Alabama Preview: Will the Streak of Expectancy End?

Contrary to some reports, Auburn will actually be given the opportunity to share the same football field with Alabama tomorrow. I hear if Gene Chizik is on his best behavior, Alabama will return the favor and agree to play an actual 60-minute game against the Tigers.

That's awfully nice of the Alabama Crimson Tide, given that they have been handed a spot in the National Championship game and needn't play another game this season. Playing an unneeded game only puts players in danger of being injured and not being able to play in the big game. That Saban is a nice fella.

Can you tell I'm being sarcastic? Apparently it doesn't always translate through my 'blogling and tweeting. Anyway...

Is Alabama the better team this year? Sure. Would they beat Auburn at least eight out of ten times this season? Probably. Do they have more to play for than the Tigers do? Absolutely.

That's good and all, but the last time I checked, in the game of football, especially in a rivalry game, it only matters who the better team is for that day, for that one game, and it's not always who it's supposed to be.

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Samford Preview: Time to Reset

When it was announced earlier this year that the Georgia and Alabama games would be split by a Homecoming game against the Samford Bulldogs, I was, like most Auburn fans, confused and upset. You don't mess with Amen Corner. But since nobody asked me, Auburn is still playing Samford this week, and now that we're here, I'm all for it.

Note: "Amen Corner" can be still used to describe this three game stretch because Samford is a Baptist school. Props to @ImALegendKiller for the heads up on that.

Could you imagine the same Auburn team that showed up in Athens last week playing Alabama right now? I really don't even want to think about it. That's why I'm actually glad Auburn has Samford to get things back on track. However, as Chizik said, if Auburn plays like they did last week, they won't beat anybody and definitely can't take anybody lightly.

Then again, even though I respect Coach Pat Sullivan and Samford very much, this is still a Southern Conference team. The SoCon consists of teams like Elon, Chattanooga, Western Carolina, and Furman. Samford is currently 4-4 in the league. So while I respect them, that doesn't mean that they are very good, and let's just be honest, they shouldn't give Auburn any trouble.

Now since the opponent shouldn't much of a problem, the Tigers should be able to hold blocks long enough for a pass play to work, and maybe even open a hole for a running back to run through. The defense should be able to pressure the quarterback and cover the receivers soundly. I sound like Les Miles right now for some reason.

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Georgia Preview: Damn Dirty Dawgs (and I don’t cuss)

You may or may not know that I grew up in Opelika, AL, the twin city of Auburn. Opelika High School's colors are red and black, and the mascot is a bulldog. Their biggest rival is Auburn High School, who uses blue and are the Tigers.

Way back when Opelika was picking colors and their mascot, Georgia was Auburn's biggest rival, so they chose to go the Georgia route. Of course, back then there weren't many arrests and dancing on the home team's midfield logo, but in terms of look and feel, Opelika High School was like the University of Georgia because Auburn High School was like Auburn University.

I say all of that to say that when I grew up and even probably through my first few years at Auburn, I never minded Georgia because I pulled for my hometown team that looked just like them. I know that sounds dumb, but I was a kid, get off me. Of course I wanted to beat Georgia, and I never took delight in them winning, I just didn't hate them. I think you know where I'm going...

Like everybody has always said, Georgia had always been a friendly rival to Auburn. They are one of the biggest games of the year, but doesn't even come close to the Alabama game, so it always seemed to be second tier, taking a little bit of the hatred out of it. Georgia being in the East, probably has something to do with that as well. Without having to worry about what they do all year long, it's really just a fun, rivalry game. That was until Mark Richt, the nicest guy in the world, let go.

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Ole Miss Preview: Both Need It For Different Reasons

Auburn comes in following one of the worst SEC losses in their history. Ole Miss comes in following one of their worst collapses in recent memory. Needless to say, both teams are in need of a win in a big way. This matchup presents both teams with a chance to right wrongs and to save what's left of their seasons, although a win means very different things for each team.

Ole Miss is having an abysmal season, with losses to BYU and Vanderbilt (by 23 points) already on their resume. The natives are restless in Oxford, and Houston Nutt is acting like a guy who wouldn't mind if the administration showed him he door. His recent actions of calling out a media member for a score prediction shows that he's at the end of his rope.

