be a nail-biter.

I think you are reading too much into one game. We've won 24 regular season games in a row and have one loss to an SEC team since 2007 (happened to be the national champ in the sec title game). You can't isolate one game, especially a bitter rivalry game on the road, and say "oh well you're only 5 points better than us, so you aren't a top 5 team."

That's about like using common opponent scores to determine an outcome of a game. It just doesn't work. Too many other factors.

[TigerHeat 9]

What I don't understand is how Todd could overthrow a wide open Tommy Trott, twice in a row, on the same exact play. It was the right call, and didn't seem all that unusual a throw to make, in fact, it seemed rather routine. WTF was he thinking ? Trott was well beyond the 1st down marker, so it's not like he needed to go that much further down field. A few plays like that during the game are what I question, but I can't say if that's just player error or there was some miscommunication.

He had to clear the middle linebacker in pass coverage on both throws. I don't like that play without some misdirection.