Head-to-head = no contest

Alabama didn't sign every player it went after this football recruiting season, it just seemed that way. But perhaps more signficantly, the Crimson Tide absolutely hammered Auburn on the recruiting front, both in-state and out-of-state.

You can theorize all you want as to why this is, but it's safe to say that Nick Saban's arrival has upped the stakes in at least this aspect of the Iron Bowl rivalry. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville spent signing day and much of the last week trying to explain this trend, and I won't comment on that here.

But as Kevin Bacon said in "A Few Good Men," these are the facts, and they are indisputable:

* Alabama signed 22 players rated four- or five-star prospects by Rivals.com, and 20 rated rated four- or five-star prospects by Scout.com. Auburn signed six and five, respectively.

* Rivals.com ranked 16 players in the state of Alabama's Class of 2008 as four-star or better prospects. Alabama signed 12 (including the Top 5 and 7 of the Top 10), Florida 2, Clemson 1 and Auburn 1 (No. 13 Cameron Henderson).

* Scout.com ranked 11 players in the state of Alabama's Class of 2008 as four-star or better prospects. Alabama signed 8 (including the Top 5), Florida 2, Clemson 1 and Auburn ZERO.

But perhaps the most telling stat --- and the most-disheartening one if you're an Auburn fan --- is this:

According to the individual player scholarship offers tracked by Rivals.com, Alabama signed 15 players who also had offers from Auburn. Auburn signed ZERO that also had offers from Alabama (I would link this info, but it's subscriber-only content on Rivals, so you'll just have to believe me if you're not a subscriber to that Web site).

I'm not saying this proves anything, least of all that Alabama is about to begin dominating Auburn on the field. But anyone who says the Crimson Tide didn't just do so in recruiting is either ill-informed or in full Orange and Blue spin mode.