IRON BOWL SOMETHING SPECIAL
Alabama- Auburn rivalry has even higher stakes this season
We’ve reached the final full week of the regular season, with Alabama and defending champion Clemson on track to meet in the national- title game for what would be the third year in a row. As Thanksgiving gives way to the games, the rarity of this moment in college football — of two programs standing above all others and of one challenging the other for true supremacy premacy — — is what stands out to to me. me.
All the other teams eams in contention to win n it all undoubtedly would uld roll their eyes at that sentiment, ment, but what are you gonna na do?
No. 1 Alabama a at No. 6 Auburn ( 2: 30 p. m.,
Ch. 2) is an Iron Bowl — already the he best of the blueblood rivalries ( deal with it, Michigan- Ohio State) — gone extra- large. The 9- 2 Tigers, 4 ½ - point und underdogs, are one of th those other team teams in contention. contention If they knock off the 11- 0 Crimson Cri Tide and the then win the South Southeastern Conference Confer title game, they th surely su will w become b the first two- loss team in the brief history of the playoff.
The Iron Bowl winner has gone on to the national- championship game in seven of the last eight seasons. That includes Auburn in 2010, when quarterback Cam Newton led a furious comeback on the road in Tuscaloosa, and in 2013, when Chris Davis took an unforgettable ‘‘ Kick Six’’ to glory in Gus Malzahn’s first year as the Tigers’ coach.
‘‘ It feels like 2013,’’ Malzahn said. ‘‘ It feels exactly the same way. It’s a big game, and it means more.’’
This is where we must stop for a moment and appreciate Tide
coach Nick Saban. In his first season — 2007 — Auburn won the Iron Bowl for the sixth year in a row. It was all Tigers, baby. Yet Saban’s teams have won seven of nine meetings since, in the process becoming one of the great programs of all time and knocking their rivals down a couple of pegs.
Which brings us to No. 3 Clemson at No. 24 South Carolina ( 6: 30 p. m., ESPN) and the reversal of fortunes in the Palmetto State. The Gamecocks won five consecutive games in this rivalry in 200913 — all by double digits and all on Tigers coach Dabo Swinney’s watch.
But since then? Clemson ( 10- 1) has put the Gamecocks ( 8- 3) in a submission hold, winning three in a row and romping last season 56- 7 — the Tigers’ largest margin of victory in the series since 1900. Fourteen- point favorites, the champs are widely expected to run that Palmetto streak to four without much trouble.
‘‘ I just want to win the game,’’ Swinney said. ‘‘ I don’t care if it’s the 104th win or the fourth win. We want to keep moving forward.’’
It won’t be as easy without former quarterback Deshaun Watson, who threw six touchdown passes in the 2016 game, but I’m swayed by the Tigers’ recent history of playing their best football down the stretch. The Iron Bowl might be a different deal altogether. I’ve got Clemson by 20 and Alabama by only three.
Also involving teams in the playoff top four are a Friday treat, No. 2 Miami at Pittsburgh ( 11 a. m., Ch. 7), and, back to Saturday, West Virginia at No. 4 Oklahoma ( 2: 45 p. m., ESPN).
Worth noting: Pittsburgh — owner of an ugly 4- 7 record and a 14- point underdog — has played well of late. Also: West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen is 0- 5 against the Sooners, the only Big 12 opponent he hasn’t beaten. The Canes get to 11- 0 after an uncomfortably tight squeeze. The Sooners get to 11- 1, but the Mountaineers ( 7- 4) cover the 22 ½ .
Five more big ones with — in theory, anyway — playoff implications: No. 5 Wisconsin - 17 at Minnesota ( 2: 30 p. m., Ch. 7): It’s hard to top the most- played rivalry game in the FBS ranks. What an opportunity for the Gophers, who can end a 13- game losing streak to the Badgers — chopping them out of playoff contention with Paul Bunyan’s Axe in the process — and earn bowl eligibility with victory No. 6 on the season. Alas, Badgers by 10. No. 7 Georgia - 11 at Georgia Tech ( 11 a. m., Ch. 7): Clean, OldFashioned Hate — now that’s a rivalry name. Here’s an oddity: Tech coach Paul Johnson has beaten Georgia three times in Athens, but he’s 0- fer in Atlanta. Dogs by a touchdown. No. 8 Notre Dame - 2 ½ at No. 21 Stanford ( 7 p. m., Ch. 7): It just seems like these Irish have gone as far as they’re able to go. Cardinal in a kinda- sorta upset. No. 9 Ohio State - 12 at Michigan ( 11 a. m., Fox- 32): Sorry to bury The Game so deep in the column, folks, but it’s a mismatch. Buckeyes by 24.
My favorite favorite: Purdue - 2 ½ vs. Indiana ( 11 a. m., ESPN2). Four consecutive losses to the Hoosiers is, like, four too many. The Old Oaken Bucket goes to the Boilers, who become bowl- eligible in coach Jeff Brohm’s terrific debut season.
My favorite underdog: No. 13 Washington State + 10 at No. 17 Washington ( 7 p. m., Fox- 32). Cougars coach Mike Leach is 1- 4 in Apple Cup games and has lost the last four by double digits. Yeah, well, so what? Let’s see that upset.
Season to date: 61- 26 straight up, 42- 45- 1 against the spread. Follow me on Twitter @ SLGreenberg.