Tide Tidbits - November 29, 2008

Ten reasons why Alabama should win
It's time for another Iron Bowl, a 31/2-hour battle that rarely lives up to the 365 days of hype that precedes it. But that's the way it is here, where grownups pin their hopes and sanity on a bunch of 20-year-old kids. Therefore, presented for your approval, 10 reasons why Alabama should win the 2008 Iron Bowl:

One underdog will bite, guaranteed
In our nice, orderly world it would be convenient if this weekend went with the chalk. You know, all the favorites winning all these rivalry games. We'd have a quasi-tidy wrap-up to the season. Bill Curry knows better. Something weird is going to happen this weekend, in at least one of those four games, and maybe more. "Maybe they're ranked No. 1 and we're ranked number last. It doesn't matter," said Curry, the venerable conscience of college football. "We're going to knock their teeth out. People make jokes, you can throw the records out the window. ... Some crazy bounces happen because kids get in that mode and play beyond themselves. You say, 'We're going to remember this the rest of our lives.'"

IRON BOWL: 24 of 26 journalists favor Tide
Alabama is the favorite of 24 out of 26 state newspaper sports editors and college football writers heading into today's game with Auburn. The average score from their annual Iron Bowl predictions: Alabama 24.2, Auburn 12.6. Here are their comments and picks:

No. 1 Tide wary of Auburn
Glen Coffee doesn't want to hear it. So Alabama is in line for a potential No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown for a Southeastern Conference championship and national title shot. So the top-ranked Crimson Tide has been bullying the competition while Auburn has been getting picked on. So what, says Coffee. "I don't think anybody is going to look past this game, considering they beat us the last six times — and it being Auburn," the Tide tailback said. "If anybody is looking past this game, they have problems."

Roll Tide!