Here's how my Iron Bowl advance in today's newspaper starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — It didn’t take long after offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn took the job at Auburn that he received his first bit of unsolicited advice regarding the Iron Bowl.

“The first week I was here,” he recalled with a chuckle. “From that you can kind of tell how important it is to our people and our kids. It’s a big one.”

That’s especially the case this year, when more than just bragging rights will be on the line this afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium for No. 2 Alabama (11-0, 7-0 SEC).

The Crimson Tide has already punched its ticket to the SEC championship game against Florida in Atlanta next week but must first get past arch-rival Auburn (7-4, 3-4 SEC) if it has hopes of playing for its first national championship since 1992.

Although Auburn ruled the series with six straight victories from 2002-07, Alabama ended the streak in dominating fashion with a 36-0 rout last year in Tuscaloosa, not that Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban believes that will have an impact today.

“There is nothing outside of this game that really matters this week,” Saban said. “You can throw out the records, rankings, awards, nothing else really matters. This is kind of a state championship game, so to speak. I think it’s always a great football game.”

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