11.25.23 Football Articles

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. Alabama

Brian Hauch

4–5 minutes

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The 6-5 Auburn Tigers finish the regular season on Saturday when they play host to the 10-1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.

Auburn is coming off its worst loss of the season, and maybe the decade, last week in a 31-10 beatdown against New Mexico State.

On the other side, Nick Saban and the Tide have been playing great football since an early-season loss to Texas, giving them an outside chance at the College Football Playoff.

Despite the last three Iron Bowls at Jordan-Hare being decided by an average of 6 points, Nick Saban‘s squad is a 13.5-point favorite to improve to 10-1 according to Bet MGM. 

ESPN FPI seemingly agrees with the oddsmakers, as the model gives Alabama an 85.8% chance to keep their playoff hopes alive on Saturday.

Will the tale of the tape tell us this game is going to be closer than expected, or is Alabama going to roll to another Iron Bowl victory?

As always, we’ll start with the quarterbacks.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne has had himself a roller coaster season more inconsistent than the food truck locations on campus.

The junior played well in team’s 3-game win streak to open the year, then struggled for about a month before finding his footing at the end of October.

Thorne averaged nearly 213 yards and 3 touchdowns per game in Auburn wins over Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State, leading many people to believe the offense had found life heading into the home stretch of the season.

That belief fizzled last week, as Thorne threw for just 148 yards and 1 touchdown in the team’s loss to New Mexico State. The Tigers quarterback was also sacked 4 times.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has had a similar type of “roller coaster” season. The sophomore opened the season with accuracy issues, and while he’s figured out some, Milroe still struggles to throw the ball at times.

The difference between Milroe and Thorne lies in their rushing ability. While the Alabama quarterback has only rushed for 332 yards, he’s collected 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 19 passing scores.

Those 31 total touchdowns account for nearly double of Payton Thorne’s 17 total scores.

The clear quarterback edge goes to Milroe and the Crimson Tide.

Alabama also holds the edge in the position player battle.

While Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter has been great this season, rushing for 772 yards and 7 scores, his presence isn’t enough to break through the rolling tide of offensive firepower on the Alabama side.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe has done much of the heavy lifting in the red zone, but Tide running backs Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams have been great in-between the 20s.

The tandem has rushed for 1,204 yards this season, on nearly 5.3 yards per carry. The duo gets the slight edge over Hunter.

The real difference lies in the receiving core on the offensive side of the ball, as Alabama senior Jermaine Burton is easily the best pass-catcher in this game.

Burton’s 642 receiving yards just about equal the recieving yards of the top 2 Tigers pass catchers, Rivaldo Fairweather (349) and jay fair (300).

The Crimson Tide get the edge across the offense.

The gap is closer of defense, but Alabama still gets the edge.

Nick Saban’s defensive unit is about as stout as stout can get. They’ve held opponents to just over 17 points per game this season which has led them to the fifth-highest defensive efficiency ranking according to ESPN FPI.

Auburn’s unit has been great for much of the season too, but struggled mightily against New Mexico State last week.

Eugene Asante, Jalen McCleod, and the Tigers defense have held opponents to just under 21.5 points per game and they rank 19th in defensive efficiency.

The defensive gap is close, and with Auburn having the home field advantage, I’m going to call it a wash for this Iron Bowl.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

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si.com

 

Alex McPherson has been a weapon for the Auburn Tigers

Andrew Stefaniak

~2 minutes

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Alex McPherson has been great for the Auburn Tigers all season long.

Kickers and offensive linemen have one thing in common: When they do good, people don't talk about it, but when they do bad, people notice. 

The Auburn Tigers have been very lucky for a long time to have had such good kickers, and it's nothing new with Alex McPherson kicking for Hugh Freeze's squad. 

McPherson has only attempted 12 field goals this season, but he hasn't missed any kicks. He is 3-3 on kicks between 40-49 yards and 1-1 on kicks 50-59 yards as he nailed a 53-yard kick. 

