Matchups really mean nothing anymore. If they did, then many games would have been lost that were won (i.e. - Tenn/Ole Miss, Ole Miss/Miss St, Fla/Arky, etc etc) .....Tenn and Auburn are both rivalry games for Bama, and I think Auburn and Tenn both played above their own heads both of those games, lots of emotion.
BTW JA, you left off Texas' close games with OU (they lose if Bradford doesnt get knocked out) and Neb (they lose if Neb has a normal kickoff or learns NOT to horsecollar tackle).