It's a rough time for newspapers these days. As a result, I'll be taking a weeklong furlough starting today and lasting through next Sunday. It's discouraging, but it's the reality of the business.

Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to ruminate on Auburn's possible bowl destinations for the next seven days. I assume things will be decided pretty quickly after Saturday's SEC championship game. Regardless, I can't work again until 12:01 a.m. ET next Monday.

In the meantime, think of my furlough as a weeklong party loosely resembling the video above by The Trammps, only with brighter colors, bigger lapels, wider bell-bottoms and funkier dance moves. (And plenty of video games. Oh, the video games.)

So I beg you not to abandon the blog in the next week. I'll be back soon.

Yesterday did nothing to clear up Auburn's bowl picture. South Carolina beat Clemson. LSU beat Arkansas. Tennessee beat Kentucky. And Georgia beat Georgia Tech.

What does it all mean? Six SEC teams, including Auburn, finished the season at 7-5, creating quite a mess for the bowl selection process. Here's a look at the conference's bowl eligible teams:

• Florida 12-0, 8-0
• Alabama 12-0, 8-0
• LSU 9-3, 5-3
• Ole Miss 8-4, 4-4
• Tennessee 7-5, 4-4
• Georgia 7-5, 4-4
• South Carolina 7-5, 4-4
• Kentucky, 7-5, 3-5
  
• Auburn 7-5, 3-5
• Arkansas 7-5, 3-5

The SEC has nine bowl tie-ins, 10 if you figure it will get two teams in BCS bowls (a foregone conclusion with the No. 1 and 2 teams playing next week in Atlanta for a right to be in the national title game). Here are the SEC affiliated bowls in the order they select:

• BCS national title game vs. BCS No. 2 (Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 7, 8 p.m. ET)
• Sugar Bowl vs. BCS at-large (New Orleans, Jan. 1, 8:30 p.m. ET)
• Capital One Bowl vs. Big Ten No. 2 (Orlando, Fla., Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET)
• Cotton Bowl vs. Big 12 No. 2 (Dallas, Jan. 2, 2 p.m. ET)
• Outback Bowl vs. Big Ten No. 3 (Tampa, Fla.,, Jan. 1, 11 a.m. ET)
• Chick-fil-A Bowl vs. ACC No. 2 (Atlanta, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET)
• Music City Bowl vs. ACC (Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 27, 8:15 p.m. ET)
• Liberty Bowl vs. C-USA No. 1 (Memphis, Tenn., Jan. 2, 5:30 p.m. ET)
• Independence Bowl vs. Big 12 No. 7 (Shreveport, La., Dec. 28, 5 p.m. ET)
• PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. Big East (Birmingham, Ala., Jan. 2, 2 p.m. ET)

A few things to keep in mind with the bowl selection order:

• The Cotton and Outback bowls basically pick at the same time. The Cotton has preference to take a Western Division team; the Outback an Eastern Division team. But the bowls can choose from the other division if there is no conflict.

• Records and head-to-head meetings don't really have a bearing on where teams end up. The only rule a team can't jump another team two wins ahead of it in the standings. So the only restriction here would be that none of the 7-5 teams could be selected for a bowl game ahead of 9-3 LSU.

• The Liberty and Music City bowls make their choices at the same time in consultation with the SEC office. They both rank the schools as they would like them and submit them to the conference. If there are no conflicts, the everything moves ahead. If there is a conflict, the teams involved in the conflict would get a choice of where it wants to go.

So where does Auburn go in this whole thing? Who knows? I think LSU to the Capital One is a pretty solid lock. Ole Miss would figure to be the next team for the Cotton Bowl, but the Rebels just went there last year. And on the Outback side of the bowl picture, a bunch of Eastern Division teams seem like candidates.

It will basically come down to who the bowls think will sell tickets. The highest, I would think, Auburn could go is the Chick-fil-A Bowl. It's close to Atlanta and probably would send a decent contingent of fans there (not that that bowl ever has trouble selling out). But with Georgia now in the picture there, that looks like a longer shot.

The Music City Bowl in Nashville is another option that's very drivable for the Auburn fan base, although Tennessee and Kentucky are nearby and could just as easily have a good following.

The Independence Bowl is an intriguing one. It pits and SEC team against a Big 12 team. What if a 6-6 Iowa State is sitting there for the picking to match up with Auburn? That would certainly create some buzz to match up Gene Chizik against his old school, which just so happens to be coached by former Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. Ultimately, that's what these second-tier bowl games are trying to accomplish.

ESPN.com SEC blogger Chris Low has Auburn slotted in the Independence Bowl in his latest projections.

FoxSports is projecting Auburn to the PapaJohns.com Bowl against Rutgers.

CBSSportsline is saying Auburn to the Independence Bowl against Iowa State.

I wrote a story for today's newspaper following up Auburn's Iron Bowl loss to Alabama. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Gene Chizik left Jordan-Hare Stadium Friday night conflicted with emotions, disappointed by Auburn’s narrow 26-21 loss to No. 2 Alabama in the Iron Bowl’s final minutes yet encouraged by the step the program has made in the year since he became coach.

Ultimately, the latter was more impactful.

“I’m satisfied with us working toward building a foundation for what we know is going to be great here,” Chizik said during a Saturday teleconference. “I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that we’ve done that.

“Are there some games like yesterday where we wish we could have pulled out? There’s no question about it. But we have a chance for eight wins in our first year, but more importantly what we have set down is a foundation for a very, very bright future here. There’s no question in our mind about that. I think that was evident to everybody yesterday.”

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

Tight end Dakota Mosley verbally agreed to sign with Auburn in February, becoming the Tigers' 22nd commit for 2010, according to AuburnSports.com.

Mosley, of Little Rock (Ark.) Christian High, is a teammate of running back Michael Dyer, one of the nation's top running backs. Dyer committed to Auburn earlier this month.

Mosley is a 6-foot-4, 252-pound recruit. He had offers from Florida State, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and Tulsa.

Rivals.com ranks him as a three-star recruit. Scout.com lists him as a two-star.

Mosley is Auburn's first tight end commit for 2010.

