What do you say after a blowout loss like that? Traditionally, football fans justify blowout losses by trying to prove that their school has better academic standards than the school that just won the big game. Unfortunately, Alabama and Auburn are usually ranked evenly in every major school-wide academic ranking.

However, despite having nearly identical entrance requirements for students and being even in national academic ratings, there are some pretty big differences between the two schools. Auburn is known for training students to heal the sick, engineer the future and to produce food which feeds the people of the world. Alabama is known for creating lawyers, politicians and writers (aka, Bear Bryant biographers). So yeah, even when we lose, we're still better. Way better. That's the rationalization I'll use until the next Iron Bowl.

Alabama entered the game having a statistical advantage over Auburn in every category imaginable. The only way one could rationalize an Auburn victory would be to use a 'wounded dog' or more popularly, the 'David vs. Goliath' comparison. The game wasn't a David vs. Goliath match – it happened just like it was supposed to on paper.

If we're going to compare Tuberville to the Bible's David, I think a more fitting story would be the story of David and Bathsheba. No, Tubs hasn't been having any affairs, but, like King David, he tried to fix his problems by throwing an honorable leader under a bus. Hiring Al Borges was one of the smartest things Tuberville has ever done. Firing him was one of the dumbest.

What else is there to learn from this season? While Tuberville was out supporting the troops, Saban was watching film and recruiting. While Tuberville took a week long hunting trip to spend time with his son, Saban was watching film and recruiting. While Tuberville made a Ford commercial about hanging out at Toomer's Corner, Saban was making a Ford commercial about watching film and recruiting.

Is there a message to be learned here? I sure hope not. Blowouts happen in college football. Major turnarounds happen in college football.

In 2002, Tommy Tuberville dismantled Saban and LSU 31-7. The next year, Saban rebounded and won the BCS National Championship. That year, Saban's LSU team clobbered Auburn by a score of 31-7, a complete reverse of the blowout he received the previous year.

In 2004, Tommy Tuberville rebounded from the 31-7 defeat to beat Saban's LSU team and every single other team he faced.

There is no reason to believe Tommy Tuberville can't bring Auburn back again. After six years, Alabama's best team of the decade beat Auburn's worst team of the decade (At least Auburn's worst team of the decade was able to beat ULM). Both Tommy Tuberville and Nick Saban are capable of amazing rebounds after great defeats. Of those two men, only 1.1 of them are backstabbing, lying, sleaze-ball opportunists. Let us turn to page 189 of Nick Saban's “How Good Do You Want to Be”;

“I have fibbed in the past or pushed the rules to the boundaries, but stepping over the line is something I try to avoid.”

Auburn fans need to stop obsessing over the fact that this sleaze isn't Auburn's coach. 2008 was one year. Tuberville needs the opportunity to continue fighting. He's proven he can do it in the past. Rebooting the program will surrender the gains Auburn has made over the past decade to Alabama and Nick Saban.

For those of you who are terrified by Nick Saban's recruiting skills, calm down. If you want to help Auburn's recruiting, stop talking about Auburn's recruiting. Many complain that Nick Saban's recruiting abilities are superior to Tuberville's. When recruiting, coaches are nothing more than salesmen. Fans are part of the product they're pushing. Top recruits won't want to play for a school if they know they'll be treated like garbage after losing. Most fans, including myself, didn't see many special players from Auburn's 2003 season, but those guys surprised us and the entire country in 2004. Tuberville deserves the chance to forge another 2004 because he's our best hope based on known quantities.

With that said, how the heck DOES Nick Saban recruit? What does he say to these guys without lying or cheating?

“Our fans think the state of Alabama was an utopia in the 1960s and 1970s – help those fans live that dream again!”

Oh well, The season is over. I enjoyed it as well as every other season this decade. The story of Auburn football isn't filled with championships. Maybe it will be in the future. But, either way, I hope it continues to be fun to keep up with it all. If Auburn can manage to do that, this fan will be happy.

War Eagle!

E-mail Mark at mark@theauburner.com

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