The sophomore has also not missed any extra points as he is a perfect 36-36, so McPherson hasn't missed a single kick this season. 

Coach Hugh Freeze talked about how nice it is to have a reliable kicker, and that's what the Tigers have in McPherson. 

You could argue that Auburn is Kicker University, as both Daniel Carlson and Anders Carlson are kicking in the NFL. 

After seeing the start of McPherson's career, there is doubt that he will be the next great Auburn kicker in the NFL.

McPherson's brother Evan currently kicks for the Cincinnati Bengals and was a big part of their playoff run a few years back. 

It's great to see that once again Auburn always seems to have a kicker that can get the job done. 

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sportingnews.com

 

Alabama vs. Auburn odds, props, predictions: Tide have CFP hopes, while Tigers are reeling heading into Iron Bowl

Tony Mejia

8–10 minutes

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After surviving the feared Chattanooga Mocs of the FCS, Alabama has put itself in position to potentially crash the College Football Playoff.

With its ninth consecutive victory since an ugly home loss to Texas that had many writing Nick Saban and his team off for the season, 'Bama must get through the Iron Bowl before entering the SEC Championship game against Georgia with an opportunity to play its way into a top-four ranking in the eyes of the selection committee.

Alabama vs. Auburn odds and predictions require weighing how much the rivalry aspect of a pairing comes into play between teams coming into a game in such opposite directions. 

The Tigers are down bad entering this showdown with their hated in-state rival. Maybe Auburn was caught looking ahead despite all of first-year head coach Hugh Freeze’s warnings, or maybe they’re just that flawed, but New Mexico State went into Jordan-Hare Stadium, collecting a check for a reported $1.85 million for doing so, and trounced its host.

The Aggies, who will play in the Conference USA Championship game, rolled 31-10, keeping Auburn from guaranteeing itself a winning record for the first time since 2020. In order to do that prior to a bowl game, the Tigers must upset the Crimson Tide, which hasn’t happened since 2019.

The 88th Iron Bowl, the annual rivalry game that Alabama has won 11 out of the last 15 years will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the legendary “Kick-Six.” The action goes off on Saturday at 3.:30 p.m. ET.

Alabama vs. Auburn odds: Point spread, moneyline, total

Here are the latest college football betting odds for the Crimson Tide vs. Tigers:

Alabama betting news: Tide look for fourth straight Iron Bowl win

The Crimson Tide (10-1 SU, 8-3 ATS) have passed every test since losing 34-24 to Texas in front of a dejected sellout crowd in their second game of the season.

Some games didn’t go as smoothly as others, but the team that defeated Chattanooga 66-10 last weekend was lethal in ways that the one which limped to a 17-3 victory at South Florida to start their road to recovery, was not.

This will be Alabama QB's Milroe’s first Iron Bowl. It comes at Jordan-Hare, where the Crimson Tide are just 2-3 since 2013 and 6-10 since these games were switched from the neutral site of Birmingham onto campus sites back in 1993. Milroe has been sharp outside Tuscaloosa, sporting a slightly higher QB rating and completing 68.7 percent of his passes in wins at Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Kentucky.

Saban is 11-5 against Auburn, losing his first Iron Bowl in 2007 at Jordan-Hare, where he’s just 4-4. Given all of his team’s personnel losses and how sloppy they looked earlier this season, this is one of the 72-year-old’s best coaching jobs in Tuscaloosa.

Even though the Crimson Tide are eighth in the CFP rankings entering November’s final weekend, the opportunity to upset No. 1 Georgia and the likelihood it would leapfrog losers of this weekend’s Ohio State-Michigan game and the Pac-12 Championship, put it squarely in the national title picture. Style points won’t come into play this weekend at Auburn, although dominating their arch rival certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Since flirting with disaster at home in surviving Arkansas on Oct. 14, and an awful first half against Tennessee, Alabama has outscored opponents 184-59. It rallied to beat the Vols, tamed LSU, and routed Kentucky in Lexington.

