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The Crimson Tide (12-0, 8-0) didn't get much help from Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram, but still completed a second straight perfect regular season in the Iron Bowl.

Alabama did it the hard way, falling behind in the opening minutes, but ultimately did its part to set up a 1 vs. 2 showdown with top-ranked Florida in the SEC championship game.

Forget the national and conference championships, the state title almost slipped away.

"The strong do survive but the strong do get their (butts) kicked," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "That was my message to the team."

Auburn (7-5, 3-5) pushed the ball to the Alabama 37 on the final drive, wasting lots of time and gaining not nearly enough yards. Chris Todd's final pass to the end zone was batted down by Rolando McClain.

For the second straight day, one of the three teams at the top of the BCS standings as knocked woozy, but did not fall. Much like No. 3 Texas, which held off Texas A&M 49-39 on Thanksgiving night, Alabama found out being a big favorite against an archrival sometimes doesn't matter much.

TCU and Cincinnati, the unbeaten teams behind Florida, Alabama and Texas in the national title race, are left to hope Florida State can pull an upset against Florida on Saturday that might open the door for them to reach the national title game.

Alabama needs one more win to get to Pasadena, Calif., for the Jan. 7 BCS title game.

Needing one more score to take the lead against Auburn, the Tide called a timeout and switched out of a running play and went to a senior back without a touchdown catch in his career.

"I was yelling at everybody, 'Put me in! Put me in!'" Upchurch said. "No one was hearing me. I just had the feeling that I'd be wide open in the end zone. They changed the play.

"Patience pays off and today I've got a story to tell."

The Tide survived a shaky effort by its usually stellar defense and a sub-par game by Ingram.

The SEC's leading rusher was held to 30 yards on 16 carries and was on the bench for most of the game-winning drive. Saban said he believed Ingram had a bruised hip.

"Something like that," Ingram said. "I'll be all right."

McElroy and Julio Jones took over without him, aided by five runs and a 17-yard catch by freshman Trent Richardson on the 15-play, 79-yard drive that consumed more than seven minutes.

McElroy, who has been criticized at times as a weak link in an offense with a powerful running game, completed his final seven passes for 62 yards. Jones made four catches on the winning drive, three for first downs.

"We didn't play a great game today," Saban said. "It's a great win. I've never been prouder of them."

Auburn fans remained in the stands for several minutes when it was over, some seemingly stunned and others applauding a closer-than-expected game, while a sizable crimson-and-white contingent celebrated. A handful of 'Bama players later returned to the field briefly.

Until the final minutes, Auburn had supplied most of the big plays and its maligned defense largely outplayed the nation's top unit.

"You have to love games like this," Tigers linebacker Josh Bynes said. "It comes down to the end and you find out who the man and who the boy is."

Auburn outgained Alabama 332-291 and dominated on the ground 151-73. McElroy was 21 of 31 for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was sacked three times.

The Tigers were shellacked 36-0 by 'Bama last season to have a six-year Iron Bowl winning streak snapped.

"I just told them that we're not walking out of here with heads down," first-year coach Gene Chizik said. "We're a family. We're a family when we win. We're a family when we lose.

"Everybody in that locker room that played did what we asked them to do. They fought for 60 minutes in that game. I'm not disappointed with anybody on our team. Nobody."

The Tigers stunned the Tide by rocketing out to a 14-0 lead in the first 9:18. Alabama hadn't allowed a touchdown in two games.

Receiver Terrell Zachery raced 67 yards for a touchdown on an end around on Auburn's opening drive. It was the longest play Alabama's defense had given up all season by 15 yards.

Then the Tigers recovered an onside kick to set up another score.

Alabama regained its footing. Richardson scored on a 2-yard plunge and McElroy hit tight end Colin Peek for a 33-yard touchdown that tied it at 14 at the half.

"You have to pick your medicine," Ingram said. "If you want to stop one thing, we have to execute other aspects.

"Coming on the road, down 14-0 in a hostile environment, we weathered the storm."

On the first drive of the second half, Todd pump faked and hit Darvin Adams for a 72-yard touchdown to make it 21-14.

Alabama had three straight trips across midfield, ending with two field goals by Leigh Tiffin and Ingram's failed fourth-and-1 run.

Auburn was left nursing a 21-20 lead going into the fourth.

"We didn't play with a lot of passion, and I don't understand that," Saban said. That changed late.

The Tigers had a solid chance to extend the lead after taking over at Alabama's 44 following yet another defensive stand. But the Tide defense made it's best stand of the day, tackling Ben Tate for a 7-yard loss and sacking Todd.

That set the stage for McElroy, who must have won over even his most ardent doubters with the poise and precision he displayed as the clock wound down.

Afterward, Saban headed off the field with his right index finger raised toward 'Bama fans. A fan in an Auburn orange shirt said, "Undefeated, right?"

Saban tilted his head, expressionless, and walked into the tunnel, undefeated again.

Though many common, external traits of volcanos are viewed as Mountainous peaks and regions like that of Mount St. Helens Yellowstone's 'supervolcano' is unique. It is one of the world's largest active volcanic systems. In the last few million years, it has spawned several, massive volcanic eruptions; and relatively, it is likely to occur again. Because of its possible danger, the US Geological Survey, the University of Utah and the Yellowstone National Park combined forces to create the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory This observatory keeps a vigilant watch of regional activity.

Mesmerizing

Yellowstone's effervescent hot springs and magical geysers woo visitors by the millions every year. Unwittingly, most of these spectators have no clue as to how these natural wonders come to surface. Merely miles beneath them, brews a huge reservoir of an estimated 1,475-degree Fahrenheit, magma that fuels heat to produce these wondrous spectacles.

Meanwhile, its breathtaking scenery and natural wildlife illudes patrons of its below-ground, boiling carnage.