So what would a win over Auburn mean? Well, it would temper the flames for a little bit and give Nutt his signature upset-when-nobody-is-expecting-it win that we've all become accustomed to. Some would say a win over Auburn in Auburn this season doesn't hold the same clout as it normally would, but Auburn still holds a 12-game winning streak in Jordan-Hare, and is 24-4 since 2000 in night games at home.

And let's not fool ourselves, beating Auburn this year would easily be the biggest win at this point of the season for the Rebels, and probably would be for the rest of the season as well. All in all, a win won't get them in a bowl game or take away the bad losses, but it will give Ole Miss a reason to smile for a day or two.

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LSU Preview: Finally Some Bad Luck for Les

Auburn, LSU. Good Tigers, Purple Tigers. Bathed, Battered. Winners, well, Winners, too.

It is no secret that the Auburn-LSU rivalry is one of the craziest in college football. That craziness usually results in major heartbreak for the losing team and unmatchable excitement for the winners. 4th quarter comebacks, ridiculous game-winning play calls, and all-out luck has made the majority of the games in this rivalry the most infuriating and the most exciting for both fanbases. Luck has always seemed to have its place in this rivalry, but not until Les Miles took the helm at LSU did it seem to just completely take over.

In 2005, John Vaughn, one Auburn's most consistent and awarded kickers, missed five field goals, including the game winner at the end of regulation and the tying kick in overtime, to give LSU the victory. Can a guy have an off night? Sure. But five missed field goals? Five?!

In 2007, Les Miles called/allowed a pass play with under 10-seconds left when LSU only needed a field goal to win. The ball ended up being caught for a touchdown with one second left giving LSU the win. If the ball was dropped, the clock would have likely run out. Les claimed he knew that they would have enough time to kick a game-winning field goal had the pass been incomplete. The Mad Hatter was born. If 2005 hadn't shown that something was up, 2007 definitely did.

In 2008, Auburn took the lead with under 4 minutes to play. LSU went down the field and scored with one minute to go, again stealing a win from Auburn. There was no real luck in that one, but I just had to remind you because it still hurts my heart.

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Florida Preview: Envious Gators

Although the Auburn fanbase's primary concern at this point of the season seems to lie solely on the quarterbacks, I have a feeling that Gator fans would gladly take Auburn's situation over theirs. You see, after John Brantley had his leg ripped off by a few members of the Crimson Tide football team, Will Muschamp has been forced to choose between two true freshmen to step into the starting quarterback role. Sure, both of these guys were very highly rated coming out of high school, but we all know how that translates to SEC football.

Gus Malzahn has the luxury of playing the quarterback that gives Auburn the best chance to win, Barrett Trotter, while breaking in the future, true freshman Kiehl Frazier. Lots of Auburn fans just want Frazier thrown in there now to let him start learning, but ask a Gator fan and I'm sure they'll call those people crazy. A freshman quarterback is not ready for SEC play. Period.

Can they make plays? Yes. Can the fully manage an offense? Almost impossible. Moving on...

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Arkansas Preview: That Annoying Little Gnat

I can not remember the last time I went into an Auburn-Arkansas game and felt 100% confident that the Tigers would come out with a win. It has nothing to do with the talent or the way the teams are playing at that point in the season. It doesn't have anything to do with the coaching staffs. It has everything to do with the fact that Arkansas has generally given Auburn fits since they joined the SEC almost 20 years ago. I still have nightmares of Fred Talley and Reggie Fish.

Arkansas is always good enough to beat anybody, but not good enough to make you feel like it was a good loss if they do beat your team. They always have an explosive offense, but just the defense to make you think you can outscore them. They are basically just an annoying little gnat.

I don't mean that to be offensive, but that's just what they are. I think Arkansas fans would agree. You can't argue with the fact that they have been a good team for most of the last decade, but they've never been able to move up to the top of the ladder. But they sure as h-e-double-hockeysticks ruin your season in a heartbeat. This year, however, they come in as a pretty heavy favorite over the "comeback kings," as ESPN has billed Auburn in the latest commercial for this game.

They had a pretty impressive comeback win over Texas A&M last week, outscoring the Aggies 25-3 in the second half to win 42-38. Of course, the Aggies collapsed in the second half a week before against Oklahoma State as well. So was the Razorbacks comeback impressive, or does Texas A&M not realize a football game has two halves? That's a mystery.

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