The haves will continue to have. The have-nots will continue to not have.
In a predictable Week 14 of College Football, the Auburn Tigers heartbreakingly lost 27-20 to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl with a chance to tie or win on the last drive. In doing so, AU sealed Lane Kiffin's likely imminent departure from the Ole Miss Rebels to the LSU Tigers. The Rebs will not be in the SEC Championship Game, allowing for a potentially clean departure for Kiffin from Oxford.
Had the Tigers pulled off the upset under the lights at Jordan-Hare Stadium, there could've been some last-minute reflections from Kiffin and Jimmy Sexton, with Kalen DeBoer bolting for a different job with less pressure and a better-adjusted fanbase. Maybe Kiffin could've finally landed his dream job with DeBoer out of the way.
Instead, Kiffin will be Baton Rouge-bound on Sunday, with Ole Miss likely not letting him finish coaching their season. Joe Judge is expected to be the Rebels' coach in the College Football Playoff. If, of course, the CFP selection committee doesn't hold Kiffin's departure against them.
And worse yet, Alabama will return to the SEC title game for another date with the Georgia Bulldogs, and more likely than not, the CFP after that.
It's a familiar feeling since the COVID-19 pandemic for the Tide to arrive and leave the Plains with a win that's decided in the fourth quarter on a Cam Coleman fumble in the final minute.
That doesn't make the feeling sting any less for the Auburn Family.
Auburn catches multiple losses over Thanksgiving weekend
The hits kept coming over Thanksgiving weekend for the Tigers. Not only did they miss bowl eligibility, clinch a fifth straight losing season, and lose to their rival for the sixth straight time, but Auburn lost out on Jon Sumrall as well. Sumrall looks poised to choose the Florida Gators as his next employer on Sunday, announcing his departure from the Tulane Green Wave right before the American Championship game against the North Texas Mean Green.
Can't win on the field, can't win in the coaching carousel. John Cohen can't find success as AD, just as Allen Greene couldn't once his own hire took the reins.
This program has issues that persist no matter who is in place. It's become a malaise that feels endless.
It's why Kiffin never considered Auburn this time around after accepting a deal and reneging three years ago. And why Sumrall passed on AU despite his wife being an alum and his career having past success in the state of Alabama.
The State of Auburn is in a state of disarray. It's unclear how this team gets back on track as its modern history continues to be defined by losing.