Auburn Ruins Alabama’s First Visit : Football: Tigers beat No. 2 Crimson Tide, 30-20--all but ending its bid for the national title.

Here at Hyperbole Central, Auburn Coach Pat Dye was comparing the outcome of Saturday’s 30-20 victory over much-despised Alabama to the crumbling of the Berlin Wall.

No reaction yet from Deutschland.

Dye also credited an inspirational letter from a World War II veteran--an Auburn man, by the way--with helping the Tigers pull off the most cherished victory in the school’s history.

In fact, Dye’s postgame mood was so joyous that he thanked Miss Sue (his wife), the Auburn administration (his boss), the occasionally dim-witted Auburn fans (his critics), the local and national media (his adversaries) and even the Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa (his host New Year’s Day) for making Saturday so memorable. Without them, none of this would have been possible.

What he should have done is thanked Alabama for saving its worst for last. On a day when Alabama (10-1) most needed to justify its No. 2 ranking and add to its 12-game unbeaten streak, the Crimson Tide crumpled under the pressure of the nation’s meanest and most intense intrastate grudge match.

Since 1892, the Tigers had tried to persuade Alabama to visit the Auburn campus. Alabama, being Alabama, always said no.

So Auburn begged. Alabama still said no. Worn down by pleas, threats and common sense, Alabama finally relented and agreed to the historic get-together. Auburn being Auburn, it didn’t forget the annual slights. If anything, it used the bad blood, as thick as honey after a 97-year wait, to its considerable advantage.

Commemorative tickets were printed, many of which found their way into the hands of scalpers. The starting price? About $200.

The local newspapers churned out Auburn vs. Alabama tidbits, revealing that one particular couple, Mr. and Mrs. White, had named their two daughters WarEagle and Tiger, in honor of the Auburn nicknames. Dye bused his team to an out-of-town hotel, the better to concentrate. Alabama Coach Bill Curry refused to allow any player interviews during the week before the game.

There’s more and not all of it as cute as WarEagle and Tiger White. Anonymous death threats were delivered to two Alabama starters. A funeral wreath was sent to an Auburn player. Maybe Bear Bryant, the late Alabama coach, was right after all when he suggested that the rivalry ought to be suspended, that it was too hateful and divisive to the state.

Of course, Dye wasn’t buying any of that Saturday. To him, the victory by 11th-ranked Auburn, which created a three-way tie for the Southeastern Conference championship (Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee at 6-1), was a landmark occasion.

“I don’t think there’s no way to describe the feeling that football team must have gotten when they walked through that crowd to the stadium today,” Dye said. “I’m sure that it must have resembled what went on the night the wall came down in Berlin. I mean, it was like they had been freed, and let out of bondage, just having this game at Auburn. I can’t imagine what it must have done to our players, and the effect it must have had on their emotion.”

This was Auburn’s fourth consecutive victory over Alabama, which proves that it doesn’t matter where the teams play. But this one was particularly sweet for Dye, 10-0 against Curry-coached teams. It spoiled Alabama’s hopes for an outright SEC title and all but ended any hopes the Crimson Tide had of winning a national championship. Alabama’s Sugar Bowl game against Miami is now for entertainment purposes only.

“It’s not difficult to see or describe what happened today,” Curry said. “We got beat by a better football team. We were pressing. We were struggling to do things that normally come easy for us.”

Before 85,319 at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Alabama was inside the Auburn 10-yard line twice in the first quarter but came away with only three points. Very uncharacteristic.

The Crimson Tide botched a fake field goal attempt. They allowed quarterback Gary Hollingsworth to be pressured. They allowed Auburn, historically known as a running team, to complete long, back-breaking passes. Tiger wide receiver Alexander Wright (seven catches, 141 yards) was the one causing most of the hurt.

“To me, he is the difference in the ballgame,” Dye said.

Either that, or Dye’s confidence in his heretofore conservative offense. “We felt like we could throw any way we wanted to throw on them, if we could protect Reggie (Slack, Auburn’s quarterback),” Dye said.

Auburn protected Slack, all right; he wasn’t sacked once.

Still, Alabama led, 10-7, at halftime. But it could have, should have been more.

Auburn scored 10 consecutive points in the third quarter and threatened to turn the game into a rout in the fourth quarter when it took a 27-10 lead.

It was about this time, with less than 10 minutes remaining, that Alabama rediscovered its scoring punch. Hollingsworth, an Auburn fan as a child and recruited, half-heartedly, by Dye out of high school, began finding open receivers in the generous Tiger zone defense. In only 1:45 he took the Crimson Tide 73 yards for a score and cut the Auburn lead to 10 points.

Later, too much later, he brought Alabama to the Auburn five-yard line. Faced with a third-and-goal play, Hollingsworth, who finished with 340 yards and two scoring passes, dropped back and threw incomplete to wide receiver Marco Battle. Rather than try for the touchdown, Curry settled for a field goal and 27-20 deficit with 1:49 left to play.

Alabama then tried an onside kick, which failed. Presented with favorable field position, the Tigers drove to the Alabama 17, forcing the Crimson Tide to use all of its timeouts along the way before kicking a field goal.

The goal posts still stood at game’s end, but only because Auburn security forces, armed with billy clubs, encircled the field. And for a pleasant change, said Dye, Auburn fans cheered when they were supposed to. Earlier in the game, they saved their loudest roars when Slack took his place at the line of scrimmage, thus preventing him from hearing himself think.

“We’re going to have to educate our fans,” Dye said.

Forgive them, they were flustered. It happens when history is made.