701 Days. That's All It Took.

Processed (v.)- The act of Nick Saban destroying your coaching career to the point that you are no longer with your team.

As stated in the title, it has only been 701 days since Nick Saban was hired to take over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

That's all it has taken for Saban not only to turn the Tide, but to take back the state, to make his presence known once again in the SEC, and to get Alabama back in the national spotlight.

So how has everyone gotten here over the past 23 months? Here is a quick timeline to refresh your memory.

• Jan. 3rd, 2007: Nick Saban is hired as the 26th head football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In his opening press conference the following day, Saban said, "I know there's tremendous expectations here. I can tell you that, however you feel about it, I have even higher expectations for what we want to accomplish. I want to win every game we play."
• Feb. 7th, 2007: Saban signs a recruiting class that has his partial stamp on it. Kareem Jackson and Rolando McClain are the two stars of the class which is ranked 10th by Rivals.com.
• Apr. 21st, 2007: Over 100,000 people crowded Tuscaloosa to watch Nick Saban's team scrimmage in the annual A-Day Game. Fans were turned away at the gate as the largest crowd to ever watch a spring game assembled at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
• Sept. 1st, 2007: Nick Saban makes his debut as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide in a rout of Western Carolina 52-6. The win was Saban's first college win since 2004.
• Sept. 15, 2007: Nick Saban gets his first SEC win at Alabama with a come from behind win against Arkansas 41-38. It was Alabama's first come from behind win in since the Dennis Franchonie era.
• Oct. 20, 2007: The Crimson Tide destroy the Tennessee Volunteers 41-17 in Tuscaloosa to reach 6-2 in Saban's first season. Alabama will enter November tied for first in the SEC West heading into Saban's first game against LSU.
• Nov. 3rd, 2007: LSU comes into Tuscaloosa and comes out with a win 41-34 over Alabama, sending the Crimson Tide into a tailspin to finish their season. Alabama would lose in consecutive weeks to Mississippi State, Louisiana-Monroe, and a sixth straight to Auburn. Alabama finishes the season 6-6, 3-5 in the SEC.
• Dec. 30, 2007: Alabama finishes their season in the Independence Bowl for the second straight season, beating Colorado 30-24. Alabama ends the season 7-6, only the second winning season over the previous five years for the Crimson Tide.
• Jan. 30th, 2008: Jim McElwain is hired by Nick Saban to be Alabama's new offensive coordinator. McElwain leaves Fresno State and simplifies Alabama's offense to avoid confusion for John Parker Wilson and company.
• Feb. 6th, 2008: Alabama puts the finishing touches on the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Final 48 hour commitments from Mark Ingram and Julio Jones helped to propel the Tide above Notre Dame, Florida, and Ohio State.
• Apr. 12, 2008: Nick Saban's second A-Day Game doesn't sell out, but 72,000 people still come to watch the Crimson Tide practice. The new offense does just enough to get fans interested as to how this team may play this season.
• June 2008: The new freshman class reports to campus for the first time. Combined with a new senior leadership, the freshmen help the team find a new level to practice at, bringing intense competition to each practice.
• Aug. 30th, 2008: Nick Saban's second team hits the turf in the Georgia Dome against Clemson and blows out the Tigers, 34-10. Alabama jumps into the Top 25 while Clemson never fully recovers from their opening game beat down.
• Sept. 27th, 2008: Alabama takes their show on the road to Athens with an undefeated record for a Top 10 match up. The Crimson Tide runs away in the first half on national television en route to a 41-30 victory over the Bulldogs. Alabama vaults to a number two ranking, the highest since 2005.
• Oct. 13th, 2008: Tommy Bowden resigns at Clemson after a dismal start to what was thought to be an ACC championship season.
• Oct. 25th, 2008: Alabama goes into Neyland Stadium and overpowers the Vols, 29-9, to take the second straight game from Tennessee and Phil Fulmer to reach 8-0, the best start for a Nick Saban team. A week later, Phil Fulmer would resign as head coach, effective at the end of the season.
• Nov. 8th, 2008: Alabama reaches 10-0 after a wild, overtime win in Tiger Stadium against LSU, ending a November losing streak in the SEC dating back to 2005. The win was also the first against the Bayou Bengals since 2002.
• Nov. 29th, 2008: Alabama ends a six year skid against the Auburn Tigers with a 36-0 thrashing, ending Auburn's chances for a bowl. The win cemented Alabama's first undefeated regular season since 1994, the first 12-0 regular season in SEC history, and Nick Saban's first undefeated regular season of his career. The loss, the worst for Auburn since 1962, left doubt about Tommy Tuberville's job security.
• Dec. 3rd, 2008: Tommy Tuberville resigns as head coach of the Auburn Tigers.