And because I haven't put Auburn's commitment list up in a while, here it is (star rankings are by Rivals.com):

• Joel Bonomolo, DE, 6-3, 245, New Orleans, La. (4-star)
  
• Kenneth Carter, DL, 6-5, 270, Greenville, Ala. (3-star)
• Ed Christian, OL, 6-5, 280, Valdosta, Ga. (4-star)
  
• Steven Clark, K, 6-5, 230, Kansas City, Mo. (2-star)
  
• Shon Coleman, OL, 6-7, 275, Olive Branch, Miss. (3-star)
• Jessel Curry, LB, 6-2, 215, Buford, Ga. (3-star)
• Justin Delaine, DE, 6-5, 225, Linden, Ala. (3-star)
  
• Michael Dyer, RB, 5-8, 201, Little Rock, Ark. (5-star)
  
• Antonio Goodwin, WR, 6-2, 170, Atlanta, Ga. (4-star)
  
• Jake Holland, LB, 6-1, 228, Pelham, Ala. (3-star)
• D.J. Howard, ATH, 6-0, 195, Lincoln, Ala. (3-star)
  
• Shaun Kitchens, ATH, 6-3, 211, College Park, Ga. (3-star)
• Demetruce McNeal, DB, 6-1, 180, College Park, Ga. (3-star)
  
• Jonathan Mincy, DB, 5-10, 175, Decatur, Ga. (3-star)
• Dakota Mosley, TE, 6-4, 252, Little Rock, Ark. (3-star)
  
• LaDarius Owens, LB, 6-2, 225, Bessemer, Ala. (4-star)
  
• Cody Parkey, PK, 6-2, 195, Jupiter, Fla. (3-star)
  
• Trovon Reed, WR, 6-0, 173, Thibodaux, La. (4-star)
  
• Jeremy Richardson, WR, 6-4, 220, Springville, Ala. (4-star)
• Craig Sanders, DE, 6-4, 230, Ariton, Ala. (4-star)
  
• Chad Slade, OL, 6-6, 316, Moody, Ala. (3-star)
  
• Jawara White, LB, 6-2, 220, Troy, Ala. (3-star)

Auburn might now have won the Iron Bowl, coming up just short in a 26-21 loss to No. 2 Alabama on Friday. But head coach Gene Chizik thinks the Tigers have a great start on a bright future on the Plains.

"I'm satisfied with us working toward building a foundation for what we know is going to be great here," Chizik said during a Saturday teleconference. "I don't think there's any question in my mind that we've done that.

"Are there some games like yesterday where we wish we could have pulled out? There's no question about it. But we have a chance for eight wins in our first year, but more importantly what we have set down is a foundation for a very, very bright future here. There's no question in our mind about that. I think that was evident to everybody yesterday."

Auburn won't find out its bowl fate for another week, after the conference championship games. So Chizik will instead turn his focus to recruiting.

"We're hitting right now," he said. "The bowl committees are going to do their thing. We've got great leadership. We want to give our kids and opportunity to play in the best bowl they can. They've earned that and deserve that."

Chizik said he met with recruits after the Tigers' close 26-21 Iron Bowl loss to No. 2 Alabama last night and this morning. He called the response "overwhelming."

With no game next week, Chizik said this week will be more about academics and rest before the team begins preparation for a bowl game.

"We are really going to focus on the academic world," he said. "We're going to give our guys some time to heal up. They're beat up and bruised up, guys playing with all kinds of injuries, give them an opportunity for bodies to heal and really focus on academic issues at hand."

Some other notes from today's teleconference ...

• Chizik said Auburn didn't capitalize enough on some field position opportunities last night that cost the Tigers in the end.

• There's a possibility Chizik could start doing in-home visits with recruits this week. "As long as it makes sense," he said. "Everything's about strategically planning, and it's all about timing."

• He's excited about the 15 practices Auburn will be granted leading up to the bowl game. "All those reps that accumulate over time can do nothing but help your football team," Chizik said.

• Chizik said Auburn is about 98 percent done with its recruiting evaluations and that the focus now is on finishing up a recruiting class rather than starting one up. "It's just a whole different ballgame," he said.

OK,we had a crew of reporters at the Iron Bowl providing complete coverage. Here's everything we wrote:

• My game story: Auburn jumps on Tide early, but can't stop late Alabama drive
• Chuck Williams' A1 story: Tide washes Tigers — again
• My Auburn notebook: Chris Todd sets season record for most touchdown passes
• Guerry Clegg's Auburn column: 58 1/2 minutes of winning wasn't enough for Auburn
• Michael Casagrande's first Alabama sidebar: Alabama's Ingram shut down but happy with win
• Casagrande's second Alabama sidebar: Upchurch steps up to catch game-winning touchdown for Alabama
• Chuck's Alabama column: No if, ands, plenty of buts

I didn't see the sidebar I wrote about Auburn's fast offensive start on our Web site, so here it is in its entirety:

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wasn't about to hold anything back against the nation's No. 1 defense in Friday's Iron Bowl.

The Tigers might have eventually lost 26-21, but they pulled out all the stops in the first quarter, running a number of gadget plays that helped them build a 14-point lead against the No. 2 team in the country.

"We didn't want to leave anything out there," Malzahn said. "We wanted to give our guys the best chance of winning, try to be aggressive. So early on we did."

Auburn started out with a play that's gone off without a hitch all year. Wide receiver Terrell Zachery got the ball on a misdirection end around on the Tigers' fourth offensive play, sprinting free up the home sideline before cutting back toward the middle of the field for a 67-yard touchdown.

It was the longest rush Alabama had allowed in the three-year Nick Saban era.

"Those are the plays that we’ve always had," running back Ben Tate said. "We’ve always had them in our arsenal just sitting there waiting to use them. This was the perfect game to use them and it helped out a great deal."

After recovering an onside kick, Malzahn dipped back into his bag of tricks. Kodi Burns took a snap out of the shotgun and lateraled it to quarterback Chris Todd, who was lined up out wide. Todd fired the ball across the middle to a wide-open Darvin Adams for a 22-yard gain.

The Tigers tried a variation of the play on the next snap, this time with Todd lateraling the ball to Burns, who threw an incomplete pass to Adams.

"We tried to throw some different stuff at them and throw some different looks, a few things they hadn't seen before," Todd said.

Auburn would go on to score another touchdown, finding the end zone on a 1-yard pass from Todd to H-back Eric Smith with 5:58 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0, the largest deficit Alabama had faced this year.

The 14 points were more than seven of the Crimson Tide's 11 previous opponents had scored in an entire game.

After two drives, Auburn ran 19 plays for 149 yards. Alabama had six plays for five yards.

"When these guys go off from the script, they have all kinds of formations and plays, like double passes, reverse passes," Saban said. "Most of the stuff you haven't seen before."

Alabama coped well. The Crimson Tide held Auburn to 183 yards in the final three quarters, 72 of which came on a touchdown pass to Adams.

The Tide increased the pressure on Todd, sacking him three times for 32 yards and getting six hurries. It also clamped down on Auburn's misdirection plays by jumping all over the screen passes that worked early on. Alabama finished with nine tackles for a loss.

"That's the best defense in America. There's no doubt," Malzahn said. "They're very well coached at each position and they've got great skill and at times we had them off balance. They heated us up in the second half and put a lot of pressure on us and got us in some negative plays. Give those guys some credit."

Here's how the best game I've seen this year starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — With 37 yards and five points to make up in one final second, Auburn's offense reached back into its bag of tricks, hoping it could find one more big play to pull off the shocker of the season against No. 2 Alabama on Friday.

It came away empty-handed.

Chris Todd's Hail Mary fell short, knocked harmlessly to the ground by a host of Alabama defenders as the Crimson Tide staved off its latest upset bid with a 26-21 victory before a sellout crowd of 87,451 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"We didn't play our best football and we need to learn from that," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "But at the same time I don't think you can say enough about the competitive character that this team showed today."

OK, here are a few more notes from the post-game ...

• Nobody was saying the exact words, but you have to get the feeling this was a moral victory for Auburn tonight. The Tigers took the No. 2 team to the wire, gained 332 yards (second most against the Tide this year) and scored 21 points (second mos as well). "We've come a long way," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. "Again, we said at the beginning of this that we were going to build a foundation for what we know is right. We are going to do it right, and I don't think there is any question (we have)."

