The timing couldn’t be worse for Alabama to host Auburn football recruiting flips Perry Thompson, who originally chose the Crimson Tide before reversing course and committing to the Plains, and Georgia flip Demarcus Riddick — with Texas upsetting Nick Saban’s program 34-24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 9.
As Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee pointed out, things played out exactly as any Tiger fan would’ve wanted it to in Week 2; especially considering the Tigers’ historic 14-10 victory over Cal during Pac-12 After Dark.
If Auburn five-star commits Demarcus Riddick and Perry Thompson were going to visit Alabama for a game (and they did today), this is the one Auburn and its fans would want them to attend,” Lee prefaced before saying, “Early exits.”
Alabama is no longer the unbeatable powerhouse in the Iron Bowl rivalry with Auburn football
The Tide seems to be metaphorically and literally turning in Tuscaloosa, with Saban’s outfit no longer the unbeatable powerhouse that should have Auburn football fans counting the Iron Bowl as a loss months in advance.
In fact, USA Today’s Dan Wolken sees Alabama as simply not very good on either the offensive or defensive sides of the ball. And Saban knew that’d be the case before the season.
“Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the right one,” Wolken prefaced before saying, “Alabama had real problems, and Saban knew it. But the warnings never registered, at least not until Texas came into Tuscaloosa and laid a 34-24 beatdown on a program that looked like a shell of what it once was. What this game revealed about Alabama is shockingly simple: Right now, the Crimson Tide isn’t very good on offense or defense.”
Alabama could be extremely vulnerable by season’s end, or they can be one win away from an SEC Championship Game berth. Wherever the Crimson Tide is by that point, Hugh Freeze and Co. must capitalize and deliver an Iron Bowl debut for the Mississippi native and Saban rival that no one in the state of Alabama will ever forget.