I'll be the first to admit I can't remember dates. No, not the kind with girls, pilgrim, but the years that so many of the great sports events I witnessed took place. So it was with a shock and then a profound warmth that I realized it was 20 years ago this weekend that my favorite football college game ever was played.
In 1989, I was deeply embedded in the Southeastern Conference and among my closest friends in the business were rival coaches Pat Dye at Auburn and Bill Curry at Alabama. I'd talk to both of them a lot and we had so much fun all season but what made that particular autumn so special was that it was the first time ever that the "Iron Bowl" would be played in Auburn.
You need to know that for years the Alabama-Auburn game was my favorite rivalry because the seats at Birmingham's Legion Field were always split 50-50 between the two schools. The pageantry, the pomp ... oh, it was all there, but then the steel business went sour, thus "The Iron Bowl" moniker, and the luster fell away from Legion Field so, for several years, there were violent arguments about Alabama and Auburn playing home-and-home.
Pat was one of Coach Bear Bryant's favorite assistants -- that when we first got to know each other -- and I remember him telling me about what happened when he saw "The Old Man" shortly after he was hired at Auburn before the 1981 season.
"When I saw Coach Bryant that year one of the first things out of his mouth was, 'So I guess you're gonna' want to take the Auburn-Alabama game to Auburn.'" Dye said. "I said, 'We're gonna' take it to Auburn.' He said, 'Not as long as I'm coaching.' To that I said 'Well, you ain't gonna' coach forever.'"
Shug Jordan, perhaps Auburn's most beloved coach, had accurately predicted many years before there would have to be "some prominent deaths in the state" before Auburn would ever host it, but soon after Coach Bryant died in January of 1983, things got moving.
I remember I left for the '89 game early Friday morning and, by noon, the tension was already so rampant the players in Sewell Hall were afraid to use the knives during lunch. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Finally Auburn was no longer a "second rate" college, not with Alabama finally having to come to Jordan-Hare to play.
I remember staying up late with Pat the night before, telling jokes with bowl scouts, and the next day, when I met Bill Curry getting off the bus, I was scared there would be a riot as Auburn fans terrorized the Alabama team buses, rocking each one so badly the police had them nose underneath the stadium, one by one, to protect the wide-eyed Alabama players.
Coach Dye let me in the locker room with the promise I wouldn't tell, and it was quiet as a funeral parlor. The preacher got up, and read about how the giant Goliath was slain by little David, and when Auburn went out the stadium chute the crowd noise actually registered on the Richter Scale, I promise. I was there.
"I felt like we were going to win the football game," Dye said. "Alabama was good, but our team had gotten better and better as the year went on. We had just beaten Florida and Georgia, and with this game being at home, I wasn't worried about our players' emotions."
Alabama was No. 2 in the country in 1989, just like the Tide will be tomorrow, and what unfolded was the most exciting football game I ever saw. I don't know of a person in the overflowing press box -- I'm talking about seasoned writers and broadcasters -- who will deny it was the most emotional game they ever witnessed.
Auburn won it, 30-20, in a way that made the War Eagle shriek and children giggle. "The game being played in Auburn was far more important than the score," Dye would later reflect. "The score of the game just made it a perfect weekend."
That said, here are my final ten picks this season:
FRIDAY GAMES:
No. 2 ALABAMA (11-0) at AUBURN (7-4), 2:30 p.m. (CBS) -- Anyone who has any inkling of "Iron Bowl" history knows today's game, with 'Bama favored by 10, is a lot more about pride and tradition than the common man can imagine. The Tide's 36-0 win last year snapped a six-game Auburn rule in the series and that "goose-egg" score has weighed heavily on the Tigers for an entire year. Alabama's talent is the biggest difference between the two, and Nick Saban's record at UA now stands at 30-8. Saban was 4-4 in SEC games in 2007 and, as one 'Bama fan put it so succinctly, "He ain't lost one since!" Auburn's home field will be easily negated by 'Bama's quickness but the Tigers still have some guys who can play. The thing to watch is how Alabama balances its power before next Saturday's championship game. Auburn's next game will probably also be in Atlanta, playing in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl against UNC on Dec. 31. MY PICK: Alabama, 35-15.