Those are the important points which bring us to today's events. It is only a matter of time before we see what this means for both Alabama and Auburn. In the meantime, Alabama has a championship to play for.

Picks, Previews, and Prognostications, Rivalry Week Part I

As the season begins to wind down, the rivalries begin to heat up.

With that said, this week is week one of two continual rivalry weeks to end the college football season, and there are plenty to be played this weekend.

However, for starters, let's see how many rivalries you can correctly name. Thanks to ESPN, this has been made possible for week one and hopefully week two will have a similar poll.

First, though, I need to update my record against the rest of the CW pick'em staff.

Last week, I went 7-1 and would have been perfect had I actually had faith in Vandy. Instead, I tied for the best record of the week last week. After three weeks of picks, I am currently sitting at 20-4. The best CW staffer is 15-9.

Now, back to Rivalry Week Part I, where I will go unopposed considering there was no Gameday published in the Crimson White this week, but the blog needs something on it, so here it goes.

Tennessee @ Vanderbilt

The Commodores are going bowling for the first time since 1982 after las week's road win against Kentucky. Tennessee is coming off of an embarrassing loss to Wyoming for Homecoming and has seemingly given up on their season. Both teams still want to win this game and Tennessee is trying to avoid an eight loss season for the first time in school history. Here's to an orange snowman on Saturday. Vanderbilt 17, Tennessee 9

Florida State @ Maryland

The Terps and the Seminoles will clash in what is an elmination game for Florida State. An FSU loss ends their conference season at 4-4 while Maryland could finish no worse than 5-3. Maryland is undefeated at home this season, but is only 2-16 all-time against the Seminoles. Fear the Turtle, 'cause Saturday in College Park will mark win number three. Maryland 27, Florida State 17

Stanford @ Cal

The battle for the Stanford Axe will commence in Berkley on Saturday between two teams known for the greatest play in college football history. This season, however, the Bears seem to be the better team, but Stanford has shown their mettle are are battling for a bowl position. Cal would love nothing more than to keep their bitter rival from going bowling this season, and the Bears will be up to the task on Saturday. Cal 28, Stanford 17

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

The River City Rivalry (est. 2005, for what its worth) may go a long way to deciding the Big East after Cinci's consecutive road wins at West Virginia and Louisville. A Bearcats win would all but lock up the Big East considering Cincinnati's remaining Big East schedule would only comprise of coachless Syracuse. Pittsburgh would have a long way to go if they were to win this game, still having to face West Virginia (who will be out for revenge) and UConn. With a BCS bowl at stake, the Bearcats make the necessary moves at home to all but clinch the Big East. Cincinnati 35, Pittsburgh 27

Michigan @ Ohio State

Yes it's a rivalry, and an intesnse one at that, but who all are we kidding to believe Michigan has a chance this weekend? The Wolverines are in the midst of their worst season in school history and will be on the road at The Horseshoe. This is all after Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez took time out of his week this week to actually respond to the media. They are in your head, Rich, and soon Ohio State will be as well. Ohio State 42, Michigan 10

Michigan State @ Penn State

The battle for The Land Grant Trophy is also a battle for the Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions are thinking roses after putting together another stellar season for coach Joe Paterno, but Jevon Ringer and company stands in their way. Sparty will need an improbable Michigan victory to have a chance to go to Pasadena, but that won't even be a problem after Penn State and the Spread HD seal the Big Ten title. Penn State 24, Michigan State 14

BYU @ Utah

The annual Holy War between the Utes and Cougars may be the most important game in the history of the rivalry this season. Not only is the battle for the Beehive Boot for the Mountain West title, but Utah is playing for a spot in a BCS game. Both teams have battled TCU this season, with the Utes being the only team to come out on top in a wild game two weeks ago. The Utes will once again be at home and will have plenty of time to think about which BCS bowl they would like to participate in. Utah 21, BYU 17

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma

This may be the next best thing to a college football playoff. The Red Raiders and Sooners will clash in what could be the first of two "semifinal" games for the BCS. As I discussed earlier, a Sooners win would shake up the entire Big XII landscape with one week remaining, but if Graham Harrell and company finish the job Saturday, all should remain peaceful in the land of college football and Harrell would all but lock up the Heisman Trophy. So much for wishful thinking in Lubbock as we will watch the BCS implode once again. Oklahoma 38, Texas Tech 35

Other rivalries of note this weekend:
Minnesota 24, Iowa 20-Floyd of Rosedale
Northwestern 21, Illinois 17-Sweet Sioux Tomahawk
Purdue 30, Indiana 14-Old Oaken Bucket
Colorado State 20, Wyoming 10-Bronze Boot
Washington 24, Washington State 23-Apple Cup
Harvard 24, Yale 17-THE Game
LSU 35, Ole Miss 31

Now, as always for the next week, how 'bout some Auburn "love"?

