Game of the Week: No. 15 Auburn vs No. 1 Alabama
The number one ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1, 6-1 SEC) look to keep their playoff hopes alive this Saturday as they take on the Auburn Tigers (8-3, 4-3 SEC).
When people hear about Auburn-Alabama today, they remember what happened last year in the Iron Bowl game. Everyone watching that thrilling game witnessed one of the greatest moments in not just Auburn history, but in college football history.
Who can forget the “kick-six”. Nick Saban calls a controversial time out with one second left in the game to attempt a very long field goal. Alabama kicker Cade Foster misses the field goal but it was caught by Auburn’s Chris Davis who sprinted more than 100 yards to win the game as time expired.
But that was in 2013, and now Alabama and Auburn are both very different teams.
Alabama is coming into the game as a seven-point favorite and have won 15 straight when they are favored at home. The Crimson Tide are on a six game win streak after they suffered their only loss of the season to the Ole Miss Rebels.
The Auburn Tigers are considered a major underdog in this year’s matchup. But everyone that watches college football knows that you can’t count this Auburn team out of any game.
Coming into the season, the Tigers were considered a national title contender. After losing to Mississippi State they saw their bowl hope fade and then they dropped consecutive games to Texas A&M and Georgia.
Alabama is an overall solid team, they have a powerhouse offense and a terrific defense. Blake Sims has been terrific this year throwing for 2,676 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Crimson Tide run game has been highly productive for many years and this year is no different. T.J Yeldon and Derrick Henry are both solid running backs that have combined for 13 touchdowns on the season. And then you have Amari Cooper; he has been terrific this year catching 90 balls for 1,349 yards and 11 touchdowns.
For Auburn, their big playmakers on offense are Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne. Marshall has had a pretty good year throwing for 1,859 yards and 15 touchdowns. But he is a threat on the ground as well. He is the team’s second leading rusher with 731 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Artis-Payne has had a great season rushing for 1,405 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Defensively, Alabama has been a very solid team but they do face a very mobile quarterback and that has been a minor problem for them this season. They are ranked fifth in the country, allowing about 4.33 yards per play.
The Crimson Tide run defense ranks second in the nation (behind Penn State) with 85.3 yards allowed a game. They have a very good red zone defense that has only allowed two rushing touchdowns all season.
Auburn’s defense on the other side is not ranked in the top-25, which could be a problem when facing this offense.
In previous games, this defense has not been good on the ground. Georgia racked up 412 yards on the Auburn defense in which they ran for 289.
Even with all the stats and rankings there is no way to predict the outcome of this game because of how big the Auburn and Alabama rivalry is.
For Auburn to have a shot at beating Alabama, and possibly knocking them out of the playoffs, they are going to have to play the best offensive football they have played all season. Limiting turnovers and running a lot of read option would be ideal against this defense.
Alabama needs to keep doing what they have been doing this season. Trust in their halfbacks to get a solid run game going and then when Auburn starts blitzing, opening things up for Blake Sims to throw the ball.
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Abhar Shah is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email abs5349@psu.edu.
