Tide Tidbits - November 25, 2008

Cody, Tide defensive line excited about rivalry game
Terrence Cody has been a quick study at nose guard all season for Alabama. He’s been a quicker study at the Iron Bowl rivalry. ust how long did it take for the Fort Myers, Fla., native and Mississippi junior college transfer to grasp the intensity of the Iron Bowl? “When I was being recruited,” he said. “That’s all I heard, ‘When we play Auburn, we’ve got to beat them.’” So when Auburn invited him on a recruiting trip to the Iron Bowl last year, he accepted just to see the game. His mind was already made up. “I was rooting for (Alabama) on the side,” Cody laughed. “I bought into it real good.”

Saban, Tide turn their attention to Tigers
There was no bulletin board material coming out of Tuscaloosa on Monday. After listening to Alabama Coach Nick Saban at his weekly news conference, you would have thought Alabama was 5-6 and Auburn was 11-0 instead of the reverse. “Auburn has a really good football team,” Saban said. “... They have lost four games in the SEC by five points or less. This is a team that I think we have a tremendous amount of respect for. We are going to have to play as good as we have all year to have a chance to win.”

Implications make Iron Bowl enormous
How big is the Iron Bowl? So big that Alabama's stoic coach is ackowledging its importance. "To me," Nick Saban said, "it's the biggest game of the year. ... It's not just another game." Eyes of this state - and really the entire football nation - will be on Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Alabama has already been labeled a whopping 14-point favorite for Saturday's game, a sign of its own success as well as Auburn's struggles. The Crimson Tide players have a confident way about themselves this week, but they know better than to take the Iron Bowl lightly.

Just win, 'Bama Tide figures that's all it takes
t's how Nick Saban approaches every game, one at a time, as the most important game because it's the next game. Only the clichés ring a little truer for No. 1 Alabama leading up to Saturday's game with Auburn. Win, and the Crimson Tide regains state supremacy and keeps those national title hopes flourishing. Lose, and that top ranking vanishes and the Tigers are No. 1 in the state for the seventh straight year.

Finebaum: Odds are against Auburn in Saturday's Iron Bowl
What chance does Auburn have of pulling the upset? Two shots: Slim and none. Some Auburn fans still have hopes of making it seven in a row. But if history is any indication, the better team will win this game. And the better team is obviously Alabama. The line in Las Vegas is 14 points — the biggest in recent memory. While most experts heavily favor Alabama, Saban might be wise to pay close attention to what Auburn is going through. Because a week from today, the tables are going to be reversed. Florida will be favored over Alabama in the SEC title game and all the national pundits will be wondering if Alabama should even show up.

Roll Tide!