ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Dawn did break after Auburn defeated Alabama for the sixth consecutive time Saturday night. So what’s next for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide?

“We’re going recruiting,” Saban said minutes after the game ended.

There was nothing for Saban to criticize as far as effort and focus. Tide players desperately wanted to snap Auburn’s streak. But every team brings that focus and energy against its chief rival.

The challenge for Alabama players is to take the same level of mental preparation and intensity into the next game that they brought against Auburn.

That game may or may not come this season. Alabama’s 6-6 record is a drawback for many bowls, especially since the SEC has so many bowl-eligible teams with seven victories. Its four-game losing streak doesn’t help, either.

But Saban said he thought going to a bowl game was good for “program development.” He… more

AUBURN TIGERS

Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville’s future could become clear today, depending on the outcome of his meeting with athletic director Jay Jacobs.

But Auburn will have to wait a little longer for its postseason picture to come into focus.

The Tigers finished the regular season 8-4 and 5-3 in the Southeastern Conference. AU is alone in second place in the SEC’s Western Division.

Auburn’s likeliest bowl destinations are the Outback Bowl, in Tampa, Fla., or the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, assuming the SEC sends two teams to Bowl Championship Series bowls.

The winner of the SEC Championship Game between LSU and Tennessee will receive an automatic BCS bid to the Sugar Bowl. Georgia, 10-2 and ranked fourth in the BCS standings, is expected to receive an at-large BCS invitation.

According to the BCS selection rules, the No. 4 team in the BCS standings, if not a conference… more