This one pretty much speaks for itself...

Pass or Fail, Week of Nov. 19

With a good portion of the SEC off between last Saturday and this Saturday, the weekly Pass or Fail segment will expand a little this week to not only more major college football, but also a peek into basketball.

Head of the Class: Vanderbilt Commodores

For the first time since 1982, the Vanderbilt Commodores will be visiting the postseason.

With a 31-24 victory at Kentucky, the 'Dores are now 6-4 on the season and 4-3 in the SEC. With a win over Tennessee Saturday, Vanderbilt will have five conference wins for the first time since 1935. Vandy gets Tennessee in Nashville and will be looking at a much better bowl with seven victories on the season.

Pass: Alabama's Javier Arenas

Every week it seems there is an Alabama player in the pass column.

Well, for starters, this is a blog by an Alabama student who gets to watch their games in entirety each week, but Alabama is also undefeated.

This week's honor falls on the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week Javier Arenas who set a school record with 153 punt return yards against Mississippi State. Arenas also set the career school mark for punts returned for touchdowns with his fifth career return against the Bulldogs.

Fail: The Deep South's Oldest Rivarly

Not only did this game kick at 11:30 on regional television, being overlooked for Alabama-Mississippi State, but it wasn't suppose to be that great of a game. It wasn't that great of a game, but for other reasons.

Auburn has struggled all season, sure, but Georgia looked absolutely pathetic after their first field goal attempt was blocked by the Tigers. The game then turned into an absolute battle of ineptitude that the Bulldogs eventually won 17-13. Tuberville could have won the game had he kicked a field goal on previous drives in the fourth quarter, but opted for fourth down offensive attempts which failed.

Pass: Tennessee Basketball

If anyone was wondering who would win the SEC this season, look no further than Knoxville.

The Vols are simply too strong in a conference full of horribly underachieving teams and Florida. The Gators will provide the biggest competition to the Vols, but everything else should be easy sailing this season.

Bruce Pearl not only has some great returning players from last season, they also have Diaper Dandy Scotty Hopson, who will be posterizing an All-SEC player near you in the coming months.

Fail: SEC Basketball

I have been on this topic as late as yesterday, but last night didn't make any matters better.

Between Georgia's dominant one-point win over Eastern Michigan and Kentucky's 28-turnover beauty against North Carolina on national television. These games have UK at 0-2 and Georgia is 1-1 with a points differential on the season of -20.

SEC fans can at least hold on to the last few breaths of football season, and the jump straight into baseball.

Pass: ACC Football

They may not be the best or have any powerhouse team this season, but the ACC has been the most fun conference to watch this year.

Why you may ask?

Parity. Each week, a new team in the ACC joins the Top 25 just to go on the road and lose, fall out of the Top 25, win at home, and start the process over.

Each team has at least two losses right now. The only two teams who have yet to dropped a third game are Miami, who travels to Georgia Tech and North Carolina State to finish the season, and Maryland, who hosts Florida State and visits Boston College.

I'm going to make a quick prediction that each team in the ACC will finish with three losses, but anyone else who wants to take time out of their lives to sort out the tie breakers for these situations, knock yourself out.

Fail: Rich Rodriguez

It is bad enough to be the first man in Michigan history, the winningest program in college football history, to take the team to they historic low of eight losses in one season.

Things don't get better when you take time out of your schedule of coaching said program to respond to media members who are roasting you like chestnuts over an open fire.

Too bad that Rich Rod has already done that this week (Ohio State week for those of you who didn't know since ESPN is shoving that game down our throats for once) by telling media members to "Get a life" after multiple outlets have questioned his first season in Ann Arbor.

Rich, some quick advice, you are no longer the native son, so you might need to grow a spine...and fast.

Epic Fail: The Apple Cup

There are no two teams in FBS college football right now who are worse than Washington and Washington State.

The Huskies are currently 0-10 on the season. Ty Willingham has been fired already and are losing by the average score of 40-14.

The Cougars have benefitted from being able to look across the state and see Washington at 0-10 because WAZU is 1-10 themselves.

The only win for the Cougars came against FCS Portland State, who is currently 3-7 themselves. They have been shut out three out of their past four games and are limping to the finish line against Washington.

In other words, something has to give.

I would look for Washington State to come out on top for two reasons: They have the game at home and, sadly, they at least know how to win.

So, now with that out of the way, it is now time for the customary Auburn "love" that will be gracing this blog over the next week and a half.

For tonight, we are gonna hit the way back machine and go all the way back to...January of 2007. Basically, it was when Tubbs started shaking in his boots and was out to continue the downward spiral that is Auburn Football as we know it today.