So much to play for, but Tigers will win
 

This is the biggest game the Auburn tigers have had since 93 or to some, in 89.

So much to play for, but Tigers will win

So much to play for, but Tigers will win
Monday, November 08, 2004
Remember the 1989 Iron Bowl? The cold day Alabama thought would never come? The first time Alabama came to Auburn?

Auburn won the moment the visitors walked through the gates.

Pat Dye likened it to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

If you were there that day - in Lee County, not Germany - the historical comparison didn't seem all that hysterical.

Fifteen years later, Auburn 30, Alabama 20 remains the biggest game in the history of Jordan-Hare Stadium in the hearts and minds of the Auburn family. Its place in school history will always be secure.

But on the field, at the end, this game will mean more.

In five days, every big game that's ever been played in the biggest football stadium in the state will have to take one step back.

Georgia's coming. Auburn's waiting.

The off week's over, and it's on.

Georgia at Auburn is the biggest game in the country this weekend. It's the biggest game in the SEC this season.

And if you put aside a little thing like one school's fight for equality, it'll be the biggest game ever witnessed by the Loveliest Village.

In the 1989 Alabama game, Auburn didn't have to score a point to prove its point, that a school has the right to play its home games at home. Alabama since has validated that point.

On the field on that occasion, Alabama was the team with everything to lose. The visitors were 10-0 and No. 2. They were the team in the chase for the national championship.

For Auburn that day, the final score was icing.

This week, it's everything.

Win, and the Tigers are an Iron Bowl away from an undefeated regular season. Win, and they're three wins shy of a legitimate claim on the national title, no matter what the polls or computers say.

Win, and they can get Georgia off their minds and off their backs.

Auburn will be the only undefeated team in town this weekend, but it won't be the only team there in the top 10, if you believe the AP poll, or in the top five, if you prefer the ESPN/USA Today version.

Georgia is one letdown away from 9-0. Georgia is the one team in the SEC good enough to beat Auburn even if Auburn doesn't beat itself.

And Georgia is the one game on the schedule that has haunted Tommy Tuberville more than any other.

It was a close loss to Georgia two years ago that denied Auburn a trip to the SEC Championship Game.

It was a big loss to Georgia last year that cemented the ex-president's decision to cut Tuberville's throat.

If you don't count anyone who's been fired but has yet to clean out his desk, there's only one current SEC coach with a winning record against Tuberville. His name is Mark Richt.

But there's something different about this Auburn team that should even the score this time. The Tigers may be more than the best team in the country. They may be the best team in Auburn history.

And Auburn's best team should win Auburn's biggest game.