2013 SEC Championship Game: The Nextperts Pick the Tigers

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CAM00666Yes, I know both teams are Tigers. By the way, wear blue if you’re going to the game. My apologies to the four people who came here looking for that info this week and didn’t find it. Unless the internet is mistaken, volunteers are distributing orange shakers in the Georgia Dome this morning. Let’s make it as Jordan-Hare-2013-Iron-Bowl-like as we possibly can!

Now, let’s get down to business.

ATB checks in first. He’s picking a tight game again. We’ll soon see he’s not alone.

Remember, you can get news and thoughts from ATB and his collaborators every day at Auburn Tigers Bloggin’!

Next up is Justin. He’s expects a somewhat more comfortable game.

Here’s alum98′s pick. He’s renamed the teams so as to avoid confusion, but, like ATB, he thinks we’ll be uneasy all the way to 6:30 or so.

James Reaves does not think we’ll be so uneasy, or at least not for as long.

AU Beards is back for more nextperting. He thinks the other Tigers will come up more than a field goal short.

Lois likes the Tigers in orange and blue by two field goals.

Unless Machine chimes in real soon, we’ll wrap things up with the F&TF from AWB.

I hope he’s right. I’m not concerned about Auburn making a statement Saturday night, but I would like to watch the game more as a spectator than a potential cardiac patient.

Let’s win a championship, Auburn. The players and coaches have already worked hard enough to deserve one—not to say that Missouri hasn’t! All Auburn has to do now is outplay one more Top 5 team, and they’ll bring home a trophy.

They may also earn the opportunity to play for the crystal trophy. My heart rate’s goin’ up already.

War Eagle! Beat Mizzou!

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Iron Bowl 2013: Best bama Beatdown Ever?

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Is the 2013 Iron Bowl your favorite win over Alabama ever? My friend alum98 asked me this question before the game was played—more than a week before the game was played. I guess it’s the first thought he had upon finally coming down from the high of witnessing Ricardo’s Reception.

To be clear, he was not asking the question as a hypothetical. He unapologetically posed the question as when rather than if.

When I try to answer this question, I think about a criterion for Iron Bowl wins that I suggests in the book, quoted here by another Nextpert, AWB.

Does 2013 meet this standard? Did bama fans—or some majority thereof—feel there was no chance they could lose? I don’t know. Before the season, sure; but, after Auburn won ten games?

I have to think bammers felt there was more chance they could lose to the 2013 Tigers than there had been of losing in 2002. They should have. After losing Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams, plus the guy who had blocked for both of them all season, fullback Brandon Johnson, to injuries, Auburn came to Tuscaloosa with true freshman Tre Smith as the starting tailback. Another true freshman, tight end Cooper Wallace, lined up behind Jason Campbell at fullback.

Alabama was not undefeated prior to the 2002 Iron Bowl, but they were on a winning streak in which they outscored five consecutive SEC opponents by a total of 165–43. So no one expected Auburn to lead 17–0 at the half, and then hold on for a 17–7 win.

Highlights with calls by Jim Fyffe.

Now, I’m not trying to say the 2002 win was more fun than this year’s. Really, the point I want to make is that there are two very good reasons why I’m not ready to answer 98′s question.

Firstly, the way we won the game skews all perception. The way we won is bigger than the game itself; hence, the nation discussion of whether it was the greatest finish in the history of sport. Secondly, this Saturday’s game is bigger than the Iron Bowl.

What! What! What!

Maybe I’m not supposed to say that Auburn vs. Missouri is bigger than Auburn vs. bama, but, hey—a conference championship game is bigger than a divisional championship game. Right now the question of whether the 2013 win over bama is the greatest ever—and certainly the ability to answer that question—is lost in the lines of a bigger story. The 2013 Auburn Tigers have won the state and the SEC west, but there are bigger prizes to fight for yet.

War Eagle! Beat Mizzou!

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Did You Enjoy Watching the Iron Bowl?

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Did you enjoy watching the 2013 Iron Bowl? I didn’t. I enjoyed Nick Marshall’s long run, and Chris Davis’ longer run, but in between those plays I was mostly just . . . wondering. Wondering whether I should ask to be taken to the ER, or at least tell my wife how I was feeling, so that if I passed out or whatever she would know something to tell the paramedics.

Am I exaggerating? Barely. I was really uptight for most of the game. I hate to give credit to Gary Danielson, but he accurately predicted what the game would be like for me. He said all the pressure would be on Alabama at the start, but that if Auburn started well, then all the pressure would be on the Tigers to not lose it.

I enjoyed Marshall’s 45-yard touchdown run, but immediately thereafter I started feeling the pressure, and when Alabama answered with 21 straight points, I feared we were slipping into a game something like 2009.

Wait a Second

Our strong, quick-paced drive at the end of the half—on which Tre Mason carried six of seven plays, including a one-yard touchdown run—helped a little, but I also knew my brother would want to throw during halftime, which, of course, made me think of 1990.

In the 1990 Iron Bowl Stan White hit Fred Baxter for an Auburn touchdown at the end of the first half—a score that appeared to get Auburn back in the game. Then my brother and I went outside to throw; we came back in, and Auburn lost.

