This is why I get paid the big bucks.

Ok, so maybe I don’t really get paid big bucks, or much of anything actually. But if I did, it’d be because of articles like this, where I use my ability to put an interesting spin on Saturday’s Alabama-Auburn game.

Now don’t get me wrong, the game was great. It was everything we could’ve hoped for: A hard-fought, back-and-forth blood-bath, that ended with one of the greatest comebacks in the series' history. It was one of the three or four best games in college football this year.

The problem is, if you watched these two teams all year, the final outcome probably wasn’t all that surprising. Auburn thrives on making epic comebacks, and Alabama hasn’t played a complete 60 minutes, well, maybe all year. Sure they’ve been as great for quarters and halves, maybe the best team in the country in spurts. But not great for a full 60 minutes.

Friday wasn’t any different.

Here are three thoughts from Friday’s wild, yet somewhat predictable Iron Bowl.

(Because of length, this is just PART of the article. To read the remainder, visit www.aarontorres-sports.com)

1. The biggest surprise to me about the whole game was listening to people’s reactions during the course of all four quarters. The way they were surprised when Auburn fell behind, and even more surprised as they made their comeback.

Umm, guys, have you been watching the Tigers all year?

Truthfully, even as the first quarter progressed, and Alabama piled up points and yards, I wasn’t really all that concerned for the Tigers.

I knew that if they could just somehow, someway stop the hemorrhaging of points, they’d be fine. 

(I will admit, the one time I was concerned was after the Nick Fairley penalty. Auburn was down 14-0, and before the penalty had put Alabama in a 4th-and-long situation, and a forced a punt. The penalty gave Alabama new life, McElroy converted a makeable fourth down, and a few plays later they were in the end zone again. It was a terrible call, but one that I thought could’ve changed the season. It’s one thing to come back from a 14 point deficit, quite another to comeback from 21 points. Or so I thought at the time)

So why wasn’t I nervous for Auburn, even when Alabama's lead ballooned to 24-0?

Because again, if you watched them all year, this is just what Auburn does.

They put themselves in impossible holes, and then somehow, some way, dig themselves out.

They’re like the kid we all knew in college who would wait until 11 o’clock the night before a term paper was due to start it, and still pulled out the best grade in the class.

They play their best football when their backs are against the wall. It’s unexplainable. Yet for them, it works.

Looking at their schedule, this was just their most epic comeback in a season full of them.

Off the top of my head, I remember Auburn trailing by 14 points early in the Georgia and Clemson games, and trailing early in the fourth quarter to South Carolina.

Again, I don't know how they do it, and I don't know why. But it's just what Auburn does.

2. If you’re an Alabama fan, you’ve got to be waking up groggy this morning, and thinking that as great as the Auburn comeback was, Alabama lost this game just as much as the Tigers won it.

When you play Auburn's offense with Cam Newton, you’ve got to take advantage of every scoring opportunity you get. Points on the board are like water in the desert: too valuable to waste. And Alabama wasted a bunch of chances to put this game out of reach early.

Obviously, as painful as it is to rehash, I’ve got to mention the final three Alabama possessions of the first half. They ended with a Mark Ingram fumble for a touchback (a series that would’ve at the very least ended with  a field goal if he’d held onto the ball); a field goal after the Tide had a first goal on the three yard line (and included a Trent Richardson dropped pass that would’ve been six); and finally, the Greg McElroy fumble, in the red zone, on the final possession (where Nick Fairley made one of the most athletic plays I’ve ever seen, not only crushing McElroy and knocking the ball loose, but crawling through three people commando style to recover the football. Incredible)

And really, those three series’ were the difference in the game, and the difference in Alabama’s season.

If they got a touchdown instead on one of those possessions, or if Richardson held onto the ball in the endzone, the Tide could've had 28 or 31 points at halftime. Would Auburn have overcome that?

Probably not.

3. Still, we’ve got to give credit to Auburn’s defense too. Yes Alabama choked away points and possessions in the first half, but Auburn also made the big plays to keep the Tide off the scoreboard.

In life and in football, I’m a firm believer that you make your own luck. Auburn was just the latest example of that Friday afternoon.

I hope that this game put away the notion that Auburn doesn’t play good defense, because really, that’s just plain stupid. Nobody gets to 12-0 in college football, let alone 6-0, 7-0 or 8-0 without being superb on both sides of the ball.

But back to Friday. Because remember all those Auburn comebacks I was talking about before? Well guess what, Cam Newton and the offense didn’t get them alone. And for my money, if I needed a stop in the fourth quarter, there isn’t a defense in college football that I’d pick over the Tigers.

How do you like these numbers: In their latest three “showdown,” games (LSU, Georgia and Alabama), Auburn has given up a combined seven fourth quarter points. As in one touchdown total, in 45 minutes against LSU, Georgia and Alabama.

Throw in their three other biggest games—Mississippi State, Clemson and South Carolina—and the Tigers have given up another combined seven points.

That’s six games, against six really good teams, and two fourth quarter touchdowns allowed.

That’s it.

And Friday was no different.

The Tigers' defense was terrible in the first half, outstanding in the second.

They gave up just 67 yards in the final 30 minutes (compared to 379 in the first 30), and held the vaunted Alabama offense—one of the best in the SEC—to three points on their final five possessions.

Not bad for a "lousy" defense, huh?

I’ve been saying it all year, and at the sake of sounding like a broken record, I hate to say it again. But it does need to be said: Auburn’s defense doesn’t make every play, but they make the big play when they absolutely need it (Ted Roof might as well just get t-shirts with that slogan printed up).

Never was that more evident Friday.

(Because of length, this is just PART of the 2010 Iron Bowl Recap. To read the remainder, please click here, or visit www.aarontorres-sports.com.

Also, for Aaron's continued take on all things sports, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Aaron_Torres)