• "There’s never moral victories, not for me anyway," running back Ben Tate said. "You either win the game or you lose it. That’s it." But Tate also had this nugget: "Things are just getting started here. Auburn’s going to be a force to reckon with in a couple of years."

• Fast start for the Tigers, which is what I wrote about in my sidebar. Gus Malzahn pulled out all the stops early on -- reverses, double passes, wacky formations. It worked to the tune of 149 yards and 14 points after two drives. "We didn't want to leave anything out there," Malzahn said. "We wanted to give our guys the best chance of winning, try to be aggressive. So early on we did."

• The 14-0 deficit was the largest Alabama had faced this year.

• Todd threw a pair of touchdowns, setting Auburn's single-season record for most touchdown passes in a season. Todd has 21 this year, one more than Jason Campbell threw in 2004 and Pat Sullivan did in 1971. "It's really a thing where I think it's great for the offense," Todd said. "I think it's great for Auburn. I really have to give the credit to, first of all, our offensive line. They played great all year. The receivers stepped up and made plays and really our running game. I think it's good for Auburn moving forward."

• Among Auburn's accomplishments was holding Heisman hopeful Mark Ingram to 30 rushing yards on 16 carries. He was out-gained by freshman teammates Trent Richardson, who had 15 carries for 51 yards and a score. "We were physical," defensive end Antonio Coleman said. "We knew they were going to come in and run the ball, they have a great running back. We had to stop the run and that's what we did."

• Tate didn't do so hot himself against the nation's No. 2 rush defense. He had 18 carries for 45 yards, a season low.

• Auburn out-rushed Alabama 151-73, the first time in the last 11 Iron Bowls that the winning team did not have more rushing yards.

• So how did Alabama win? Well, quarterback Greg McElroy came up huge. The junior was 21-for-31 for 218 yards with a pair of touchdown passes. He was calm under pressure on Alabama's game-winning scoring drive, completing 7 of 8 passes for 63 yards, hooking up four times with wideout Julio Jones, who finished with nine receptions for 83 yards. McElroy finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Roy Upchurch to give Alabama its first lead of the night with 1:24 to play. "That may have been one of the greatest drives I have ever been associated with in a fourth quarter to win the game," Saban said.

• Auburn's undermanned defense put up a valiant effort. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof summed it up like this: "We emptied the tank out there. We just have to find a way to make one better play or one better call. ... It rips your guts out. I feel bad for our fans. I feel bad for our seniors and the kids in that locker room. They gave it everything they had."

• Bama clamped down on Auburn's offense after the start. The Crimson Tide held Auburn to 183 yards in the final three quarters, 72 of which came on a touchdown pass to Darvin Adams. Alabama pressured Todd for most of the game and finished with nine tackles for a loss. "That's the best defense in America. There's no doubt," Malzahn said. "They're very well coached at each position and they've got great skill and at times we had them off balance. They heated us up in the second half and put a lot of pressure on us and got us in some negative plays. Give those guys some credit."

• Saban had the best quote of the night: "Only the strong survive, but the strong still get their ass whipped," he said. "And that was my message to the team. I shouldn't use that kind of language, but we did survive because of our character and resilience."

• What's up next for Auburn? Good question. The Tigers will have to wait for tomorrow's games to play out before they have an idea of where they might end up for a bowl game. And the final decision might not be made for another week. Most likely destinations: Chick-fil-A bowl in Atlanta, Music City Bowl in Nasvhille and Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Outside chance at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

• It was the final home game for Coleman. "It's tough," he said. "I had tears walking off the field. It finally set in that I'd never be walking on that field again in an Auburn uniform. The only time I'm coming back now I'll be standing on the sidelines cheering these guys on so it's tough, but I have one more month with these guys, bowl game. Like I said before, I'm going to ask these guys again to lay it out on the field for me and I'm going to do the same for you."
  

The crowd lined up early today for Tiger Walk, as you can see. It's the calm before the storm here in the press box right now, a few hours before kickoff for today's Iron Bowl.

As usual, I'll be updating this post leading right up to the game. Follow the blog on Twitter for instant updates. I'm close to 300 followers and would like to get there soon.

It's a sunny, cool autumn day here in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Perfect for football, in my opinion. Slight breeze, but not too much.

I'll get right to the pre-game facts that you need to know:

• Alabama leads the all-time series 39-33-1.

• The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 2 in the BCS rankings and has already clinched its spot in next week's SEC championship game in Atlanta against Florida.

• Seventeen of the last 21 meetings in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

• Auburn has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown in the series since 1996.

• The team leading at halftime has won 74 percent of the time (54 of 73). However, since 1996, the team trailing at the half has won on five occasions (Alabama in 1996, '98 and '99; Auburn in '97 and '04).

• The Tigers have 53 players on their roster from Alabama.

• The ground game will be key. The team that has finished with the most rushing yards has won the last 10 Iron Bowls. Auburn is 11th nationally in rushing (219.5 ypg); Alabama is 10th (225.6).

• Auburn's Ben Tate is 19th nationally in rushing (109.9 ypg). Alabama's Mark Ingram is second (127.1 ypg).

• The rushing defenses are not so evenly matched. Auburn is 88th nationally (169.7 ypg); Alabama is second (70.5 ypg).

• Auburn has had 21 scoring drives that have taken two minutes or less. Twenty-one of those have ended in touchdowns.

• The Tigers are sixth nationally in red zone offense, scoring 94.3 percent of the time (33 of 35).

• Auburn quarterback Chris Todd has 19 touchdown passes this year, one shy of the single-season school record set by Jason Campbell (2004) and Pat Sullivan (1971). That's pretty good company.

• Tigers wide receiver Darvin Adams shares the SEC lead with nine touchdown receptions.

• Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman leads the SEC with 13.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks. His 22 sacks are tied for third most in school history.

• In the last 10 Iron Bowls, Alabama has thrown eight interceptions and eight touchdowns.

12:50 update: It's 40 minutes to gametime and both teams are out for warmups. Apparently Alabama's bus arrived a little late because of a wreck on I-85. Everybody's here now though.

12:57 update: LB Eltoro Freeman is not dressed. He's standing on the sideline in his uniform but no pads. That means freshman Jonathan Evans will likely get the start at weak-side linebacker.

1:01 update: The PA announcer just ran through the starting lineups. Sure enough, Evans, who has about two solid halves of experience, will be starting at linebacker in Freeman's spot.

1:10 update: Just in case your were curious, Auburn's backup crew at linebacker is Wade Christopher in the middle and Ashton Richardson and Chris Humphries on the outside. Yes, that's three walk-ons. And one's a defensive end.

1:23: Auburn honored the 1989 team before the game on 20th anniversary of Alabama's first trip ever to Auburn. The biggest ovation was saved for Pat Dye at end.

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.”

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter for updates leading up to the game.