Entering this Auburn clash, the Tide are relatively healthy, and their seniors are looking to become the first class to go 4-0 against Auburn in over four decades. Although Saban has won the Iron Bowl three consecutive times twice, this would be the first time either program would notch four straight victories in this rivalry game since Paul “Bear” Bryant guided Alabama to conquests from 1973-81.

Related: Top college football betting sites | Best college football betting promos and bonuses

Auburn betting news: Tigers limping into rivalry clash

There’s no way to sugarcoat how poorly the Tigers played at home last Saturday night. New Mexico State is having its best season since the 1960s, but had no business coming into SEC country and thoroughly dominating.

Freeze didn’t like his team’s mindset going into the game and told reporters that everyone seemed to be “in a fog” in the aftermath, which isn’t a great place to be entering the biggest game of the season. 

Auburn (6-5, 5-6) was outgained 414-213 by NMSU, amassing just 65 rushing yards on 26 attempts in a listless performance. The Tigers never led, held the ball for just over 21 of the game’s 60 minutes and managed just 11 first downs. Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne, who has emerged as Auburn’s full-time starting QB, was also the team’s leading rusher. 

In Freeze, the Tigers do employ the last man to defeat Saban in back-to-back meetings. He accomplished that in 2014-15 while at Ole Miss, with quarterbacks Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly at the controls. While neither of those guys went onto wildly successful pro careers, they were competent, veteran SEC quarterbacks. Currently, Auburn lacks that ingredient, which is another reason it is a double-digit home underdog. 

Thorne has been serviceable, getting Auburn back to a bowl game after one-year absence, but he went through a four-game stretch of SEC losses in which he didn’t throw for more than 102 yards. Sure, he split time with Robby Ashford, Auburn’s dual threat QB, in a couple of those setbacks, but it’s a fact that the Tigers’ offense has lacked teeth with him at the controls.

In 10 games against FBS competition, Thorne has passed for over 200 yards only once, so envisioning he’ll carve up the Alabama secondary seems far-fetched. Thorne has thrown nine touchdown passes and been intercepted only twice over the past four games, but the expectation is that he’ll face stiff competition from whoever the Tigers land via the transfer portal once the season ends as he looks to keep this job next season.

More rivalry week betting previews: Arizona vs. Arizona State odds | Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State odds | Oregon State vs. Oregon odds | Washington State vs. Washington odds

Alabama vs. Auburn prop picks

• Alabama QB Jalen Milroe anytime TD scorer  (-115) 
• Auburn QB Payton Thorne OVER 154.5 passing yards (-115)

Milroe was tentative in running the football earlier this season, not capitalizing on one of his greatest strengths. He’s now up to 12 rushing TDs on the season, having scored seven in a two-game stretch in the Tide’s last two SEC wins over LSU and Kentucky. Look for him to call his own number in finding the end zone at least once.

Thorne should get the bulk of the work if and when the Crimson Tide put themselves in position to cover this spread by going up multiple scores, since playing keepaway via Alford would no longer be a sound strategy.

Freeze can’t afford to wave the white towel without a fight at home, especially after what happened last Saturday, so Thorne may set a new season-high in pass attempts, which is currently 32. Look for him to surpass 155 passing yards.

Alabama vs. Auburn prediction ATS

The Tigers are going to give Alabama a fight sooner than later, but they have a better chance of going into Tuscaloosa and winning next season than they do of hanging around in this one.

Believe the wounded animal cliche all you want, but there’s a reason New Mexico State was able to come into Auburn’s stadium and push it around, and it wasn’t entirely tied to looking ahead.

A major rebuild has been needed on the Plains since Gus Malzahn was let go, and success isn’t going to come overnight. Alabama should help hammer that point in by hammering the Tigers. 

Pick: Alabama -13.5

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theplainsman.com

 

Players to watch, keys to victory against Alabama

 

5–6 minutes

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After suffering a shocking loss to New Mexico State, Auburn (6-5, 3-4 SEC) has prepared for its biggest game this season: the Iron Bowl. The Tigers will host the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1, 7-0 SEC) in the 88th Iron Bowl, celebrating the 10th year since the Kick Six. 

