Auburn LB fires shot at Ryan Williams that he and Tigers will immediately regret

For all the rivalries that exist in college football, nothing compares to the Iron Bowl. Nothing. People may scream themselves Tom Coughlin-purple over how important The Game between Michigan and Ohio State is or how utterly significant Army-Navy is. Well, I don't think you can put a price on an in-state rivalry where you actively hate your neighbor as much as the one going on over in Alabama.

Since my freshman year at the University of Georgia in Fall 2008, I have seen from afar just how wild and crazy the Iron Bowl is. The greatest play in college football history happened in the 2013 Iron Bowl thanks to Kick Six. This came three years after The Camback helped Cam Newton and the Tigers somehow, some way win a national title. Does your favorite rivalry involve a tree poisoner?

To me, there is no other rivalry game where more dumb stuff can and will happen on the regular quite like the Iron Bowl. We saw Alabama rip victory away from the jaws of defeat on the definitive play of Jalen Milroe's Crimson Tide career just last season. This is all leading up to something that will leave our heads collectively spinning. Keep in mind that Alabama is sitting at 8-3, and Auburn is only 5-6...

As if this fiery rivalry needed more kindling, Auburn linebacker DeMarcus Riddick openly criticized Alabama star freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams by saying, "[he] ain't no big time player to me."

Auburn needs a win to go bowling, while Alabama needs a win to keep its slim playoff dream alive.

Auburn LB moronically criticizes Ryan Williams ahead of the Iron Bowl

While I don't think Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is going to be fired after this season, regardless of what happens in the Iron Bowl, now is not the time to poke the bear. Alabama just suffered its worst loss in the better part of a decade, if not longer, to a hapless Oklahoma team. The Crimson Tide went from a College Football Playoff lock to a College Football Playoff pretender overnight.

So yes, I would say the stakes are high for both teams in this game. Alabama is hoping to sneak its way into the playoff, while Auburn is hoping to ride the momentum of an overtime win over Texas A&M to a bowl game. All I know is the loser of this game is going to be so utterly disappointed. I think that might be a motivating factor for the opposing team. To kick the other while they are down is perfect.

What I am having a hard time understanding about Riddick's comments is how does this help Auburn? He may have been miffed that Williams committed to Alabama out of high school over Auburn. Now is not the time to be bitter. It is time to get to work and figure out how to make Alabama's up-and-down first year under Kalen DeBoer even worse. Neutralizing Williams would be a great idea.

The only problem is Riddick is a linebacker, meaning he is not tasked with covering him man-to-man...