We did another collaborative preview capsule for this week's game. I took the Auburn half. Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily took the Alabama half. Here's what we came up with:

No. 2 Alabama (11-0, 7-0 SEC) at Auburn (7-4, 3-4 SEC)

• Where: Auburn, Ala.
• When: 2:30 p.m. ET, CBS
• Last meeting: Alabama 36, Auburn 0, Nov. 29, 2008, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

PASSING GAME

Auburn: Auburn's passing game continues to play Jekyll and Hyde even this late in the season. Quarterback Chris Todd looked unstoppable in the first quarter against Georgia two weeks ago, throwing for two touchdowns. But Georgia clamped down the rest of the game, intercepting Todd twice in the second half. The Tigers normally strong offensive line allowed three sacks. Still, the Tigers have been productive through the air this season. Todd has 19 touchdowns to only five interceptions and receiver Darvin Adams (44 catches, 717 yards) is tied for the SEC lead in receiving touchdowns with nine.

Alabama: After a midseason lull that nearly brought the offense to a standstill, Greg McElroy and company are beginning to round back into form for the final push. Also hitting his stride is Julio Jones. Slowed by a knee injury early in the season, Jones has touchdown receptions in each of the past three games, including the game-winning 74-yarder against LSU. McElroy has struggled with accuracy at times, but he isn’t leaned upon in the clutch. As long as he can continue avoiding big mistakes, find Jones when coverage breaks down and gets the ball the running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, the Tide should be fine.

Edge: Auburn

RUNNING GAME

Auburn: Ben Tate's statement that he was the best running back in the state raised some eyebrows in Tuscaloosa, but the senior has put together quite a season. Tate has 1,209 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, nearly doubling his output from last season. Auburn can go with Mario Fannin (8.3 yards per carry) as a backup or the speedy Onterio McCalebb, who hopes to be back at full strength from a nagging ankle injury. Whoever the runner, the Tigers have had success behind an offensive line featuring left tackle Lee Ziemba and center Ryan Pugh. Auburn's rushing attack is ranked 11th nationally, averaging 219.6 yards per game.

Alabama: The Tide running game would be scary with Ingram alone. But add the slippery but powerful freshman Trent Richardson and Alabama’s backfield has options. Even if one isn’t on top of his game, the other has an ability to be equally effective. For Ingram, the Heisman Trophy candidate is only getting stronger as the season progresses. Closing in on the single-season rushing record, the sophomore needs just 72 yards to pass Bobby Humphrey for the mark. The addition of the Wildcat offense only added to Ingram’s effectiveness, as defenses have struggled to stop him even when they know what’s coming.

Edge: Alabama

FRONT SEVEN

Auburn: Depth remains a major issue for Auburn's front seven, particularly with linebacker Eltoro Freeman's status in doubt with the sophomore dealing with an ankle injury. The Tigers rank 10th in the SEC and 88th nationally in rushing defense, allowing 169.7 yards per game, and their pass rush has been mediocre, getting to the quarterback on average two times a game. Defensive end Antonio Coleman, who leads the league with 7.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss, hopes to do better than last year in Tuscaloosa, when he assisted on only three tackles and had one pass break-up.

Alabama: Experience dominates this unit. Five of the seven are seniors and Rolando McClain is an experienced junior. Only freshman Nico Johnson is an Iron Bowl rookie. With that experience and considerable talent, the front seven regularly manhandles the opposition. It is instrumental in the Tide defense’s No. 2 ranking against the run and 28 total sacks. Nose guard Terrence Cody, a finalist for several postseason awards, draws double teams nearly every week, freeing up the All-American McClain to rack up a team-high 84 tackles.

Edge: Alabama

SECONDARY

Auburn: The Tigers avoided facing star Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green, who left the game two weeks ago with a shoulder injury, but they still got beat up. Cornerback Neiko Thorpe has made a habit of getting beat deep recently, watching as Georgia completed passes of 50 and 47 yards against him. Cornerback Walt McFadden is the veteran of the group, tied for fourth in the SEC in interceptions with four. But the two safeties — Daren Bates and Demond Washington — are rookies, making them a ripe matchup for Jones.

Alabama: Once seen as a potential pitfall, the Tide defensive backfield has developed into one of its biggest weapons. Mark Barron leads the SEC in interceptions (6) and passes defended (1.45 per game). Alabama’s 18 interceptions are tied with Florida for the league lead. The backs also have been known to blitz the quarterback. All four of cornerback Javier Arenas’ sacks have come at critical moments and his open-field tackling has shown steady improvement.

Edge: Alabama

SPECIAL TEAMS

Auburn: Washington gave the Tigers' maligned return game a boost against Georgia, taking a fourth-quarter kickoff back 99 yards for a touchdown and breaking the school's single-game return record in the process. He figures to return both kicks and punts again. Clinton Durst is coming off his best game this season, when he averaged 48.0 yards per punt at Georgia. And place-kicker Wes Byrum, although he hit doinked in a field goal off the upright in Athens, is still 14-for-15 on the year.

Alabama: It’s been a banner year for nearly all of Alabama’s special teams. Issues, though, remain in kickoff coverage that regularly costs the Tide in the field position battle and twice meant six points for the opposition. When receiving kicks and punts, Alabama is equally dangerous. Arenas’ seven punt returns for touchdowns is an SEC record and he’s reliable when catching punts in traffic. Kicker Leigh Tiffin, one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award, makes 89.3 percent of his kicks (25-of-28) and has accounted for 109 Alabama points this season.

Edge: Alabama

COACHING

Auburn: Gene Chizik has been a part of three Iron Bowls and never lost. But that was as a defensive coordinator back from 2002-04. Being the head coach is different. Already this year, Chizik has coached a team to a victory against Tennessee in Knoxville and taken down a ranked opponent at home when Auburn dispatched then-No. 24 Ole Miss on Halloween. But the Crimson Tide presents a much larger challenge.

Alabama: Nick Saban has a two-year head start on Chizik in the battle for state supremacy. He out-recruited Chizik's predecessor on the recruiting trail and the benefits were evident on the scoreboard last year. Head coaching experience is invaluable in this rivalry and Saban simply has more of it right now.

Edge: Alabama

KEY MATCHUPS

Mark Ingram vs. Auburn's linebackers. The Heisman Trophy candidate has been effective at gaining yards after contact, meaning Auburn's linebacking trio will need to be sound with its tackling, something that's been a problem for most of the year. Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens rank 1-2 on the Tigers' list of tacklers, but with Freeman's status in doubt, true freshman Jonathan Evans might be thrust into a starting role, becoming an instant target for a Tide rushing attack averaging 225.6 yards per game.

Ben Tate vs. Alabama's front seven. Few teams have had success running the ball at the heart of Alabama's No. 2 nationally-ranked run defense, where Cody clogs the line for McClain to dart in and make tackles. But Auburn's offense is predicated on running the ball, so the Tigers won't abandon it altogether. Look for Tate to try to get to the perimeter (he's deceptively fast) and force the Crimson Tide's outside linebackers Eryk Anders and Cory Reamer to make plays.

PREDICTIONS

Casagrande: Alabama 23, Auburn 13

Bitter: Alabama 31, Auburn 13

Hope everyone's having a great Thanksgiving. I wrote a lengthy story for today's newspaper about the 1989 Iron Bowl, when Alabama traveled to Auburn for the first time. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — The car carrying Auburn football coach Pat Dye and sports information director David Housel paused at an intersection in town before Dye went noticeably quiet.

