Staff Predictions - Auburn vs Alabama

God, can it already be Iron Bowl Eve? It’s hard to find anyone that definitively actually likes this game, what with the hatred that’s coursed through this particular pairing.

However you lean, you’ll have an opinion on it — backed by stats, history, the eye test, your gut, your heart, ignorance, whatever. Here are ours.

PEGGY ROSSMANITH

A well known poet once said:

Rising up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

So many times it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat

Hanging tough, staying hungry

They stack the odds still we take to the street

For the kill with the skill to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Rising up, straight to the top

Had the guts, got the glory

Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop

Just a man and his will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

We get Bama. Auburn 31, Alabama 27.

Let's do this. War Damn Eagle.

TUCO

Alabama hasn't won four straight over Auburn in a long, long time. The last time an Auburn senior class graduated without beating Bama at least once was 1981. To put that in perspective, Olivia Newton John's "Physical" was the #1 song and Time Bandits was the #1 movie. Obviously, none of the Alabama or Auburn football players in this game was alive. Heck, Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, and Brodie Croyle weren't alive! It's been a long time. The streak doesn't stop this year. Auburn 38 Alabama 33 in a wild game.

DR. Z

I think this game comes down to covering Ridley and keeping Hurts in the pocket. I also think Auburn is better in the trenches. They’ll have to respect Stidham’s deep ball which should allow KJ room.

If Auburn can go NASCAR regularly then they win. Alabama hasn’t seen the likes of a good team like us.

Auburn 28

Evil Empire 22

BOBBY BARKLEY

Auburn 9 Alabama 2.

RYAN STERRITT

I could get into specific match ups to explain why Auburn should beat Bama, but I'm sure you'll read several people's breakdowns who are far smarter than me when it comes to X's and O's. So my only advice is this: It's so much better to barn HARD and be right than it is to be realistic and be right. So I'm going all in. I'm gonna barn hard from Section 19 you guys. 41-21 Auburn, and we're gonna party like its 2013/2010/pick your favorite Iron Bowl win, because War Damn Eagle.

SON OF CROW

Barn So Hard University

Auburn can exploit a few injuries up front against the Tide’s offense and should be able to find some success on passing downs getting to Hurts.

I think Stidham is the game changer at QB Auburn needs to win these kinds of games.

Someone guard the oaks.

Auburn 34 (praise Bo)

Alabummer 24

When we win, there will be some super confused Germans who wake up to a man screaming in the streets and throwing toilet paper in the trees.

JAMES JONES

Y’all, I don’t know. Auburn hasn’t matched up this well with Alabama in years. They’re thin at linebacker, and we put a ton of pressure on them. They want to run the ball, and we defend the run as well as anyone in the country. Yet I still don’t feel good about it. Well, when I’m doubt, barn hard.

Tigers 31

Crimson Turds 20

JACK CONDON

My Iron Bowl barometer has been all over the place this week, and even going all the way back to Georgia I’ve felt the entire gamut of emotions and premonitions on this one.

This past Monday, I wasn’t feeling it in my gut (could’ve been the pre-Thanksgiving work crush getting to me), but the more I think about it, we haven’t matched up with these guys as well as we do this year in a long time. I would even wager that with Cam Newton we didn’t have quite the favorable matchups that we do this year.

We should be able to run the ball after what Mississippi State did, and we should be able to handle their running game after what we did to Georgia. I’m not worried about the crowd, but I am worried that the team is saying too much that they’re going to “have fun and play loose”. That usually means a team is going to come out tight. Hope I’m wrong.

Then I think about the fact that Bama’s absolutely not been punched in the mouth this year. It’s the same thing I said before the Georgia game. They haven’t taken the lumps, they haven’t been tested (don’t give me the “gritty” win in Starkville — we beat that team by 40).

Others have said the keys — don’t let Ridley kill you, limit the run enough, get up early and make them play from behind. I think we can do all of that. Our defense hasn’t been gashed by anyone, and our offense has found ways to make it work each week. We’ve even been killer in the second half.

Even if I don’t have a great feeling about it, there’s no way I can justify not picking us to win. Is this the game that finally implodes my normally Nega-Barner tendencies? I’ll be a nervous wreck leading up to, during, and even after the game, win or lose. However, there’s no room for that kind of thought process to sneak into this pick.

Auburn 28, Alabama 23

War Eagle, Beat Bama.