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Tuberville gets vote of confidence

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Saban gives Tuberville vote of confidence
When asked his reaction about the pressure on Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville to win the Iron Bowl, Alabama’s Nick Saban gave an unequivocal statement of support for Auburn’s embattled coach.

“Tommy is a good friend and I have a tremendous amount of professional respect for him. He has done a fantastic job wherever he has coached as a head coach. I had a lot of respect for him when he was an assistant coach and a defensive coordinator. So, we want nothing but the best for his future. We have to compete in this game and we will both do the best job that we can.”

Translation, please Auburn keep Tommy Tuberville. A few more hires like Tony Franklin and a few more duck hunting trips and the balance of power truly will shift.

Iron Bowl report (Monday)
Alabama’s Iron Bowl 2008 preparations are underway with a 90-minute practice session Monday held indoors in helmets and shoulderpads. Alabama spent the bye week resting, getting healthy and working on fundamentals. This week the focus is all on Auburn.

“I think when you play a game like this; it’s like having a one-game season,” Alabama football coach Nick Saban said. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done before this or what’s coming up next. It’s all about this game. It’s all about Alabama and Auburn. It’s not about where you’re ranked or what you’re record is or any BCS or any of that stuff. It’s really about this game and this week. I think the thing the players need to focus on is what they need to do to play well and not think about all the things surrounding the game.”

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The players know the Auburn game is important. Even recent arrival Terrence Cody knows the importance of the game.

“I’ve been hearing it since I got here,” Cody said. “Everybody talks about the other games but the main game is the Auburn game. A lot of the guys on the team haven’t beaten them since they’ve been here. It’s a real big game for the seniors.”

But the players are at least saying the right things about their approach to the game. According to John Parker Wilson, this is the biggest game not because it is Auburn, but because it is the next game.

“It’s the biggest game we’ve played of the season, because it’s the next game,” Wilson said. “We are going to take the same approach we’ve taken all year for every other game we’ve played. It’s going to be nothing more than that.”

And in case anyone has forgotten, Saban always reminds fans what it takes to win a football game—even the Iron Bowl.

“The game will get decided by what happens on the field and how you prepare and how you focus on that to play well and do your job with discipline, toughness, effort and intensity, all those things that have benefitted our team well all year long, will be the keys to any success that we have in this game or any other games we play,” Saban said. “I think it’s important that our players stay focused on that.”

Saban insisted that the rivalry game is important to him.

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for the rivalry, because we respect both schools and the tradition that both schools have and the support and passion the fans bring,” Saban said.

When asked if the Auburn winning streak is a psychological factor for Alabama, Saban said it wasn’t a factor for him.

“It’s only a psychological factor is you let it be,” Saban said. “It’s not to me and it shouldn’t be to our players…I am sure this game will get decided based on what happens on this field at this time and how the players play. They need to understand that and know that and focus and play well.”

Again, leaders like Andre Smith are saying the right things.

“It’s just another game,” Smith said. “We have to go out and prepare the way we are supposed to. Any college team can win on any given Saturday so that’s how we have to view this game. It’s a game that’s it.”

Injury update
Saban also said that junior running back Roy Upchurch (neck spasms) and Earl Alexander (ankle) have both been cleared to practice this week.

“From an injury standpoint, we don’t have any new injuries to report,” Saban said. “We have a couple of guys that need to prove to themselves that they are healthy enough to play, but they have been cleared to practice and go full speed.”

Auburn analysis
Nick Saban offered this analysis of Auburn:

“Auburn has a really good team, in my opinion. They’ve lost four games in the SEC by five points or less. They are a very well-coached team. They are an outstanding defensive team and one of the highest ranked teams in our league, in scoring defense. Their front is very, very good. They’ve got some dominant players up front. They are physical. They can play the run. They’ve got some pass-rushers that can affect the quarterback. They are outstanding. Offensively, they’ve got good runners and good offensive line. Kodi Burns has gotten better and better each game that he has played. They’ve got very good receivers, mostly the same guys we played against a year ago. They’re outstanding on special teams and one of the best kickoff return teams in the country. They are good on punt returns and play well on (special) teams. This is a team that we have a tremendous amount of respect for and know that we going to have to play as good a football as we have played all year to have success against.”