It was 1988, not long after it was announced that Alabama had reluctantly agreed to play a game in Auburn after insisting for years that the Iron Bowl take place in Birmingham, a neutral site in name only. The game was months away, but Dye couldn’t get it out of his mind.

“You know what it’s going to be, don’t you?” Dye asked, finally breaking the silence.

Housel had no idea what he was talking about.

“It’s going to be the most emotional day in Auburn history,” Dye said.

He was right. Dec. 2, 1989 — the day Alabama came to Auburn for the first time — has drawn its share of historical comparisons over the years. Dye likened it to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Housel to the Israelites returning to the Promised Land. Few Auburn fans who attended the game consider that hyperbole.

The result, a 30-20 Auburn victory against the No. 2 Crimson Tide before the largest crowd the state had ever seen, took a backseat to the fact that the game was even played in the first place.

Read the rest of the story here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

Lucas Hargrove scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Tigers' 75-54 win against High Point at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night.

DeWayne Reed scored 13 points, Earnest Ross and Brendon Knox both had 12 and Frankie Sullivan added 11 for Auburn (3-3).

The Tigers built a 40-18 by halftime. They shot 50 percent from the field for the game (23-for-46) but were only 4-for-14 from 3-point range.

Guard Tay Waller (quad) didn't play for the sixth straight game.

Nick Barbour scored 14 points to lead High Point (2-2).

Auburn plays again next Tuesday against Alabama A&M in Huntsville, where coach Jeff Lebo will try for his 200th career victory. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET.

OK, I've been a little lax on the videos this week since there's been so much writing I've had to do for the actual paper in a shorter period of time than normal because of the holiday.

So here's a video of coaches from earlier this week, topped off with some fresh Gene Chizik footage from today. It's also got running backs coach Curtis Luper, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, cornerbacks coach Phillip Lolley and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes answering questions leading up to the Iron Bowl. Enjoy.

AUBURN, Ala. — True to his promise, Auburn coach Gene Chizik gave no concrete update on injured linebacker Eltoro Freeman on Wednesday.

"Again, it will be a gametime deal," he said.

Freeman has missed practice because of an ankle injury suffered in the Georgia game. He was seen walking out of the Auburn athletic complex Wednesday with a protective covering to the top of his foot, although it was not the full protective boot he wore last week.

If Freeman can't play, true freshman Jonathan Evans would likely get the nod at weak-side linebacker. Evans filled in for Freeman in the second half of the Georgia game and made four tackles, getting in on one tackle for a loss.

"It's different preparing when you may have to be the guy," Chizik said. "And I think he's been really focused and I think the reps he accumulated (are enough for) him to feel comfortable. And that's the whole goal. So if he has to be the guy, we've repped him enough for him to do that, we think. But proud of him, because he's been very focused and in 10 short days he's made a lot of strides."

Some other notes from Wednesday's brief meeting with Chizik ...

• Auburn went through a 75-minute early practice in helmets and shorts Wednesday, leaving only a walkthrough tomorrow morning and an afternoon team Thanksgiving function left before it gets ready to play Friday's game.

• Chizik said players who live nearby won't have an opportunity to leave town tonight, but said that they can spend times with their visiting families tonight and tomorrow night. "Just try to get some rest and some relaxation with their family before we get out of town," Chizik said.

• Linebackers Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens rarely come out of the game, probably a big reason they rank 1-2 on the team in tackles with 84 and 83 stops, respectively. "It's rare," Chizik said. "Those two guys have been workhorses for us on defense. I can't remember a time when they just really had the luxury of having ever had a break for the most part. Those two have played beat up, they've played tired, they've just done a great job for us. Both those guys."

• Despite 10 days of preparation time, Chizik didn't think his team was antsy at all. "I think they've handled the time here well," he said. "I think it's been just about the way we envisioned it from 10 days out. I don't think they're antsy. We've prepared about like we would any game week. Obviously we had the extra couple days, but I think they're at the right place where they need to be right now, both mentally and physically."

• Asked if it was important to at the very least keep Friday's game competitive, even if it doesn't result in a win, Chizik had this response: "In my opinion, every game is that important. Every game it's really imperative that we're competitive and we fight and we find ways to win it. And this game is no exception. We know this is a big game just because of what the game stands for and what the game is, but the way we approach is mentally is for us to be physical and for us to fight and claw and scratch down to the end, in every game, whether we're winning or whether we're losing. It doesn't matter. We need to be able to lay a foundation, knowing that we're going to be able to play the same way all the time. It doesn't matter who it is."

• I nearly forgot this one last note: Cornerback Walt McFadden was named to the 2009 SEC Football Community Service Team. The league recognizes one player from each of the 12 schools "who has made a superior effort to give back to his community," according to the press release. Here's Walt's long list of activities (from the release):

• McFadden has been active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the last three years, and has participated in Toys for Tots and the Beat Bama Food Drive the last three years with the AU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He participated in the BRIDGES Summer Program at Drake Middle School as a featured speaker during the summer day camp. He has also participated in the Learning Zone Day Care Center Pep Rally and the Auburn Early Education Center Pep Rally, and has been a featured speaker at the KUMON Math and Reading Center and Camp Kaleidoscope (a summer program sponsored by the City of Auburn).

I wrote a story about how Auburn is not dwelling on last year's ugly Iron Bowl result. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn’s players don’t have a shortage of opinions about last year’s grisly Iron Bowl outcome.

Linebacker Craig Stevens called it terrible. Wide receiver Kodi Burns said it was a big mess. Defensive end Antonio Coleman thinks back and still gets angry.

But the Tigers have tried to temper their emotions following last year’s 36-0 beatdown in Tuscaloosa, the most lopsided result in the rivalry since 1962.

“We don’t talk about it that much, but we watched the video to kind of get us to remember that feeling from last year,” Stevens said. “We don’t want to re-live it again.”

Read the full story here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

AUBURN, Ala. — A year after finishing dead last in the Football Bowl Subdivision in red zone scoring efficiency, Auburn is among the national leaders.

The Tigers are tied for sixth nationally in red zone offense, scoring 94.3 percent of the time. They have 25 touchdowns and eight field goals in 35 trips inside the 20.

Last year, they scored only 57 percent of the time, a mark that put them 119th nationally, eight percentage points below the next closest team.

"We spend a lot of practice time (on it), probably as much or more than most people do," offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "I think that has a lot to do with it."

There will be a larger issue this week going up against Alabama's No. 1 nationally-ranked defense.

"We need to get it down there," Malzahn said. "Because we think that's one of our big strengths. Once we do we can put the ball in the end zone. That's a big focus of our offense and that's a big challenge against this defense."

Follow the blog on Twitter. And read some more notes from Tuesday's round of interviews ...

• Auburn won't just be trying to win the competition on the field Friday. The Tigers hope to make inroads in the state recruiting battle as well. Auburn expects more than 100 visitors for the Iron Bowl, including nearly all of the Tigers' 21 commits for 2010, according to AuburnSports.com. The highest-profile in-state player will be Theodore, Ala., linebacker C.J. Mosley, the No. 7 overall recruit in Alabama, according to Rivals. His two favorites are Auburn and Alabama.