Bama leads this historic matchup 49-37-1, dating all the way back to 1893. Suffering a three-year drought, Auburn is hungry for a victory over Alabama. The last win was in 2019 with Gus Malzahn at the helm and Bo Nix in the pocket. 

Head coach Nick Saban and his Tide will make a stop at Jordan-Hare Stadium before traveling to Atlanta for the SEC Championship against No. 1 Georgia.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

AUBURN:

Jarquez Hunter (RB)

Auburn’s offensive rhythm is dictated by its running back room, which starting running back Hunter leads. The former three-star running back leads the charge on the rushing front, rushing for 772 total yards in 10 games and seven touchdowns while averaging 77.2 yards a game.

Eugene Asante - LB

Asante has been dominant this season for the Tigers, being named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week once while generating buzz around his name in the NFL Draft. The Alexandria, Virginia, native leads Auburn’s defense with 79 total tackles – 47 solo and 32 assisted – five sacks and five QB hurries.  

ALABAMA:

Jalen Milroe - QB

Like many Alabama quarterbacks before him, Milroe is a dual threat in passing and rushing – making him explosive on the field. The redshirt sophomore has thrown for 2,267 yards with 142 completions (66%) and only six interceptions, while also securing 19 touchdowns through the air. With his legs, Milroe has rushed for 332 net yards to score 12 touchdowns and averages 33.2 yards a game. Against Mississippi State, the Katy, Texas, native achieved his longest rush this season, going for a 53-yard touchdown. 

Caleb Downs - DB 

The young freshman leads Bama’s defense with 90 total tackles – 55 solo and 35 assisted – one forced fumble and a pair of interceptions. Later this season, Downs replaced Kool-Aid McKinstry as the punt returner against Chattanooga, showcasing his speed. On his first punt return, Downs ran 85 yards toward the end zone to secure a touchdown. 

KEYS TO VICTORY

ALABAMA:

To secure its 50th Iron Bowl, Bama must let Milroe control the game’s pace. Being a threat on the ground and in the air, the starting quarterback can challenge Auburn’s defense. Going behind enemy lines, it will be crucial to strike first and gain that early momentum to keep the fans at bay. 

If the Tide want to keep the Tigers off the board, they must eliminate Auburn’s rushing game to force Payton Thorne to utilize his arm and hope that he makes a mistake. Alabama’s defense must also be flexible to in-game adjustments. 

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AUBURN:

With passing being a struggle for Freeze’s offense, it is crucial for Auburn’s running back room to be successful and pressure Alabama’s defense, giving Thorne room to throw downfield. 

Ron Roberts’ defense is and has been the strongest aspect for the Tigers, keeping games close. During its 0-4 SEC streak, Auburn maintained a tied score with No. 1 Georgia until the fourth quarter and had another tied score with No. 13 Ole Miss until halftime – mostly thanks to its defense. 

The final key to victory is home field advantage. The Tigers will rely on the unpredictable environment of Jordan-Hare Stadium as there have been several games where the Tide was better on the stat sheet, but Auburn stole the victory. 

The Tigers and the Tide will face off on the Plains at 2:30 p.m. CST. This historic matchup will be televised on CBS.

Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.

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Caitlyn Griffin | Sports Writer

Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022. 

Twitter: @caitlyngrif99

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al.com

 

Hugh Freeze beat Alabama and Nick Saban twice. One of them has changed

Updated: Nov. 24, 2023, 10:07 a.m.|Published: Nov. 24, 2023, 6:02 a.m.

10–13 minutes

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On Sept. 19, 2015, Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss ended Nick Saban’s Alabama football dynasty. At least that’s what the pundits said, when the Rebels beat the Crimson Tide for the second season in a row, this time at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Freeze’s fast-paced offense made the Crimson Tide’s defense look antiquated, the UA offense was befuddled by a quarterback change, and the winds of college football looked to be shifting. Alabama simply looked sloppy, and the then-Ole Miss head coach seemed to have the Rebels primed for a run at the crown.

