Auburn and Alabama will have to earn it early. The winners of the past three national titles do not start 2012 on easy street. The Crimson Tide plays two of its first three outside state borders for the first time since 1988. And the task this time is considerably harder than it was then. This season, it's Michigan in Arlington, Texas, and Arkansas in Fayetteville. Then, it was Temple in Philadelphia and Kentucky in Lexington. Auburn plays its first two games away from home – Clemson in Atlanta and Mississippi State in Starkville. Last time that happened: 1984, when the Tigers opened 0-2 by losing to Miami at a neutral site and at Texas.
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