Well-coached? I wonder if Saban is watching film of this year’s Auburn offense or somehow the tapes got lost and he is watching a previous year. Maybe Saban was just being nice. Who knew he was capable of that???

14 thoughts on “Tuberville gets vote of confidence”

  1. He may just be trying to keep his teams head on earth. But , how he could brag on our offensive line play is a stretch. Our defense is good. You will all see that on Saturday.

  2. Yeah Ballplay, then after that Bama will show you how a great defense plays. And in the fourth quarter when your defense is wore out, you will see what a degrading running game Bama has too. The Tide will be way too much for Auburn to handle this year. I told you it was coming.

  3. This is entirely off subject, but still interesting. WSFA in Montgomery has a Retro channel that is airing all of the post-Iron Bowl Auburn Football Review shows since 1981 this week. Last night they showed 1981-1984, which were Dye’s first 4 years. Really interesting to watch, especially the 82 and 84 shows. 82 of course was the first year that Dye broke Bama’s streak, and 84 was “wrong way Bo”. It was really funny how sick Dye looked after the 84 game, because he knew that loss was his fault. I guess they’ll show 85 to 88 tonight. I’m sure Dye will look pretty sick during the 85 show, too, but he’ll get pretty happy after that.

  4. I bet all the Auturds get really happy in 92 and 99. Funny how you hypocrite’s always accuse us of digging up the past when we were struggling thru sanctions and low and behold yall sux and here it comes, trying to find something positive to grab ahold of. Get ready to continue watching bowl games instead of playing in them loser!

  5. I’ve got Dishnetwork. Does anyone know what channel the “retro” channel may be on? I’m lucky to get local stations. That’s why I switched to Dishnetwork from DirectTV. But, it is still kinda frustrating finding some channels.

  6. errrrr, Bamaman….take your meds and calm down. No one is “digging up the past.” I simply noted that WSFA is airing the last 25 years worth of Iron Bowl Auburn review shows, and that it’s interesting to watch. It would be equally as interesting if it were Bama review shows. (WSFA is showing Auburn Reviews because Phil Snow co-hosted the show until his retirement 6 or 7 years ago, and the show was filmed at WSFA.) There were both happy and painful memories for both sides during that stretch. (Although now that you mention it, I guess there has been more happy memories for Auburn during that period than for Bama.)

    RD, I’m not sure what channel on Dish Network it would be. You could probably call WSFA and ask.

  7. If we ever wanted to dig up anything in Opelika, we would have to consult the freekin world champion miners otherwise known as bammers. Yall have been ‘diggin up tha Bahr” for 30 years now. Yalls favorite song is Randy Travis “Diggin up bones” BWAAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA !!!!!!!

  8. Ballplay, please don’t quit your day job greeting people at Wal-Mart and try to be a comedian because that was weak, very weak. And I will see you on here starting Sunday Ballplay, logging in with your new post name Auburnisajoke until next year’s iron bowl, that was the agreement, we will see if you are a man of your word.

  9. Ballplay
    What happens on Nov. 30th?
    When anll the 6 in a row , soon to be 7, etc etc. etc.. guys are gone?
    Whent he precious streak (Auburn’s new tradition) is gone forever?

    I am sorry for your loss.

  10. Don’t worry tmc1, After this weekend Ballplay won’t be back here along with the rest of the Auburn inbreds that feed their obsession here.

  11. I personally guaruntee both of you that if Auburn loses I shall return. And tmc1 your right . (wow). That was pretty dang corny.

  12. Ballplay, that was not tmc1 that said how weak your attempt at a joke was, and don’t try and act like you forgot about our bet

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