Eight years later, things have changed. Saban faces Freeze again Saturday, this time in the Iron Bowl at Auburn.

The two coaches careers have crossed in multiple ways since Ole Miss scored those two wins. Here’s a look at how they got here.

‘Create a path’

Saban loves second chances. When an Alabama player makes an off-field mistake, the coach looks for reasons to keep them around, help them find the right path.

In his mind, kicking someone off the team eliminates his opportunity to change their life. Ask him his reasoning and he’ll occasionally launch into a story of a time when he faced external pressure to boot wideout Muhsin Muhammad from his Michigan State roster.

Instead he kept Muhammad around, and the receiver made good, graduating, playing in the NFL and building a life for himself.

“There’s probably some occasion where most of us in this room, including myself, did something in our life that probably wasn’t a great choice and a great decision,” Saban said at SEC Media Days in July. “And we always want to try to create a path for players who have made a mistake to get a second chance, but also to help educate them on what they can learn from the poor decision or judgment that they actually made.”

That extends to staff as well. Saban’s reform school for fired coaches has become legendary, with graduates who went on to get another head job including Lane Kiffin, Butch Jones, Mike Locksley, Steve Sarkisian and more.

And in 2018, he reportedly wanted Freeze.

“I think Hugh Freeze is a really good coach,” Saban said in January of that year. “So we’ll keep evaluating and trying to make our staff as strong as we can make it.”

Since that 2015 game, Freeze’s career had hit the skids due to scandals of his own creation. It wasn’t even the NCAA investigation issues that hung over the program for years, which Freeze stoked in an infamous 2013 social media post encouraging readers to contact Ole Miss compliance with any alleged violations.

No, the married Freeze was done in by contacting escort services on his university-issued phone. The records were made public as part of a lawsuit involving his predecessor, Houston Nutt, and led to his forced resignation in 2017 for a “pattern of personal misconduct.”

Now, Saban wanted to give him a life raft, bring him aboard as an offensive assistant. Then Greg Sankey stepped in.

The SEC commissioner reportedly nixed the hire, pointing out that it wasn’t a good look for the league so soon after the firing. Instead of using the Saban method to get his next gig, Freeze took the head coach job at Liberty, where he was hired by Ian McCaw, the athletic director who resigned in disgrace from Baylor after a massive sexual misconduct scandal there.

Liberty, a conservative Christian school founded by the late Jerry Falwell Sr., allowed Freeze to rehab his image, in-part through the evangelical religion that he’s built into his public persona for years. Freeze was also fairly successful on the field, finishing 10-1 in 2020 and winning the Cure Bowl with the Flames, who were an independent FBS team at the time.

And in November of 2022, Auburn came calling. Bryan Harsin was fired, Lane Kiffin was staying at Ole Miss and the Tigers were willing to overlook Freeze’s baggage in the name of winning.

“Coach Freeze was completely transparent about his past transgressions,” AU athletics director John Cohen claimed in a prepared statement while introducing Freeze. “He showed remorse, and he’s had an accountability plan that he’s used for the last five-plus years.”

Changing with the times

As it turned out, the Saban dynasty’s demise had been exaggerated. Since that day at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2015, Alabama’s head coach, never one to “waste a failing,” had used the loss as an opportunity to evolve.

During the losses to Ole Miss, UA’s defense looked ill-prepared to deal with Freeze’s high-octane attack. That issue has been remedied.

“When I was a defensive coordinator at the Cleveland Browns say, and I thought if I called base closed triple 88, six Bronco, that was telling everybody what to do on every formation. Saban said on The Pat McAfee Show in October. “If you try to make that call now against a fastball team, no way.

“We just have a one-word call for that. Buckeye.”

The 2015 loss to Ole Miss didn’t cost Alabama the national title, the Crimson Tide made the College Football Playoff and won. But it did make Saban rethink his approach to things going forward.

Besides the defensive changes, he evolved the offense. Lane Kiffin had arrived as offensive coordinator in 2014 and was the catalyst for bringing modern offensive football to Tuscaloosa.

Before, the Crimson Tide was winning titles with the likes of Greg McElroy and Jake Coker at quarterback. Extremely serviceable for the system, but not the dynamic presence of players like Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young or even Jalen Milroe.

Saban had once doubtfully pondered the way offense was moving in college football.

“Is this what we want football to be?” he famously asked in 2012.

It ended up being a rhetorical question, Saban got with the times, spurred on by the constant need to win. He and the Tide captured more titles in 2017 and 2020 and have been in contention nearly every season since.

Freeze and Saban last met during the Auburn coach’s final season at Ole Miss in 2017. Freeze’s last win against Alabama came in that 2015 game.

When the two coaches stand on opposite sidelines Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, at least one of them has changed significantly.

‘The Iron Bowl is what it is’

Freeze is here, at least in part, because he beat Saban. The coach acknowledged how imperative the matchup with Alabama is to his program.

“The Iron Bowl is what it is,” Freeze said at SEC media days. “And I don’t have to be educated on that. I’ve been a part of some big rivalries and understand that in most polls this would be No. 1 in the rivalry, so I know what it means to the people that support our university and our football program.”

The Tigers got rid of Gus Malzahn in 2020, after he won three games against his counterpart in Tuscaloosa throughout his eight-year tenure. Harsin never it done, flaming out on the plains after two seasons.

Freeze hadn’t been squeaky clean since his exile in Lynchburg began. He was exposed for sending unsolicited direct messages defending McCaw to Chelsea Andrews, a sexual assault survivor and former Liberty student who had been critical of the AD and was one one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging the school mishandled sexual misconduct allegations.

There was also a cloud from a 2017 USA Today report, where former students of Briarcrest Christian School in Tennessee, where Freeze coached and taught, claimed he, among other things, had made a female eighth-grade student change shirts in his office.

Cohen claimed Auburn did its due diligence in hiring Freeze. However, according to Andrews, she was never contacted during the vetting process.

“Everything he disclosed to us turned out to be accurate after speaking with credible industry sources,” Cohen said during an introductory press conference where he didn’t take any questions after his prepared remarks. “In this way, coach Freeze was honest and truthful, another Auburn Creed characteristic.”

Across the state, Saban has been going through another relative dry spell. The Tide hasn’t won a national title since 2020, while Georgia has become the sport’s dominant power in the meantime.

A loss to Texas in Week 2, followed by a rough showing at South Florida revived the dead dynasty narrative. But Alabama is entering the Iron Bowl undefeated in SEC play and still in the hunt for a spot in the CFP’s field of four.

The Tide has looked better nearly every week.

“I love it,” Saban said after UA beat Tennessee in October. “It’s been great. The challenges are great. I enjoy coaching this team. That’s not to say they’re not taking years off my life, but I’m OK with it. It’s fun because they’ve got a good spirit about them.”

Alabama has already locked up a spot against the Bulldogs in the SEC title game. But before that, to keep its playoff hopes alive, it will have to go through a familiar face.

Freeze’s team has been inconsistent this season, bowl-eligible but coming off a blowout loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Conference USA’s New Mexico State. That’s not out of character for teams he has coached, even the 2015 team that beat the Tide lost to unranked Memphis and Arkansas, and last year’s Liberty squad beat Arkansas and BYU before losing its final four games, including an even worse defeat at the hands of NMSU.

But Freeze can get teams up for big games. And Jordan-Hare Stadium has been a house of horrors for Alabama, including the 2021 game where the No. 3 Crimson Tide needed four overtimes to sneak past Harsin’s unranked Tigers.

“Our players are going to have to be zeroed in on making the adjustments that we need to make,” Saban said Wednesday. “And I’m sure we’ll probably see something different in the game than what we practiced, so I think Hugh’s one of the best, most difficult preparations that we have when we play against his offenses.”

