Saban, Tuberville headed in opposite directions, as are their teams

By David Moorman  |   Tuesday, November 25, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

College Football
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The Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn on Saturday not only will feature teams going in opposite directions, but coaches doing the same.

Alabama’s Nick Saban has become the darling of Tuscaloosa as the second coming of “The Bear” as in Paul “Bear” Bryant. If he loses, Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville could be on his way out in what has been a quick fall from grace.

Tuberville was rumored to have wanted the LSU job that went to Saban before the 2000 season. Saban turned around the fortunes of LSU, guided it to the 2003 BCS national title and established himself as one of the country’s premier coaches.

Alabama is 11-0 overall and 7-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1994. What’s more, the Crimson Tide is atop the BCS standings and is two wins away from a national-championship berth.

Auburn has been directionless in trying to run a spread offense without the proper personnel. It cost offensive coordinator Tony Franklin his job last month. Since his departure, Auburn has lost four of five games, which only has made matters worse and dropped the Tigers to 5-6 and 2-5.

Auburn has beaten Alabama six years in a row, but if that streak ends, which appears likely, Tuberville could be gone if Auburn is willing to satisfy a buyout that is said to be around $6 million.

TIME TO TAKE NOTICE: In case no one was paying attention, Ole Miss redshirt sophomore Jevan Snead has proven himself to be one of the nation’s most promising young quarterbacks.

Snead riddled LSU last week in completing 16 of 25 passes for 274 and two touchdowns in a 31-13 victory. It was his seventh game with multiple touchdowns and his fifth with 200-plus passing yards. He hasn’t thrown an interception in his last three games. Florida’s Tim Tebow has had seven consecutive games with multiple touchdowns.

There already has been talk of comparing Snead to former Ole Miss standout Eli Manning, although Snead has done his best to silence such discussion. In any event, the Texas transfer has helped to transform Ole Miss under former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, who has the Rebels sitting at 7-4 and 4-3 and second in the SEC Western Division behind Alabama. The Rebels will entertain Mississippi State in their regular-season finale Friday.

FLORIDA CONTINUES TO RELOAD: The Gators have such an array of athletes that there seems to be no end to what they can do offensively.

In trouncing nonconference foe The Citadel, 70-13, Florida scored 42 or more points for the sixth consecutive game to keep alive its longest current streak in the country.

Running back Chris Rainey was the latest to stand out with seven carries for 142 yards and a touchdown. That earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Florida will complete its regular season at instate rival Florida State this weekend.
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About David Moorman

Dave Moormann is an award-winning journalist, who has covered LSU athletics since 1980. He began his coverage with the Baton Rouge Advocate, where he was a writer and editor from 1980-98. In 1996, he authored a book on the history of LSU football entitled, "Fighting Tigers Handbook: Stories, Stats ...
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