re: If Nick Saban hadn't been hired at Alabama, would AU be where they are?

Maybe, although I think the strengthening of the conference and both programs moving away from sort of a good old boy outlook to a "let's spend what we need to to win" outlook has changed things.

I think it's obvious that the success of both schools has pushed the other to some degree, especially recently (Kiffin and Muschamp).

But overall for Auburn, I think we finally sort of grasped the idea of being a perennial national challenger and are doing what we can to keep that positioning. This year was a little disappointing in that Auburn has failed to maintain relevance (in the end, although obviously we were in the discussion much of the season). But hiring Muschamp, and a bowl win, would probably propel us into being a highlighted program again next season.