Alabama head coach Nick Saban argues with an official during their game against Western Carolina on Nov. 22, 2014, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama won 48-14.Tide, take three• 1. Alabama's 5,333 yards and 484.8 yards per game are the top offensive totals in program history through 11 games.• 2. Since Bear Bryant's final season in 1982, the only Iron Bowls that did not contain at least one ranked team were in 1998 and 2003.• 3. The highest-ranked team in the Iron Bowl has a 42-10 record since 1955.
A 100-yard return by Chris Davis of a short Alabama field-goal attempt on the final play of last season's Iron Bowl propelled Auburn to a 34-28 upset of the top-ranked Crimson Tide.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn speaks during SEC media days Monday in Hoover, Ala.Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson admits there was a time he briefly lost perspective on the Iron Bowl.
Johnson was nearing the end of his first season as Alabama's defensive coordinator in 1997 under first-year Crimson Tide head coach Mike DuBose. Alabama had won the 1996 Iron Bowl 24-23 at Birmingham's Legion Field, but the Tide had just endured a third consecutive loss to Peyton Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers.
"I told Mike DuBose, 'It seems more people around here are more hyped up over the Tennessee game than the Auburn game,'" Johnson recalled Sunday night in a news conference. "He looked at me and said, 'You haven't lost to Auburn yet.' I got the message really quick, and it's obviously huge on both sides.
"Most years in this rivalry, somebody is in the national picture and obviously in the SEC picture. It's no exception this year, and last year we both were."
Arguably the best rivalry in college football and certainly the best involving two proud programs forced to share the same state, the Alabama-Auburn game will take place for the 79th time Saturday night when the No. 2 Crimson Tide and No. 15 Tigers vie in Tuscaloosa. Alabama leads the series 42-35-1, but Auburn is 18-14 in the rivalry since tailback Bo Jackson went over the top in the 23-22 Tigers victory in 1982.
Alabama coach Nick Saban is 6-6 against Auburn -- 2-3 while at LSU and 4-3 with the Tide.
"The Iron Bowl is one of the greatest rivalries in college football," Saban said Monday in his news conference. "This game means a lot to a lot of people in this state, regardless of which side you're on, and also around the country. As a competitor, it's a great opportunity, because this game has had a lot of significance over the last few years."
For the past five seasons, the Iron Bowl winner has gone on to play for the national championship. Alabama won BCS titles in 2009, '11 and '12, while Auburn won the 2010 national title and came up just short against Florida State last season.
Auburn's 34-31 loss to the Seminoles in January hardly derailed the memories from last November's Iron Bowl, when the No. 1 Tide traveled to Jordan-Hare Stadium to face the No. 4 Tigers. Alabama took a 28-21 lead on a 99-yard touchdown pass from AJ McCarron to Amari Cooper with 10:28 remaining, but Auburn scored twice in the final 32 seconds, capping the 34-28 upset with a 100-yard Chris Davis return of Adam Griffith's 57-yard field-goal attempt that came up short.
"We all kind of remember what happened," Saban said. "It was very, very disappointing to all of us here with the way -- not just the last play but the last five minutes of the game -- that we never really finished the game like we needed to.
"It was a tough way to lose a game, and I'm sure everybody sort of has that in mind."
Auburn's dramatic victory in last year's Iron Bowl somehow topped its 2010 triumph in Tuscaloosa, when Cam Newton rallied the Tigers from a 24-0 deficit to a 28-27 win. In the two Iron Bowls between 2010 and last season, Alabama routed the Tigers by a combined 91-14.
The Crimson Tide are 9.5-point favorites this week against an Auburn team that had the higher ranking of the two until losing earlier this month to Texas A&M and Georgia.
"This is a game where you have to stay focused on the game and not all the things that go on around it," Saban said. "This game requires a lot of discipline and focus and preparation to go out and play the kind of football game you want to play."
Alabama was a 9.5-point favorite going into last year's Iron Bowl as well.
"I could really care less," Tide right tackle Austin Shepherd told reporters Monday when asked about last season's thriller. "I've just kind of moved on from last year. A lot of people are lucky, and they got lucky."
Tide tidbits
Receiver ArDarius Stewart and tight end Brian Vogler are Alabama's "most questionable" players according to Saban after each suffered a knee injury last Saturday against Western Carolina. ... Cooper (knee), receiver DeAndrew White (hamstring), tailback T.J. Yeldon (ankle), tackle Cam Robinson (ankle), defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson (knee) and linebacker Reggie Ragland (hand) are being monitored in practice, but each is expected to play Saturday. ... Senior center Ryan Kelly graded out at 92 percent against the Catamounts with no missed assignments, sacks allowed, pressures allowed nor penalties.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.