Well, it’s time. Alabama and Nick Saban come to the Plains on Saturday night for their 72nd meeting with Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Where to start? Well, I could start here. Or here. Or maybe even here. But really, who needs all of that? It’s Alabama. Extra reason to hate them really isn’t needed (but if you need more, go here).

It will be interesting to see which team shows up for Auburn, and really, which team shows up for Alabama as well. For Auburn, will it be the team that beat Florida and was seconds away from a win at LSU? Or will it be the team that lost at home to South Florida and got demolished at Georgia? For Alabama, will it be the team that destroyed Tennessee, or the team that lost to Mississippi State and…Louisiana-Monroe? I struggle not to laugh at them for that loss, which will be much funnier after the season if we win on Saturday.

There’s so much history in the game as it is, and to add to that, this year marks the 25^th anniversary of “Bo over the top” and the 35^th anniversary of one of the most memorable Iron Bowls ever, “Punt Bama Punt”. Also, the last time these two teams met under the lights at Jordan-Hare on ESPN in 2003, this happened. One can only hope for similar results on the ground this Saturday.

For Auburn and Alabama fans, this is the week that matters most. LSU and Georgia are rivals, yes, and big ones at that, but nothing compares to the spectacle of this week. By the time the sun sets Friday evening, everything will be in place. On Saturday, the sun will come up, and it will be a gameday on the campus of Auburn University, a gameday like none other. It’s hard to express how this rivalry affects everyone in the state. Here’s something that explains the rivalry better than I can, from Phillip Marshall over at al.com.

After the jump, some random (and not so random) facts about the game:

· Auburn has an all-time record of 6-5-2 in games played on Nov. 24, but has not played on this date since 1962, a 14-14 tie with Florida State. Auburn is 2-0-1 when playing at home on Nov. 24, with wins over Louisiana Tech (29-0) in 1945 and Florida State (13-7) in 1956. The Tigers have never played Alabama on Nov. 24.

· Auburn is 6-2 all-time in games against Alabama in Jordan-Hare Stadium

· Auburn has had six of its 11 games decided in the last two minutes, including four of its six SEC games.

· Auburn has a turnover ratio of +10 in its seven victories and -9 in its four losses.

· Auburn has played 29 freshmen this season (15 true, 14 redshirt) and has had as many as three true freshmen starting on the offensive line.

· Of Auburn’s 275 points scored this season, 191 (69.5 percent) have been scored by underclassmen.

· This will be the first time the teams have met on Thanksgiving weekend since 1992

· Since 1980, with the exception of 1982, 1998, and 2003, at least one of the two teams has been ranked in the AP poll for every game

· The team leading at halftime has won 73.2 percent of the time (52-of-71)

· 16 of the last 19 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less

· The game has been tied at the half on seven occasions, with Alabama winning six of those

· The winner of the last eight meetings has outrushed the losing squad

So there you have it. Of course, none of these numbers really matter, because anything can happen in a game like this. Alabama @ Auburn, 7 pm CT, on ESPN. War damn eagle and beat bama!