With all due respect to Louisiana Monroe and Mercer, we're not going to talk about Louisiana Monroe and Mercer.

You and I are not coaching Auburn or Alabama this week. We're not playing for the Tigers or the Crimson Tide on Saturday. We don't have to be where our feet are and focus on what's right in front of us.

We're free to start hyping and griping about the Son of the Mother of All Iron Bowls.

Auburn made that possible by sending Georgia home with its tail between its legs. That 40-17 hobnail boot abuse of the playoff committee's No. 1 team guaranteed that Alabama's visit to the Plains would decide the state championship and the division title and put the winner one game away from a playoff berth.

Alabama simply upped the ante by escaping Mississippi State and its cowbells with a gutsy come-from-behind victory Saturday night.

While Gus Malzahn and Nick Saban try to keep their team's minds on their non-conference business this week, we'll take a hard look ahead to Nov. 25, and guess what? The home field isn't Auburn's only advantage.

Two curious trends favor the Tigers.

Amen Corner has become an all-or-nothing proposition for them. When they beat Georgia, they tend to have enough talent and confidence to take down Alabama, too. When they lose to Georgia, a bad day against Alabama seems sure to follow.

That's been the case for nine straight years, or every season since 2008.

On the double Debbie Downer side, Auburn was swept by Georgia and Alabama in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Three straight years of losing to both of his biggest rivals had Malzahn in a precarious position at daybreak Saturday. A rousing end to that streak should've nuked any notion of him on the hot seat.

On the flip side, Auburn beat Georgia in 2010 and 2013 and went on to defeat Alabama, too. Those Auburn teams also captured SEC championships and played for the national championship.

The last time Auburn split Amen Corner was 2007. Tommy Tuberville and company lost to Georgia but beat Nick Saban's first Alabama team.

Another fun fact: The last four times Auburn defeated Georgia - in 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2013 - the Tigers also defeated Alabama. Not since 2001 - when the coaches were Tuberville, Mark Richt and Dennis Franchione - has Auburn beaten Georgia and then lost to Alabama.

That's plenty of evidence that a win over Georgia gives Auburn some real momentum to take into the Iron Bowl while a loss to the Bulldogs has the opposite effect.

Another trend in Auburn's favor: Saban still has yet to beat an Auburn team that finished a season with nine or more wins. The best coach in college football hasn't been at his best against Auburn's better teams.

You can look it up, but you don't have to. I did four years ago, and additional evidence has been added to support the theory.

Saban is 9-6 overall against Auburn. He was 2-3 against the Tigers with LSU. He is 7-3 against them with Alabama with a three-game win streak at the moment.

Break it down further, and you can see the obvious pattern that gives the Tigers hope. Against Auburn teams that won more than eight games that season, Saban was 0-3 with LSU, and he is 0-3 with Alabama.

You can question Auburn for not winning more than eight games more often. You can question Saban for not being able to handle Auburn's better teams.

How many wins does this Auburn team have now? Eight. How many wins will it have by nightfall Saturday? Nine.

Those numbers guarantee nothing come the following Saturday. That won't stop us from debating their meaning until then.