I didn’t let this memory stop us from throwing at the half Saturday. I didn’t say anything about it, either. I just tried to focus on catching every single ball. Uncharacteristically, I also tried to keep loose. I was inspired by how Tre Mason and Quan Bray looked while awaiting bama’s kickoff following the score that put the Tide up 21–7.

Thankfully, 2013 wasn’t like 2009, or 1990. We played catch for 15 minutes; we came back in; Auburn won. Auburn plays again this Saturday—for the SEC championship. I plan to loosen up a little, and to enjoy watching the game.

What about you?

War Eagle! Beat Mizzou!

If you enjoyed this post, you and someone on your shopping list will thoroughly enjoy the book, Orange Is Our Color.

Kick bama Kick Goes Digital

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I love tecmo. Maybe I shouldn’t say that. Before I go any further, let me clarify that when I say tecmo, I mean Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES. For me, there’s nothing else.

Now, about loving tecmo. It may be more true to say that I once loved tecmo, and on many occasions for years beyond that time I have played tecmo out of nostalgia for that moment when tecmo was both known and not yet explored—not fully; not to say that it is yet.

So, you can imagine my delight at this:

Auburn won the Super Bowl.

I noticed something the second time I watched the above video. The timing is so spot on that Stan White’s “gosh” is right when Bo crosses the 30, just as it is in this dimension when Chris Davis crosses the 30.

This Auburn-Tecmo intersection is further serendipitous to me because I received this item in the mail last week.CAM00878

Yep, that’s a Tecmo Auburn helmet T-shirt, courtesy of Status, a clothing store in Huntsville that I think is at least partially owned by former Auburn center Cole Cubelic. I won the shirt in a Retweet contest, and ultimately challenged Cole to a game.

We haven’t made it happen yet. Maybe around Christmastime. I gather from the internet that Cubelic is actually an original Tecmo Bowl guy (the one on NES before Tecmo Super Bowl). I probably need a handicap anyway.

War Eagle! Beat Mizzou!

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Did You See Kick bama Kick on ABC World News?

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Well, it finally happened. I made it onto national television—on ABC World News tonight for about a full second. From the Twitter interaction that led up to it, I really thought they were gonna use more of the video I submitted, and that they might have my name and Twitter handle on the screen. I know, I know—my expectations were kinda high. I was excited. I also feel like a fool for not having a copy of the book propped up in the background. I was concerned doing so might decrease the chances of them using the video.

Absolutely.

War Eagle! Beat Mizzou!

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Iron Bowl 2013: The Numerology

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The Auburn Tigers are now the 2013 SEC Western Division Champions! Congratulations to all the players, coaches and support staff who make it all happen, on the field and off. You have made the Auburn Family incredibly proud!

It’s Great to Be an Auburn Tiger ! ! !

Ok—having said that, let’s get to what the title of this post promises: the numerology of the 2013 Iron Bowl. Let’s take a close look at the date on which the game was played,  Nov 30, 2013. We’ll start with the number 11.

11/30/2013

Auburn’s victory over no. 1, undefeated Alabama was the Tigers 11th win of the 2013 campaign.

Now let’s look at the next four digits, 3020.

11/30/2013

The last time Auburn beat an undefeated Alabama team was 1989. The score of the 1989 Iron Bowl was 30–20. The 1989 game, by the way, was played on Dec 2nd—24 years ago today.

Finally, let’s look at the last two digits, 13.

11/30/2013

If the 2013 Auburn Tigers can beat Missouri in the SEC Championship Game, and then beat whomever in either the BCS Championship Game or some other BCS Bowl, the Tigers will finish this season with 13 wins.

So, there you have it. The first six digits of the 2013 Iron Bowl numerology are fulfilled. Chris Davis returned a field goal attempt Saturday night for six points. The Tigers have two games remaining in which to make those last two digits count. What crazy ways will these AUsome Tigers find to get to 13 wins?

Stay tuned, friends. War Eagle!

Notice the first thing Rod says.

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You Can Call It Another Miracle, but . . .

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It’s impossible to put what happened in Auburn tonight—what happened in Auburn two weeks ago and then tonight; what has happened all this season—adequately into words. It’s too big. It’s too unconventional. It’s every bit Auburn.

The first words out of my mouth when Chris Davis crossed the goal line were, “another miracle.” But, in a way, that isn’t fair to our players.

Both the Georgia and Alabama games were miraculous. We won them, however, because our players made incredible plays when they had too.

Ricardo Louis made an incredible play two weeks ago. Chris Davis made one tonight. Still, to me Davis’ return is not the most incredible play from the 2013 Iron Bowl—Saban was basically asking for it, trying a field goal that long.

Instead, I see the most incredible play as the Auburn defense’s stop on 4th-and-1 with about 5:30 left in the game. Gary Danielson called it a blown assignment by Alabama’s O-line. Fine. I know this much: true freshman Carl Lawson had an opportunity to preserve our chance to win. He made the play, and his teammates converged on the ball to make it count.

They stopped him!

I know this isn’t the rah-rah,crazy, exuberant WE BEAT BAMA post that this night deserves. What can I say? My heart rate is back down and I’m going to bed soon. So, I leave you with this: War Eagle, War Eagle, and . . .

WAR SEC WESTERN DIVISION CHAMPIONS EAGLE ! ! !