2001 - Week 10
Quite simply, that was the most I've enjoyed a game throughout since 1999's SEC Title game. Or maybe even since the 1993 Sugar Bowl. Anyway, here's some facts on the big Iron Bowl win.
- Bama moves its record against Auburn to 38-27-1. Average Iron Bowl score: 19-15 Bama. The Tide's won seven of the last eleven against the Tigers, and the last two on the Plains.
- The 31-7 win is the sixth Bama's sixth win by that score, and the second against Auburn (1971). The last time Bama beat an opponent 31-7 was in 1981 against Rutgers.
- It's the 19th time Bama has won by 24 points, the last such win before this coming in the aforementioned Rutgers game.
- 24 points marks a tie for the 12th biggest win over Auburn, and the biggest one since 1977 (48-21). It's also the biggest margin of victory for either team since that year.
- Bama is now 20-2 when they score 31 points in a game (one of those losses being a 1993 31-17 win over Tulane that was later forfeited). When allowing just seven, they're 107-12-12.
- When Auburn is the 10th opponent of the year, Bama is 10-7. (I may never get to use that one again.)
- Bama is 9-4 on November 17th.
- Bama finishes with a 4-4 conference mark. It's the second time that's happened (1998), and the fifth time that Bama's finished a conference season at .500 exactly (1948: 4-4-1, 1954: 3-3-2, 1982: 3-3, 1998: 4-4).
- Believe it or not, Bama's never been 5-5 after 10 games before. They've won 5 games after ten have been played four times, but have either been 5-4-1 (1927, 1948, 1958) or 5-2-3 (1953).
Up Next - Southern Miss
So it's come down to this; a game with the Golden Eagles to determine if we can go to a bowl game this year. It would certainly be a great comeback for the year if we could beat USM. Here's some more information concerning the game and the unusual background behind it.
- Bama's record against USM is 29-6-2. A win against Southern Miss would give Bama its ninth opponent it owns 30 wins against (Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Kentucky). Bama has won thirty times on the field; of course, as we all know by now, 1993's 40-0 win was taken away.
- As far as I know, Bama's only had two rescheduled games in the past, and it's won both (1963: Miami, 17-12; rescheduled because of President Kennedy's assassination, and 1988: Texas A&M, 30-10; rescheduled because of a hurricane).
- This is the latest that Bama's played a regular-season game since 1991 (a 13-6 win over Auburn on November 30).
- It will be the first time that Auburn isn't the regular-season ender since the 1988 Texas A&M game.
- We're counting down the number of Birmingham games left! Bama holds an overall record of 202-81-19 in the Magic City.
- And finally, as you recall, Bama was shut out last year 21-0 by the Golden Eagles. Bama has a little measure of revenge they need to take out. History shows that it happens about half the time. Of the 65 times that Bama has been shut out one year and have played the same team the next year, they're 29-30-6 in the rematch. They've blanked the opponent right back ten times. Of course, we're already 1-0 in this department this year...
2001 UA Football Facts
