Jumbo Package: Auburn no longer holds any mystique

First up, Aaron Suttles dropped his paywell to publish this article, and I rather enjoyed this paragraph:

The Bad Guys Are Here. And they’re still alive. Even after visiting what their hosts gleefully termed the “Haunted Mansion.” Even after former Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “That place is haunted.”

Funny thing about narratives, though. They themselves can be killed. The switch up can occur real quick.

Because no one in the Alabama football building bought into that “haunted” rhetoric last week. And if some still outside the program insist that it is haunted, Alabama is now the Jason Voorhees character that just can’t be killed in that building. They remain the last ones standing – bloodied, like center Parker Brailsford’s right shin after being accidentally leg-whipped Saturday night — but still standing. The bad guys are here indeed. Because that’s three wins in a row in Jordan-Hare Stadium and a six-game winning streak in the rivalry.

For all of the talk about Auburn’s stadium…. They haven’t beaten Alabama there since 2019, and that was with the Tide trotting out a backup QB and giving up a couple of pick-sixes. No, Auburn is just another place at this point. That old curse is gone. (And let’s be honest, we now all know that the curse was never Auburn itself…. it was a certain Gus Malzahn).

Saturday’s broadcasting duties for the SEC Championship are expected to be handled by Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (color commentary). Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge will also be on the sidelines to provide in-game coverage.

Looks like we get Herbie and Fowler in back-to-back weeks. Can’t complain too much there, that duo is one of the least obnoxious pairs we’ve had in years. And Fowler yelling “Touchdown! Alabama wins!” will forever be seared into my memory.

I’ll link one piece here about Lane Kiffin, then I’m done with the subject until next season.

“The same people that told me Friday night that it’s done, that he’s got a place (in Baton Rouge) basically, and everyone in his circle knows that he’s going to LSU, the same people were telling me … it will not be official until after that Alabama game,” the football analyst said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “Because the job he wants more than any other job … I’ve known Lane for over 20 years, I’m buds with Lane, we communicate, but if you just watch, as much as he butted heads with Nick (Saban) at Alabama, he and Saban have a bond and a mutual respect for one another, even though they drove each other crazy. That was the job he wanted.”

“So there was still this one percent in him, and no one will ever admit it, and especially him … I truly believe there was a small percentage of Lane who was like, ‘I’m going to LSU, it’s done, but what happens if Auburn beats Alabama?’ Because that thing could fall apart in a hurry with Kalen DeBoer.”

I believe McShay was probably right here. Was Alabama ever going to fire DeBoer for losing to Auburn? I don’t think so. But I don’t put it past Penn State leaking it out there enough to hope it would get into the ether. Did Kiffin believe there was a shot? Also unlikely, but it was probably something he was thinking about and willing to wait to see.

The ABC broadcast caught Simpson being tended to on the sideline in the middle of the game. But Simpson said on the SEC championship players teleconference he’s ready to go for the SEC title game against Georgia.

“Got to love getting hit, right?” Simpson said with a chuckle. “Everybody’s at that point in the season to where everybody’s sore. But I feel great. I’m ready to roll. What a great opportunity. So fired up to play in a game like this and so blessed.”

There were a few points in the Iron Bowl when I thought we might be about to see Austin Mack or Keelon Russell with how much Ty struggled to get off the ground after some of those hits. And that missed targeting on his run to the endzone was a nasty shot to the head that he just shrugged off.

Say what you want about Simpson, but he’s got toughness in spades. And I think the entire Alabama team has somewhat adopted his personality – there’s not an ounce of quit in this whole team.

As we get closer to Signing Day, recruiting news and shenanigans are starting to kick up again This time, someone reported that long time commit Zyan Gibson had decommitted from Alabama. Turns out, it was wrong.

Zyan Gibson reaffirmed his commitment to Alabama football after reports surfaced that he would be leaving the class.

“Earlier today, a post was shared about my decommitment,” Gibson, a four-star cornerback out of Gadsden, Alabama, said in a statement. “I want to clarify that this message was the result of a miscommunication. I’m standing by my pledge I made to Bama. I will be signing with Bama on Dec. 3rd. At this point I will not be doing any interviews. Roll Tide!!”

Give us one week for the SEC Championship week to end, and we at RBR will be jumping right in to getting you all up to speed on recruiting this year.

Roll Tide!