• The Tigers' coaches know recruiting goes beyond who wins the game. "Winning makes everything easy, but if it was easy, everybody would do it," wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. "The people we’re bringing in and the recruits we’re looking at is building on relationships that last longer than 60 minutes of a ballgame. ... It’s a long-term deal for us. This is not a quick fix."

• Alabama currently ranks second in Rivals' recruiting rankings with 22 commits for 2010. Auburn is eighth with 21 commits.

• WR Darvin Adams thinks Alabama's lofty ranking will bring out the best in Auburn. "The higher the other team's talent, it kind of brings out your talent," he said. "It's like if you're running a 40 and somebody's racing you, you probably run a 40 faster if somebody's racing you. So I think that will bring the best out of us, a big rivalry game. I think we'll be ready for it."

• Interesting exchange with Adams about Tide defensive back Javier Arenas. It went as follows:

• Reporter: You heard anything about Arenas?
• Adams I heard he's a good punt returner, so I guess he's doing good at that.
• Reporter: He'll probably be covering you.
• Adams: Oh, I mean, we'll see.

• LB Craig Stevens on why Alabama is so effective running the ball: "They break a lot of tackles and they're able to exploit that whenever you miss a tackle, they take it for a couple of extra yards. I think they said (Mark) Ingram has like 900-something yards after contact, so you just have to rack him up."

• Asked if it's going to be hard to stop a potential Heisman Trophy winner, Stevens referenced a game from 2007. "We've done it before," he said. "Tim Tebow. It's able to be done." Tebow had 201 passing yards and a touchdown and 75 rushing yards and a score in that game, but Wes Byrum had the last laugh, or chomp, drilling a 43-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 20-17 win in Gainesville.

• We continue to get varying opinions about which part of Alabama's defense is most impressive, but the more we hear, the more Auburn is impressed with the Tide's secondary. Here are two more comments to that effect:

• WR Kodi Burns: "I think the biggest thing that stands out is the d-line gets a lot of pressure, but I think the biggest difference is the secondary. The secondary does a great job of grabbing and holding and just I would say harassing receivers. They do a great job of getting their hands on you in man coverage. What they're saying is that they feel like they can cover people, so they're really good, really talented and that's the kind of ball they play."

• Malzahn: "Their secondary, you can tell they’re very well coached. They have very good ball skills. I think some of those guys back there could start at receiver for some of the teams in our league. They’re that talented with their ball skills. They’re extremely fast. They really make you earn it. You don’t see a whole lot of guys running free. We need to make plays and be able to make some plays in the passing game.

• What's the key to passing on Alabama then? "You've got to know where to miss," Malzahn said. "You've got to know your aiming points. You've got to be a good decision-maker. At the same time, our receivers need to do a good job of using their bodies and protecting the ball. The windows could be a little smaller but we just need to be on target."

• Malzahn hasn't really been a part of a huge rivalry like this (what's comparable at Arkansas, LSU?). But he said he's gotten plenty of advice for quite awhile about this game. "I got advice when I first got here about this game, the first week I was here," he said with a chuckle. "From that you can kind of tell how important it is to our people and our kids and it's a big one"

AUBURN, Ala. — Zac Etheridge was in good spirits when he made another appearance at the Auburn athletic complex Tuesday, a little less than a month after a suffering a scary neck injury against Ole Miss.

Still wearing a restrictive neck brace that prevents his head from moving side to side, the safety reiterated his desire to return to the football field at some point in the future.

"I expect to make a full recovery," he said. "As for football-wise, we don't know. Hopefully I'll be able to play again. I'm just taking it day-by-day. I'm just glad to be walking around and doing everything I'm doing right now."

Etheridge, a junior, tore ligaments in his neck and cracked his fifth vertebra trying to make a tackle against Ole Miss on Halloween. He was immobilized on the field and transported to a hospital as a precaution but was released a few days later, with doctors hopeful for a full recovery.

He's been around campus since, making appearances at Auburn's practices and team meetings.

"Just letting them see me with a smile on my face and just being around them in practice and just lifting them up," Etheridge said. "I'm walking around talking to them, helping the safeties out and talking trash with receivers like I always do. Just keep them going in practice."

He got a kick out of seeing his roommate, running back Ben Tate, wear his No. 4 as a tribute during the Georgia game, something he didn't know about until he started getting text message from friends prior to the game.

"It was uplifting," Etheridge said. "For him to just think of that and show support of me, it just helped out. It touched my parents and a lot of fans just to see him and what type of guy he is to wear my jersey."

Still, it hurts him not to be able to be on the field.

"It's definitely hard for any player that loves the game and wants to be out there and knowing you want to be out there with the guys, your brothers that you go to work with every day," he said. "But you can't and you're not able to do it, it kind of hurts you."

Etheridge, who has to wear the neck brace for a few more months, isn't sure what the future holds. He will resume classes soon and plans to graduate on time. He'd like to play again. If that's not a possibility, he'd like to coach.

He knows one thing for certain: he will be in attendance for the Iron Bowl on Friday.

"I'll definitely be out there be with the guys, just go out there be supportive," he said. "I can't wait for that."

We went for a good 45 minutes today. Here's the chat wrap if you'd like to read it.

Gene Chizik is speaking to the media right now. Here's what he's said so far:

• "This is what makes college football great -- these types of college rivalries."

• On Auburn's red zone success: "Obviously when you get down there it's all about execution, and I think when we have gotten down there we have executed well."

• "Getting down there is going to be more difficult this week than most weeks."

• He's looked at some film of last year's game. "We don't put a whole lot of stock in the past, but you want to look at it and see what went on."

• He saw some missed opportunities in last year's game.

• On the rivalry: "In my opinion, typically the more physical team wins. So Alabama's not going to try to trick anybody. They're going to do what they do and try to be more physical than you are. But in these rivalry games, that's what it's all about."

• "We've got our work cut out for us. That's a great, physical football team."

• Chizik isn't using last year's game as a motivational tool. "We're not living in the past. ... We've moved on. There's no relation between the two."

• Comparing Mark Ingram and Ben Tate: "I don't think it's fair to compare because there's no comparison. They're used differently and they're both great running backs."

• On what's at stake: "I think anytime you're playing a rivalry game, I think it has the potential to have a bearing on recruiting. We're trying to get to the best bowl game possible. I still think there's a lot to play for. And then the fact that this game is not an obligation, it's a privilege to play in, period. That in itself is a huge motivation to play. Somebody's going to do something and it's going to go down in history and never be forgotten. It happens every year."

• The off week was big both mentally and physically. We've covered this before.

• On Tate saying he was the best running back in the state, Chizik didn't know the context. He assumes it was an innocent phrase by Tate. "Ben's a confident guy, but he's also very complimentary of others," Chizik said. "People can make that into what they want to, but in my opinion it was done in a very innocent way."

• On if Alabama has the look of a national championship team: "They've got very good players and they're very well-coached. They're one of the teams that is a viable option to play in that game." He didn't say anything beyond that because he hasn't seen the other title contenders on film.