No. 8 PITTSBURGH (9-1) at WEST VIRGINIA (7-3), 7:00 p.m. -- This is the one that they call the "Backyard Brawl" and it is for good reason. Listen to Pitt tackle Jabaal Sheard, "It's definitely a fun game to play. It's a loud stadium. The fans hate you. They're yelling at you. It's really something down there. That really gets your emotions going and gets you ready to play." So while Pitt expects a slugfest, the Panthers are picked by a mere 2 to advance to next week's "battle royale" against No. 5 Cincinnati. Pitt has been idle since the 27-22 win over Notre Dame so my nod goes to the visitors after watching that one. MY PICK: Pitt, 27-20.
SATURDAY's GAMES:
No. 15 CLEMSON (8-3) at SOUTH CAROLINA (6-5), 12:00 Noon (ESPN) -- Coach Dabo Swinney has done a marvelous job at Clemson, but runner C.J. Spiller has done even better -- he's third in the country in all-purpose yards (188 ypg). USC has lost four of the last five games coming into this one but the fact Steve Spurrier has had an extra week of preparation is why CU is just favored by 3. A big thing here is that every prep prospect in the Palmetto State will be in Columbia tomorrow and -- really -- some kids make their choice on this game's outcome alone. Clemson has won six of the last seven but if USC could pull the upset it would put a damper on Clemson's date next week against Ga. Tech in the ACC title game at Tampa. Incidentally, South Carolina may play in Nashville's Music City Bowl. MY PICK: South Carolina, 23-20.
No. 20 OLE MISS (8-3) at MISS. STATE (4-7), 12:20 p.m. (SEC Network) -- Ole Miss finally "came of age" in last week's 25-23 thriller against LSU so the Rebs come to Starkville with a swagger. UM runner Dexter McCluster is a real deal, avg. 184 ypg, but don't discount State's Anthony Dixon, who has the numbers (41 TDs, 3,861 career yards) to walk among the SEC's best ever. Ole Miss is an 8-point pick in this, the 106th renewal of "The Egg Bowl," but State has lost four straight so it will probably be decided by more than that. MSU coach Dan Mullen has the Bullies excited about the future but this is one where Ole Miss will rely on the treasures it already has, like QB Jevan Snead and WR Shay Hodge, to carry the day. Win or lose, it looks like Ole Miss will play in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day. MY PICK: Ole Miss, 36-14.
FLORIDA STATE (6-5) at No. 1 FLORIDA (11-0), 3:30 p.m. (CBS) -- FSU's Bobby Bowden talks about how he'll be "back even" with UF's talent next year but I don't see it. As a matter of fact, I don't see Bobby being back next year after FSU's emotional ride this fall and the political undercurrents in Tallahassee. Meanwhile, UF realizes this will be Timmy Tebow's last game as a Gator in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium so don't you think UF will have the switch turned to "on" for this one! That's the reason Florida is a 24 point favorite -- which is the most lopsided value in this series anyone can remember (hint, hint Bobby). That said, I don't think UF will "cover the spread," instead guarding against injuries -- and God forbid another concussion -- before next week's titanic showdown against Alabama in the SEC Championship (4:00 p.m.) MY PICK: Florida, 37-21.
