This is an opinion column.

It will take voluminous research to confirm it, but the distinct possibility exists that the opposing sides in this week’s Iron Bowl may have set a record Saturday for their rivalry and perhaps any other in the sport.

In two different stadiums, in two different states, for two wildly different reasons, as a prelude to their annual family feud, the Alabama and Auburn football teams found themselves right smack dab in the middle of a field storm.