[TideRoll]

Oh, the smack talk. Well, there's going to be plenty of that for the next year any way you slice it.

Here is why Alabama will win and probably dominate this game:

I'll start by mentioning Bear Bryant, because Auburn fans think we do too much already even though we don't really talk about him all that much these days. Coach Bryant used to talk about a team playing together, with "one heartbeat." Alabama is doing exactly that: they believe in what Saban is doing, they have great chemistry, they're moving together in one direction. Contrast that with the discord that has been happening this year with our Lee County friends.

Second, there is that old coaches saying that you need to stop the run, establish the run and limit mistakes. The second reason Alabama is going to win this one is that our offensive and defensive lines are superior and we will win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Burns might slip out while ad-libbing once or twice, but Auburn is not going to beat Alabama by making it up as they go along.

That is two thirds of the old winning formula. Which brings us to the third reason we will win the game. We've got a senior quarterback who has done a good job of directing the offense and limiting mistakes this year.

Then there is coaching. Alabama has finally stopped playing around with favored sons, unstable hucksters and good time Charlies. Auburn has feasted while we've been playing musical coaching chairs, but that song has stopped.

Did I mention that opposing teams have only been inside our Red Zone six times this year?

Reasons Auburn might surprise us:

Rain can change the complexion of a football game. Turnovers occur more often, and that ball can bounce funny ways. Some of the forecasts I've seen indicate most of the rain is going to be before the game, but it could still have an impact.

Auburn players might have enough pride left to pull together for this game, though we will see if Alabama should get up a couple of scores early on them. This is still the Iron Bowl and almost anything can happen in these things. This is their bowl game on the line, and their shot at redemption for a sub-par year. They don't need any extra motivation than simply playing Alabama, but they have it anyway.

Odd turn of QB-ing. Should John Parker Wilson suddenly return to his Mississippi State form of last year and Cody Burns and his supporting cast turn all-world on us, the game could get interesting.

Special teams mistakes early. If Javier Arenas gets fumbly on an early punt or two, it could make the game much closer than it could be. Of course, the corollary is that if he should get hot, it could get ugly in a hurry the other way.

If there are any Auburn fans who want to wager on this one, I'll put a fiver up to make it interesting.