No. 22 UTAH (9-2) at No. 18 BRIGHAM YOUNG (9-2), 5:00 p.m. (ESPN) -- The entire state will stop doing anything else when these two tango tomorrow. A BYU win would be the school's 200th victory in LaVell Edwards Stadium but the real selling point, now that TCU has the Mountain West crown, is bowl game destination: the winner plays in Las Vegas and the loser goes to San Diego. BYU is a 7-point pick because of three straight wins and the fact Max Hall just passed Ty Detmer as the school's winningest QB of all time. Last week Hall threw 5 TDs for his 30th win. Also, Harvey Unga is now the all-time leading rusher for BYU (3,268 yds) so you have to figure that famous choir will still sing at the Tabernacle. MY PICK: BYU, 36-24.
ARKANSAS (7-4) at No. 17 LSU (8-3), 7:00 p.m. (ESPN) -- The way things have worked out, this may be the best game of the day. LSU's Les Miles needs to have his Tigers -- and his clock operator -- poised because UA, if you haven't noticed, has now won 4 straight. After last week's 27-24 loss in time management at Ole Miss, LSU is just a 3-point pick so heaven forbid if UA QB Ryan Mallett, arguably the best in the SEC, goes on a tear. Mallett leads the SEC and is third nationally in both TDs (28) and passing efficiency (165.18). LSU, going 3-3 in the last six games, must return the roar to Tiger Stadium so, yes, I figure this one for the "Golden Boot" (a trophy the shape of the two states that weighs 175 pounds) will be fun to watch. A Tiger win will probably put LSU in the Cotton Bowl and Arkansas in the Liberty. MY PICK: Arkansas, 25-22.
TENNESSEE (6-5) at KENTUCKY (7-4), 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU) -- One can't help but wonder if UT QB Jonathan Crompton ever thought this day would arrive -- the last game of the season with him still standing. He claims it's been fun -- his mom says "It's been hell" -- so now we'll see if it will be Crompton or a proud UK, after playing so well at Auburn and Georgia this fall, who can do some magic in Commonwealth Stadium. After all, UT has now whipped the 'Cats 24 straight times and, with the Vols only favored by 3, maybe the worm will turn. UK coach Rich Brooks is so smart but it boils down to how well an injury-plagued Vol defense can fluster UK QB Morgan Newton. Look for Montario Hardesty (avg. 102 ypg) to run well for UT and for Crompton to beat the 'Cats with several of those sprint-out passes. UT is being courted by the Outback Bowl and UK will probably go to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport. MY PICK: Tennessee, 31-21.
GEORGIA (6-5) at No. 7 GEORGIA TECH (10-1), 8:00 p.m. (ABC-ESPN 2) -- The Ramblin' Wreck is anything but that when they launch that run-based "spread" offense, as 11 victims this fall can already attest, so the Bulldogs, a 7-point underdog, will have to play mightily in Bobby Dodd Stadium for a win. Tech, you'll recall, snapped Mark Richt's seven-game reign in the series last year in a 45-42 thriller but the margin may be greater if UGa players like QB Joe Cox, LB Rennie Curran and those two freshman, WRs Rantavious Wooten and Orson Charles, don't play well. GT Josh Nebitt is sensational but don't forget RB Jonathan Dwyer's 5-TD day against Vandy or that WR Demayius Thomas leads the ACC in yards per game. If Tech wins, it may mean a trip to the Orange Bowl while Georgia would wind up in the Poppa John's. MY PICK: Georgia, 25-23.
UCLA (6-5) at SOUTHERN CAL (7-3), 10:00 p.m. (ESPN) -- If somebody can tell Pete Carroll why his Trojans are now ranked lower than USC has been in the last seven years, he's ready to listen. "I'm not sure I have the right words to describe being humbled like this,'' the USC coach said earlier this week. "I don't really know where to put it. ... We have fallen apart and given our opponents the opportunity to do whatever they want.'' UCLA, on the other hand, has won its last three games (after six straight losses) but the odds makers claim USC is still a 14-point pick in America's greatest cross-town rivalry. USC, you'll recall, was No. 4 in the preseason bowls but now they have to win tomorrow, and in next week's final game against Arizona, just to go to the Holiday Bowl. MY PICK: Southern Cal, 34-17.
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