re: So, why did the Iron Bowl take a 40 year break?

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How were they even able to avoid each other while members of the SEC?

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The SEC didn't start making the conference schedule until sometime in the late 1970s/early 1980s I believe. At one point they just required you to schedule 5 SEC games, but most teams scheduled 6 and there were several years Alabama scheduled 7 or 8. In fact Alabama was the outright SEC Champion in 1972 even though both finished with 1 loss (Alabama lost to Auburn and Auburn lost to LSU), but because Alabama scheduled an extra SEC game they had a higher winning percentage.