Destructive

If and when Yellowstone blows, it could possibly emit massive volumes of magma that would evolve into a Pyroclastic Flow. This flow would catapult in multiple directions, causing the ground to collapse, and create large volcanic calderas

Based on the film, worst-case scenerio would prove cataclysmic. Not only would nearly everything in its deadly path be destroyed, but its treachery would amiss worldwide in large-scale environmental hazards.

In all of its awesome and hypnotic beauty, Yellowstone typically incurs anywhere between one to three-thousand earthquakes annually. Though scientists lay claim that renewed volcanic activities will more than likely be nonexplosive lava eruptions, Yellowstone has had several, lethal volcanic events. Its last catastropic eruption occurred 640,000 years ago. To date, modern science cannot reliably make accurate predictions of when another cataclysimic event will inevitably occur at Yellowstone.

In a race against time and eruption-cycle averages, one can only hope that FEMA and other worldwide organizations will come up with life-preserving measures that will, at least, keep the spark of life alive on planet Earth should such a cataclysmic eruption happen.

Source: Historical information on this page, from Carnton Plantation "The wounded, in hundreds, were brought to Carnton during the battle, and all the night after. And when the noble old house could hold no more, the yard was appropriated until the wounded and dead filled that...." -Col. W.D. Gale, Adjutant General of Stewarts Corp, Army of Tennessee

Another home I had the honor of visiting is the . While walking the grounds I had the same feelings as I did while touring the Carter home, but this time I felt a lot of sadness, especially inside the home where I saw the blood stains in the floor and realizing all the blood shed that was lost in that room.

The home was built in 1826 by Randal McGavock, who served as mayor of Nashville at one time. Frequent visitors to the home were historical figures such as American presidents, James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson. The McGavock's were a wealthy family, the average Middle Tennessee family owned about $9,800 in property. John McGavock owned $150,000. The home was inherited to Randal's son, John McGavock after his death in 1843. John married Carrie Elizabeth Winder in 1848. Together they had five children.

Life on the plantation would soon change for the McGavock family. At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30, 1864 the battle of Franklin would start and Carnton was a witness to the one of the bloodies battles in American history. The Carnton home served as the largest field hospital in the area for hundreds of wounded and dying Confederate soldiers brought to the site for surgeries and medical care.

Carrie McGavock has gone down in history for the special care she gave to the injured by helping them in everyway she could while covered with blood. She was called "The Good Samaritan of Williamson County" for her many acts of loving service to Confederate soldiers. Later, after the battle she and her husband would designate two acres of land adjacent to their 19th century family cemetery as a final burial place for nearly 1,500 Confederates. Up until her death, Carrie would walk the cemetery with a book with each name and where they were buried. Today, that book is on display at Carnton. Because of her devotion she is known to many as the widow of the south in which a historical fiction novel was written about her by Robert Hicks. I read the book in three hours after purchasing it at the home and it was very well written and an excellent time piece book. I couldn't put it down. I recommend it to anyone who is fascinated with the era.

Carnton Plantation did suffer financially during the Civil War with the loss of its slave labor and the economy devastation in the south. The acres around the home were leased to tenant farmers, and over the years all but 48 acres were eventually sold. The McGavock family owned Carnton until 1911. In 1978, the Carnton Association, Inc. rescued the house from years of neglect and disrepair. Today, through donations, tours they are able to restore the home which I will say they have done a magnificent job. During the you are shown pictures of before and after of how the home appeared before the association took it over and its absolutely amazing.

Pictured is Carnton Plantation. The home was built in 1826 by Randal McGavock, who served as mayor of Nashville at one time. Frequent visitors to the home were historical figures such as American presidents, James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson. When I first saw this house I couldn't get over how beautiful it looked from a distance. I could only imagine how it looked in its day before the battle.

This is the back of the house and oh yeah, that's me on the porch. I wanted to share this picture with myself in it to show how big this house is.

I sat on one of the rocking chairs and the view is the family and confederate cemetery. I also could close my eyes and vision the scenery Carrie and her husband had seen that day right in front of them. Pictured is a close up of the porch. On the morning of December 1 the bodies of four Confederate generals killed during the fighting, Patrick Cleburne, Hiram Granbury, John Adams and Otho Strahl laid right there on that porch.

Pictured is the smoke house. A plantations smoke house was more than just a building where meat was preserved; it was a symbol of southern identity by southerners or outsiders alike. While a variety of meats could be smoked, most smokehouses in the south were filled primarily with pork in the 19th century.

Pictured is the inside of the smoke house at Carnton. Pictured is the slave house. At Carnton the 1860 census shows the McGavock's owned 39 slaves living in 11 dwellings over 640 acres, making it one of the country's larger plantations with a cash value of $339,000. Following the Battle of Franklin in 1866, John and Carrie McGavock collected and buried the bodies of 1,496 Confederates.

The five general officers killed were interred elsewhere after being brought to the house. Other Confederates were later buried at this cemetery, including Brig. Gen. Johnston K. Duncan. Today, the McGavock Confederate Cemetery is a lasting memorial honoring those fallen soldiers, and is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation.

Carrie and John McGavock's headstone at the family section of the cemetery. Pictured is the McGavock Family Cemetery. Buried here, beginning ca. 1818, are the remains of numerous family members. Among them are Randal McGavock (1768-1843), planter and political leader who built Carnton; his son, Col. John McGavock (1815-1893), successful farmer and civic leader who was instrumental in disinterring the Confederate dead from the Franklin battlefield and reburying them adjacent to this cemetery; and John's wife, Carrie Winder McGavock (1829-1905). This venerable Southern mother was called "The Good Samaritan of Williamson County" for her many acts of loving service to Confederate soldiers.