No. 2 Alabama welcomes struggling rival Auburn - KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News

Latest Scores, Headlines and Analysis

No. 2 Alabama welcomes struggling rival Auburn

Posted: Updated:
  • Auburn

  • Saturday, May 18 2013 9:21 PM EDT2013-05-19 01:21:31 GMT
    The Auburn baseball team, seeded 10th, will face a familiar foe in the first round of next week's Southeastern Conference Tournament as it is set to face seventh-seeded and in-state rival Alabama on Tuesday
    The Auburn baseball team, seeded 10th,  will face a familiar foe in the first round of next week's Southeastern Conference Tournament as it is set to face seventh-seeded and in-state rival Alabama on Tuesday at the Hoover Met.
  • Saturday, May 18 2013 9:19 PM EDT2013-05-19 01:19:43 GMT
    Auburn scored eight times in the fourth inning en route to an 11-6 win over No. 11 Arkansas in the regular season finale. With the win Auburn, which won its final three SEC series, two over ranked opponents,
    With the win Auburn, which won its final three SEC series, two over ranked opponents, finished the 2013 regular season 33-22, 13-17 SEC while Arkansas finished it 35-19, 18-11 SEC.
  • Thursday, May 16 2013 11:02 PM EDT2013-05-17 03:02:28 GMT
    Conner Kendrick and Terrance Dedrick combined to hold No. 11 Arkansas to just five hits and kept them out of the run column for the entire night as the Auburn baseball team picked up a 3-0 win on Thursday
    Conner Kendrick and Terrance Dedrick combined to hold No. 11 Arkansas to just five hits and kept them out of the run column for the entire night as the Auburn baseball team picked up a 3-0 win on Thursday in the series opener.

So much has changed since the last time Alabama welcomed Auburn into Bryant-Denny stadium.

The second-ranked Crimson Tide were victims of the largest comeback in Iron Bowl history two years ago. Alabama is the team with flourishing Southeastern Conference and national title aspirations going into Saturday's game.

The Tigers bear little resemblance to the team that Cam Newton rallied from 24 points down two years ago on their way to a national title.

With everything left to play for, Alabama is a 31.5-point favorite in what shapes up to be one of the biggest mismatches the Iron Bowl rivalry has seen.

The Tide's Damion Square says he expects Auburn "to come play some bigtime football."

Embattled Auburn coach Gene Chizik says it will take a "near-flawless" performance to win.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)