ILLUSTRATION BY NALIN CROCKER
Bama’s quarterbacks and Auburn’s schedule By Brad Bradford
Q
uotations from Paul William “Bear” Bryant adorn the walls of the only restaurant in Leighton, Alabama. Same with mancaves in Scratch Ankle and corporate board rooms in Hoover. His most famous quote is: “I ain’t never been nothing but a winner.” While poor mouthing his team’s chances against VPI or Mississippi Southern, he often referred to “injury luck” and “schedule luck.” In 2017, Auburn and Alabama experienced both kinds of luck. Auburn’s Gus Malzahn did an exceptional job of recovering from earlier losses against Clemson and LSU to defeat both playoff teams in Georgia and Alabama in a two-week stretch to win the SEC West. 16 AUGUST 2018
Unfortunately, a rested Georgia team beat a five-win Georgia Tech team (that just lost to Duke by 23 points) on the same day that the Tigers had to come from behind to beat Bama (schedule luck). Running back Kerryon Johnson was injured (injury luck) and Auburn was never in the SEC championship game. They then played a good undefeated and motivated Central Florida team in the same Atlanta stadium in the Peach Bowl to give them their fourth loss of the season. The Tide’s lead man, Nick Saban, did the BEST coaching job of his career. Injuries to the linebacking crew were almost a joke. Any othwww.alabamaliving.coop