Auburn Wins the West Despite Distractions: Alabama, Our Toughest Opponent?

Cam Newton's Unfortunate Situation

It was reported before the game that Cam knew nothing about his father asking for money. Is it really hard to believe that a father would want a death trap like MSU to have to pay for Newton?

If Cam had gone with Dan Mullen, he'd have had the chance to turn the program around. If Cam goes to Auburn he has the chance to win National Championships.

It might be safe enough to say that the top-level teams on Cam's list weren't asked to pay. An elite player going to play in Starkville wants some compensation, because the spotlight isn't going to be as bright at Mississippi State.

Beating the Bulldogs

I was somewhat shocked that Georgia wanted Auburn to go on the field first. I thought maybe they wanted to test their defense right up front.

When Auburn put the ball in for points on the opening drive, it looked effortless. The offense looked like a well-oiled machine. But then that machine started to sputter. 

Georgia came in with the best plan on stopping Cam. They consistently had their linebackers in the right place in the first half.

Auburn put things together right before half. They got a touchdown that erased a 14-point deficit. The 21-21 tie at half was more like a win for Auburn.

The defensive secondary had been beaten, but Auburn was steadily getting hits on the freshman QB. I knew if Auburn could leave him hurting in a different spot after every play, we'd have them ready for the taking in the second half.

When the Tigers opened up the third quarter with an onside kick, the Bulldogs were done from an emotional standpoint. They were over halfway to being broken physically, while Auburn seemed to be getting better.

By the time Auburn had an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter anyone watching the game knew it was over. You have to wonder why Georgia kicked a field goal late in the fourth, down two scores. When Auburn followed it up with a touchdown, the fork was in Georgia. They were done, and knew they it, too. The little fight they broke out proved they were finished, but also angry about the beat-down.

Tuscaloosa Here We Come

Auburn clinched the SEC West today with the win over Georgia. I don't think the Tigers are looking past Alabama. Any Auburn fans know we'd rather beat Alabama than have a better record than them.

No Auburn fan wants to lose to 'Bama, because we all know how they run their mouths. I've been watching Auburn football since 1989, when I was ten. I know how the Alabama fans came to view Auburn from the Bear Bryant days.

They looked at us as the little brother of the state of Alabama, and there were long stretches were some of the older Tiger fans had to deal with losing to the Tide. What I call the Bo Jackson era started Auburn down a different path.

There were no more long stretches of losing to Alabama. Since 1985 we have shown   that we are not some second-tier team, like Texas A&M is to the Longhorns. You won't hear any Tide fan tell you that but, the little brother tag has long been knocked off.

The Alabama faithful claim 14 National Championships, but the truth is they have nineafter 2009. Auburn has missed out several times when deserving of the title. They've been ripped off twice since I've been following as a fan, in 1993 and 2004.

We all know the arrogant nature of the Alabama fan. Their entire season is riding on this year's Iron Bowl. To beat Auburn is the only way they can salvage a little pride. Last season they were champions, Nick Saban was the next Bear Bryant, and the very next season we're the team with championship hopes on the line.

I've always had respect for Bear Bryant, despite the fact he beat Auburn more times than we did him. I guess I like the fact Alabama spent thirty years looking for the next "Bear Bryant," including when they fired Bill Curry, an .800 coach, just because he couldn't beat Auburn.

Pat Dye changed the way Auburn would be looked at. In 1993 Terry Bowden went undefeated with Dye's players. Auburn went 9-1-1 the next season. During the late '90s the best level of athlete was coming to Auburn. We were recruiting on the same level as any other winning football team.

In 2004, when Auburn went undefeated, they still didn't get to play for the championship. That was no doubt the best Auburn team I've ever seen. That might have been the best Auburn team in history. This year's version has the worst defense of any undefeated team, and the best player over one season (Cam Newton) I've ever seen.

Alabama is no better than some of the teams we've already beaten. I'm going to break the game down in my next article, but I think Newton will have a field day against the 'Bama defense. Make no mistake, we're approaching the toughest team on our schedule. I also believe we can beat them.