The balance of power has shifted

Jox Sports Jacob Allison

 If you’ve ever listened to the Opening Drive, you’ve probably heard host Tony Kurre use an “analogy” to explain something. I use quotation marks only because what your English teacher taught you about analogies versus what Tony does is drastically different.

 You see, the defining characteristic of a Tony Kurre analogy is that the comparison has to involve women – usually attractive ones. If you’ll indulge me, I’m actually going to do the same thing right now, with two scenarios.

 In scenario one, you dated around, but never really found the person who was right for you. Then suddenly and almost accidentally, you find yourself with someone you never thought was in your league. You took a shot asked for a date, and the answer was yes.

 Now you’re madly in love, as the person you’re with turned out to be better than you ever thought, and you expected a lot already. Life is good.

 You’re the University of Alabama, and you found Nick Saban.

 In scenario two, you’ve been with someone for a while, and it’s been a great relationship. It was never quite perfect, and in fact you came really close to breaking up a few years back, but you got through it and the next year was your best ever.

 But now the relationship has gotten a little stale, and you’re starting to question whether or not the other person is really working hard for it.

 When you’re totally honest with yourself, despite all you’ve been through together, you know that you’re not in love, and that if you don’t break up now, you’re only delaying the inevitable.

 You’re Auburn University, and you don’t love Tommy Tuberville anymore.

 36-0 will do that.

 Auburn’s six-year run of dominance in the Iron Bowl came to a crashing end Nov. 30 in Bryant-Denny Stadium, leaving two fan bases in drastically different states of mind, and the rest of us with a question.

 Has the balance of power shifted?

 The answer is yes. The only question really left is for how long.

 It seems like a pretty drastic conclusion to take from one Alabama victory on the heels of all those Auburn triumphs, but the Tigers’ disastrous campaign and pathetic performance in Tuscaloosa (where they had never lost) evaporates nearly all the positives of the Fear-The-Next-Finger Era.

 Here’s the bottom line: Nick Saban is, maybe, the best coach in the country. There’s no doubt that, based on what he did this season, he’s at least in the top five. Tuberville is not the in top five, and you could probably argue that at least ten coaches out there are better. 

 Saban put together the best recruiting class in the country last year, and the one on the horizon looks pretty good, too. Tuberville’s recruiting has slipped, and the 2009 class was recruiting to play in an offense that was scrapped half way through the season.

 Tuberville made enough mistakes in evaluation, both in players (recruiting) and assistant coach hires (Tony Franklin) to allow a team he had owned so thoroughly to pass him with such velocity that by the time this year’s Iron Bowl actually got here, an Alabama victory was all but a foregone conclusion.

 Tuberville’s dominance of Alabama is over. Since the 70s, overall dominance in the rivalry has rotated each decade (Alabama in 70s, Auburn in the 80s, Alabama in the 90s, Auburn in the 00s), so one could expect that by the time we’re celebrating Opening Ceremonies of the 2020 Olympics in Birmingham, Auburn will probably be looking to take back over.

 In the meantime, it will be up to Auburn whether or not to hang on this relationship, or try and find someone new to buck the trend.

 It probably won’t matter, though. If 36-0 and, more importantly, 12-0 are any indication, the potential for the marriage of Alabama and Nick Saban is limitless.

Listen to the Opening Drive with Jay Barker, Al DelGreco and Tony Kurre every weekday morning from 6-10 a.m. on JOX 94.5. Send feedback to Jacob Allison: