But that includes the worst 11 years in Bama history as well as the transition from Coach Bryant. Take out that sanction filled 11 year stretch and Bama is 37-20 since the series resumed in 1948. I.e., the norm is Bama wins. Even with it Bama is 40-28. If Bama had played AU between 1908-47, Bama would likely be ahead something like 74-45-1, rather than 44-35-1. But the past means little. Most know that the best team wins this game the vast majority of the time. The exceptions being 49, 72 wins for AU and ;59, 60, 84, 85, 01 wins for Bama. Some would make a case for AU in 2002 (Franchione game) and 2013 (AU was good and deserved that game. The FG return was a great play by them, not a failure by Saban or Griffith). I'm sure I'm missing something - this is mainly off of the top of my head.Bama is 17-17 in the IB in the last 34 yrs and post-Bryant. Has no bearing directly on the upcoming game I know but it is an interesting stat for those of us that like to look at them. Not a record that us Bama fans would prefer but I think it does show why this series is regarded as one of the best rivalry games in all of sports.
If you want to look at "trends", 7 of 9, 3 in a row, and 3 of 4 at J-H are much more relevant than 34 years. But in reality neither matter much. Neither is intimidated, both want it badly and both are good. Bama has better players and Jalen and coaches. AU has a dominant DL and Bama injuries at one positon group and one position within that group. Though Bama is a great road team, it's usually better to be at home. Bama will probably have the psychological edge, since most of the media will be salivating and picking AU. And they will likely be propagating the myth that AU is better when both teams are top 10 or top 5.