I'll have to be quick this morning because today is shaping up to be a long day, but here are a few links a little bit earlier today ...

• Auburn's fast-paced offense will be something new for Alabama's defense to deal with, writes Don Kausler Jr. of the Birmingham News. Seems like this gets written at least once a week.

• Alabama linebackers coach James Willis returns to Auburn wearing enemy colors, writes Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register.

• Alabama has had to alter its practice schedule with the Iron Bowl being on Friday, writes Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily.

• Kevin Scarbinsky is shocked there's no Nick Saban-to-Notre Dame talk.

• After Auburn bottomed out against Alabama last year, Gene Chizik has done a nice job rebuilding the program so far, writes ESPN.com blogger Chris Low.

• Georgia's Reshad Jones will get a chance at redemption, writes David Hale of the Macon Telegraph.

• LSU's Les Miles is the Turkey of the Year, writes Paul Finebaum.

• Miles is not hot in Low's SEC Hot/Not list. Kentucky's Rich Brooks is En Fuego.

• Urban Meyer says he's not going to Notre Dame. To be fair, what else can he say at this point?

• He also became the latest to tear up when talking about Tim Tebow (OK, it was the seniors, but he's chief among them).

• Things are not right in South Bend: Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was apparently punched by an irate fan outside of a bar.

• Running backs still rule Sports Illustarted writer Gene Menez's Heisman list, although a quarterback is making a move.

• This still from the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game is pretty funny.

I wrote a story for today's newspaper about Auburn's running game matching up against Alabama's stout run defense. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Ryan Pugh’s Saturday away from the football field was interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone last weekend.

It was Auburn running back Ben Tate, texting Pugh and the rest of the Tigers’ offensive line a quick reminder of one particularly telling stat: Alabama has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in more than two years.

“This isn’t a game you lay an egg running the ball because they’re very good against running the ball,” Pugh said. “It’s on his mind. It’s on our mind. If we can get Ben near 100 yards, we can put ourselves in a good position.”

That will be a tall task come Friday, when Alabama brings its No. 2 nationally-ranked defense to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Iron Bowl.

The Crimson Tide are allowing only 70.4 rushing yards per game this season, a mark that trails only Texas (50.1 ypg). Alabama hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 30 games — the longest streak in the nation by nine games — dating back to Oct. 13, 2007, when Ole Miss’ BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 131 yards.

Read the whole thing here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

AUBURN, Ala. — Call it a rallying cry, a motivational tool, words of inspiration.

Whatever it is, Auburn's defensive linemen have a singular focus this week when it comes to Alabama running back Mark Ingram.

"We said he's not going to win the Heisman on us," junior Michael Goggans said.

Easier said than done. Ingram enters the game a Heisman hopeful, leading the SEC in both rushing yards (1,399) and rushing touchdowns (12) and coming in a close second to Ole Miss' Dexter McCluster in yards per carry (6.8).

Stopping him is a tall order, especially for an Auburn rush defense that is giving up 169.7 yards per game, 10th in the SEC and 88th nationally.

Those troubles have led to larger problems. Auburn has already set a school record by allowing 297 points, shattering the previous mark of 267 set by the 1976 team. The Tigers are allowing 27.0 points per game, on pace to break the record of 26.2 set in 1948.

Enter Alabama, a team averaging 32.2 points per game and led by Ingram, who has topped the 140 yards in five of his last seven games.

Auburn linebacker Josh Bynes said Alabama doesn't do anything too complicated on offense; the Crimson Tide simply lines up and runs right at a defense. Ingram takes care of the rest.

"Ingram's the type of guy, when he sees that big hole, he's going to cut it back and turn it into a big run," Bynes said. "He breaks an awful lot of tackles. A lot of times it ain't that first guy wrapping him up."

"He’s one of those backs that it seems as the game goes on, he gets stronger," Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. "He makes a lot of people miss. He gets a lot of yards after contact. We've got to get a lot of hats to the ball for four quarters."

A couple of housekeeping items I have to add here:

1. Follow the blog on Twitter (of course)
2. Join tomorrow's live chat with me at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT.
3. And read these other notes and quotes from Monday's round of interviews ...

• Fun fact that I didn't find out until after I had filed my story: The team that has finished with more rushing yards has won each of the last 11 Iron Bowls.

• Auburn went through a 90-minute workout Monday in full pads. "We had a good practice tonight," Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. "Went in full pads and felt like we had a physical practice and got a lot accomplished out there today and I think we're on the right track. The kids were enthusiastic and excited about practicing and preparing. We'll need every minute we can get, but up to this point we're pleased with where we're at."

• Chizik had this to say about the strides he thinks his undermanned defense has made this year: "If you just look earlier in the year, in terms of third-down production, being able to get off the field, I think we struggled with that a lot early. I think we've gotten better as the season's gone on. Again, we've been a little sporadic when it comes to the turnovers. You can see in the games we've won we've been able to get turnovers and get the ball back to our offense. We've been really good at times against the run, at times it's been disappointing. There's a lot of small victories in there. It's going in the right direction. Again, third downs is one of the glaring things to me, where we've been able to get off the field early. We scored a lot of points this year from defense, whether it's blocked kicks and return those for touchdowns or blocked extra points and return those for points. We scored several times defensively through interceptions and things of that nature. We've done some nice things. But it's our whole team, I think consistency's been the thing that's really glaring that hasn't been good all the time."

• Injured defensive back Aairon Savage has spoken with cornerbacks coach Phillip Lolley about the possibility of returning for a sixth season. Savage, a fifth-year senior, suffered a season-ending Achilles' injury during summer workouts after missing all of last year with a knee injury. The soon-to-be 23-year-old has still diligently attended Auburn's practices and has shown up to home games on the sidelines wearing his No. 2 uniform. "Initially Aairon didn't know — he had some other avenues he was pursuing and everything," Lolley said. "The last four or five weeks, we've looked at it differently. He's itching to play again and the whole thing is he's out there every practice watching."

• Lolley said he, Savage and Chizik will sit down after the season to talk about the possibility of him returning for another season. Savage would have to petition the NCAA after the season to get another year of eligibility. "He's a great kid and a great leader," Lolley said. "We'll just see where it goes." Savage, an Albany, Ga., native, has 14 starts in 19 career games. He's made 79 tackles and has one career interception.

• Running back Onterio McCalebb is on the mend again after rolling his injured right ankle again during the Georgia game. "It was great to have him back for like a quarter," running backs coach Curtis Luper joked. McCalebb finished with 11 carries for 60 yards against the Bulldogs, although he was laboring through the fourth quarter. "Yeah, I was playing through a little pain at the end, but I couldn't come out of the game," the true freshman said. "I had to be out there when my team needed me."

• Luper said McCalebb would be ready to go for the Iron Bowl. "We need that speed," Luper said. "He's a big-time change-of-pace guy for us. He can make some things that are wrong right."

