#4 - Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Auburn Tigers

Why it’s ranked this high:

Hate. There are plenty of other reasons that I’ll mention later, but after putting a lot of thought into it, I can’t think of two fan bases that share a mutual disdain like Alabama and Auburn do. Duke and North Carolina fans can commiserate over some very average Carolina professional teams. I’m willing to bet that there are more than a few Oklahoma fans who share common ground with Texas fans over the Dallas Cowboys and possibly the Texas Rangers. In Alabama there are no professional sports teams, which is probably good, because I don’t think anyone would really care. Down in Alabama, New Years Day is at the end of November.

But just because two very talented teams are natural rivals, it doesn’t guarantee an epic ten year stretch of games. The Celtics and the Lakers played two NBA Finals worth of games against each other, but there were no exceptional games, and plenty of bad ones. The 45-3 game last year is one of the rotten apples in the bunch of games that the Pats and the Jets have played recently. Fortunately, blowouts have been an uncommon occurrence in the Iron Bowl’s recent history (8/10 games decided by 10 points or less), and the previous two games fit better in a movie script than a box score.  

2009’s “throw out the record”-type of game saw #2 Alabama get their stiffest test of the season from an unranked Auburn team. After winning their first 7 SEC games by an average of 17 points, the Iron Bowl pushed Alabama’s undefeated season to the very limit, with Auburn holding the lead until a 79-yard drive gave Bama their first lead with 1:24 left in the 4^th quarter. Even after losing 4 of their previous 6 games leading up to it, the Iron Bowl brought out the best in a very average Auburn team.

Last year, both teams were at their best, with Auburn taking on the role of undefeated road team heading into Tuscaloosa. Alabama came out and swinging and knocked the Tigers on their asses with three touchdowns in the first 15 minutes. But the Cam Newton show was simply delayed. Even with the Tide holding major advantages in 1^st downs (23-18) and total yards (446-324), Newton eviscerated the Alabama defense. He not only stemmed the Tide, but rolled over them himself to the tune of four total touchdowns, including the game winner to Philip Lutzenkirchen early in the 4^th. Two years, two uniquely entertaining games both with 4^th quarter lead changes, between two of the premiere teams in the country. Add the storied tradition of the Iron Bowl in, and those games make the jump to legendary status among fans of each team.  

Michigan and Ohio State may be the media darling of college football, but then again it’s difficult to glorify ecological terrorism like poisoning all the trees in Auburn’s grove. Not to mention, “the Rivalry” hasn’t been relevant on the national stage recently, and it doesn’t appear either team will be for quite a while. On the other hand, Auburn and Alabama are about as relevant as you can get by those standards.

Since 2001, there have been only 12 undefeated seasons in college football. Alabama and Auburn have accounted for three of those, the only three that the SEC has had in that time span. With the SEC being far and away the best conference in college football, that means that despite a flawed BCS system, there were three years in which Auburn and Alabama were unquestionably the best team in the country because of the gauntlet they had to run to achieve perfection.

And as much as I do like the novelty of a neutral field in the Red River Rivalry, it just doesn’t have the same intensity as a series that switches between Auburn and Tuscaloosa every year. The Rammer Jammer cheer (a glorified version of Gary Glitter), from a crowd of thousands of students is awesome to hear. I can’t imagine a more difficult road environment than what the visitors face every year in the Iron Bowl.  

Why It’s Not Higher:

            Because while 9 win seasons have been like clockwork for Auburn since 2001, they have been significantly more elusive for their in-state rivals. From 2003-2007 (aka the Mike Shula era plus Nick Saban’s first year), Alabama won only three more games than they lost (33-30). Although the games during those years were still hotly contested (decided by an average of 7.4 points), Auburn still won all 5 of them. There was still regional pride on the line for the winner of the games, but Bama’s mediocrity ensured that was all that was at stake.

            I think the only other real major issue preventing this rivalry from being in the top 3 is that while Auburn and Alabama are both national title contenders, they may not be the best team in their division, a distinction that belongs to the LSU Tigers. Between the three teams, LSU has averaged 10.6 wins a year since 2002, while Auburn has averaged 9.6, and Alabama has averaged 8.8. Alabama-based teams have won the last two national championships, but LSU has captured two in the last ten years with a very plausible third well within reach this season. It’s nitpicking at this point, but it’s a flaw that the top 3 rivalries don’t share.

            Regardless, college football is a sport full of the most passionate and intense fan bases in the country. It’s the only major American sport where trophies change hands during regular season games. But despite plenty of heated rivalries throughout the country, no weekend carries more weight than the last Saturday in November in Alabama.