In November, Bryant-Denny Stadium will be packed with Alabama fans cheering for the Crimson Tide to win another Iron Bowl. Beating the Auburn Tigers for a seventh consecutive game will not be a new Alabama Iron Bowl record. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers nine games in a row from 1973 through 1981.
There have been winning streaks during the post-Bryant years as well. Alabama's likely next Governor, 'Coach' Tuberville, beat the Crimson Tide in six consecutive games from 2002 through 2007. After a loss to Nick Saban in 2008, 'Coach' turned tail and ran, no doubt fearing the inevitable.
Auburn's six-game winning streak under Tuberville and the Crimson Tide's current six-game winning streak should be eclipsed in November. One too-early prediction from Kenneth Massey has Alabama winning over the Aubies 33-17. My too-early guess is that the Crimson Tide will win by a larger margin.
Pat Dye knew something about beating Alabama. In his first press conference as the Auburn head coach, Dye probably orchestrated a reporter's question: 'How long does it take to beat Alabama?' Dye's answer was '60 minutes', immediately gaining him unwavering support from Auburn fans. It took Dye longer than 60 minutes, but he beat Alabama and Bryant in his second Iron Bowl as Auburn's head coach.
Pat Dye's success against Alabama
Dye's Auburn teams won more Iron Bowls in 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989. Having been an Alabama assistant under Bryant before becoming a head coach, Dye understood the Iron Bowl rivalry better than any Auburn coach before him or since.
Recently, Gus Malzahn shared what Pat Dye told him when Gus became the Auburn head coach. It was, "Gus, if you’ll think about nothing but how you’re going to beat Alabama 365 days a year, everything else takes care of itself."
The advice was sound for an Auburn coach. An example of why is that Auburn fans crow more about the 'Kick Six' win over Alabama than they do about Auburn's 2010 National Championship. Every season, the Aubies measure of Tigers' success or failure is the Iron Bowl. Alabama fans don't have such tunnel vision. To every Crimson Tide fan, the Iron Bowl is huge, but not nearly as important as winning championships.
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