• All of Auburn's coaches seemed to be extremely impressed with Alabama's defense. And they all seemed to like a different part of it. To wit:

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor: "Big and fast, oh my goodness. The thing I’ve been impressed with in their secondary is they do a great job of playing the football. They will play through the receiver’s hands as the ball gets there. You very rarely see a receiver running wide open. They’re not afraid to press. I feel like we’re going to see a significant amount of press coverage. Our guys will have to be prepared for the challenge."

• Luper: "They've got a great d-line. NFL players. They've got a great secondary. NFL players. And they've got really good linebackers. I think the front end and the back end really makes them what they are. And that makes it easy for (Rolando) McClain as well, but really up front they can be dominant. They play the run extremely well, put you in bad situations. But they've got some ball hawks in the back. I think Arenas is the best player on that football team."

• Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, on nose guard Terrence Cody: "It's really tough when you've got a guy that's that physical in the middle of the defense. I think a lot of what they ask of him to do is free up their backers to make plays. As an offensive line coach, you're in a battle between getting movement on a down guy and trying to get double teams on him but at the same time getting up to the linebackers and not letting their linebackers run and make plays. So you've got to do the best you can to scheme up and do a little of both. It's definitely tough when you've got a guy that's that strong, that stout and can really occupy two blocks in the middle of the defense. He's a typical 3-4 nose that a lot of NFL teams are playing with."

• Lolley, who has been around Alabama forever, thinks this rivalry is unparalleled: "A lot of coaches have been through here, whether coordinators through the last 10, 11 years — however long I've been associated here or whatever — and everybody talks about their rivalries everywhere else. I just smile and laugh because there's really no way. You can explain the atmosphere in an SEC game, period, but when you look at it as an SEC game with two teams from the same state that's a great football state — to me, the greatest football state in the country — and there's no pro teams. Everybody's either Alabama or they're Auburn. It's great for college football. There's no atmosphere like it whether you play here in Auburn or you play in Tuscaloosa. There's not another game like it. It's great to be a part of it. You try to explain it to everybody, but they have to play it."

• Luper, a newcomer to the rivalry, summed up the rivalry like this: "I experience it every day, somewhere, in some shape or form. That's the beauty of this rivalry is that it is 365. It's every day of the year. It's not just this week. The Texas-Oklahoma deal is just that week. And Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, Bedlam was just that week. But this is year round. It's 24-7-365, so it'll be excited to be out and be a part of it."

• Grimes said Auburn won't be intimidated by Alabama and its 11-0 record. "We're not ever going to talk about anybody intimidating us," he said. "I think just because of the physical nature of their front that happens at times. I think the teams that will step out and take the opposite approach will have a better chance. Obviously nobody's beaten them and nobody's put a lot of yards on them so they're pretty good at what they do so I'm giving them a ton of credit. But we're not going to be intimidated by anybody."

Auburn sent out a pair of press releases directed at fans attending the Iron Bowl this Friday. One is about changes to gameday procedures. The other is about being aware of counterfeit tickets.

AUBURN GAME DAY PLAN FOR AUBURN-ALABAMA WEEK

With the Iron Bowl on Friday after Thanksgiving, Auburn University has modified its game day plan in the interest of campus security and safety. The university will close the core of campus-the area bound by Samford Ave., Wire Rd., Magnolia Ave., and College St.-from 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, through 6 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26.

Auburn and Alabama will kick off at Jordan-Hare Stadium at 1:30 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 27. The game will be an “All Auburn, All Orange” event, as fans are encouraged to wear orange.

Other changes for Iron Bowl week include:

• No tailgate sites may be reserved in any manner until 6 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 26. Individuals and groups will not be permitted to loiter or sit on campus to reserve a preferred site until this time. Tape, rope, chairs, small tents and any other site markings placed prior to Thursday will be removed.

• RV early arrival time on campus will be Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 10 a.m. Arrival will be regulated and parking restrictions will be enforced.

FANS URGED TO USE CAUTION AGAINST COUNTERFEIT TICKETS

AUBURN — With the upcoming Auburn-Alabama football game on Friday, Nov. 27 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Auburn Athletic Ticket Office is reminding fans to use caution regarding the possibility of counterfeit tickets. The only authorized outlets for Auburn-Alabama tickets are the Auburn and Alabama Athletic Ticket offices. Purchasing tickets from other sources is done at the buyers’ own risk.

Listed are several educational points regarding counterfeit tickets as well as several security measures to ensure fans that they posses authentic tickets.

• Use Caution: Fans should exercise caution when approached in outer parking lots. Counterfeit sellers have been known to travel by bicycle so they can move away quickly if approached by law enforcement.

• Check the Section: If the ticket is for sections 17-27 or the upper part of section 28 (rows 28-48) it is counterfeit. This is the Auburn Student Section and no tickets are printed for these sections.

• Crisp vs. Grainy: Counterfeit tickets are high quality color copies on similar paper stock to the originals. When inspected closer, counterfeit tickets will appear slightly darker in color. The photo on the ticket will appear grainier and of less quality than an original ticket. Sometimes the ticket can appear off-center as well.

Counterfeit Measures:

Auburn Football Tickets are printed with four different security features. Three are easily identifiable (shown in the adjacent photos).

• Security Feature 1: The front of the Auburn ticket features a silver security foil in the shape of the “AU” logo. This is the easiest security feature to check at a quick glance. When turned slightly towards the light, the foil features a unique “wagon wheel” mark and the words “Valid”, “Authentic”, and “Secure” can be seen. If the silver foil does not feature this unique “wagon wheel” logo, it should be considered counterfeit. Recent examples of counterfeit tickets have featured similar silver foil with the words “secure," “authentic," and a circular logo. This is likely a copied version of the unique Auburn security foil and will appear dull and harder to distinguish when held toward light. Counterfeit versions have also featured a silver foil that features stars when held to light. The die cut around the “AU” logo will likely be less clean and crisp on counterfeit versions.

• Security Feature 2: On the back of the Auburn ticket features a stadium diagram. If an individual takes a coin or key and rub in the center of the stadium diagram, the “AU” logo will appear. This one of the best security features but difficult to check when approached by a seller.

• Security Feature 3: Auburn football tickets are printed on a 10 pt. safety back premium ticket stock. The back of the ticket features the “WW&L Safety” watermark. When torn, a red-colored center is exposed. Recent examples of counterfeit tickets have been able to duplicate the pinkish/red center. The watermark will also show up on a color copied counterfeit.

• Security Feature 4: If swabbed with bleach, the back of the ticket will turn pink. If swabbed with paint thinner, the back of the ticket will also reveal blue flecks. If illuminated by a UV light, the back of the ticket will have short, randomly placed fibers that appear green in color.

Before Buying Tickets from Individuals:

• Check for the unique “wagon wheel” in the silver foil “AU” logo on the front of the ticket

• Check the clarity of the ticket. Does the picture appear grainy or is the centering off?

• Tell the seller about the scratch-off “AU” logo on the back. Ask if they will let you rub it with a coin to check the ticket’s authenticity. If they refuse, use caution.

• Ask the seller if they will accompany you to the West Will Call Booth to verify authenticity of the ticket. A ticket office staff member will check security features and verify if the ticket is authentic. If they refuse, use caution.

• If you suspect an individual is selling counterfeit tickets, please alert the nearest law enforcement officer you see.