The game is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Auburn. It will be aired on CBS.

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247sports.com

 

The Real Deal Alabama week

Jason Caldwell

4–5 minutes

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Auburn takes on Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday.

AUBURN, Alabama—Coming off a disappointing loss to New Mexico State last Saturday, the Auburn Tigers (6-5, 3-4) have a final opportunity in the regular season to make some noise when rival Alabama (10-1, 7-0) rolls into Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS. Senior tight end Luke Deal has been a part of this rivalry since being on campus as a recruit for the 2019 game. He talks about this game, what it means, the mindset of this team, and more in this week's Real Deal.

 

National media predictions for the Iron Bowl

Dive in below for picks and score predictions from nearly 70 media members

An Auburn upset in the Iron Bowl is never improbable, but the Tigers do face an significant uphill battle in this year's edition of the rivalry. Alabama has won nine straight and is heading to Atlanta for the SEC championship next weekend, while Auburn is coming off one of the worst losses in program history, 31-10 at the hands of New Mexico State.

For Saturday evening's matchup, Auburn Undercover rounded up straight-up picks from college football writers across the country. Auburn looks to be closing at around a 14.5-point underdog. Can Auburn make a game of it and rely on the Jordan-Hare Stadium magic? Or is Alabama hitting its stride at just the right time.

Dive in below for score predictions and picks from nearly 70 media members for Auburn's upset bid against the Crimson Tide, as the Tigers look to close out the regular season with a bang in Year 1 under Hugh Freeze.

 

247SPORTS NATIONAL TEAM

 

Chris Hummer: Alabama 38-20

Brad Crawford: Alabama 35-17

Josh Pate: Alabama

 

CBS SPORTS

 

Dennis Dodd: Alabama

Tom Fornelli: Alabama

Chip Patterson: Alabama

Barrett Sallee: Alabama

David Cobb: Alabama

Shehan Jeyarajah: Alabama

Jerry Palm: Alabama

 

ESPN

 

ESPN SP+ (Bill Connelly): Alabama 32-18

ESPN FPI: Alabama 85.8% chance to win

 

USA TODAY NETWORK

 

Kevin Brockway, The Gainesville Sun: Alabama 35-10

Jackson Fuller, Southwest Times Record: Alabama 38-17

Koki Riley, The Daily Advertiser: Alabama 35-21

Emily Adams, Greenville News: Alabama 35-20

Ryan Black, The Courier Journal: Alabama 49-10

David Eckert, Clarion Ledger: Alabama 31-17 

Nick Kelly, Tuscaloosa News: Alabama 23-17

Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion Ledger: Alabama 35-20

Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: Alabama 35-17

Adam Sparks, Knoxville News Sentinel: Alabama 38-17

Calum McAndrew, Columbia Daily Tribune: Alabama 35-17

 

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER

 

Richard Silva: Alabama 31-20

 

AL.COM

 

Michael Casagrande: Alabama 38-10

Matt Cohen: Alabama 38-24

Evan Dudley: Alabama 41-13

Ben Flanagan: Alabama 37-20

Patrick Greenfield: Alabama 31-10

Andrew Hammond: Alabama 28-27

Mark Inabinett: Alabama 28-22

Ainslie Lee: Alabama 42-31

Creg Stephenson: Alabama 27-17

 

DALLAS MORNING NEWS

 

Scott Bell: Alabama

Corby Davidson: Alabama

Jamie Hancock: Alabama

Selby Lopez: Alabama

Newy Scruggs: Alabama

Kevin Sherrington: Alabama

Brett Vito: Alabama

 

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS

 

Brooks Austin, DawgsDaily.com: Alabama

Big Red Max, All Huskers: Alabama

Kevin Borba, All Utes & All Cardinal: Alabama

Jackson Caudell, All Yellow Jackets: Alabama

Bryan Driskell, Irish Breakdown: Alabama

Pete Fiutak, CFN: Alabama

Casey Lundquist, Cougs Daily: Alabama

Jeremy Mauss, MWwire.com: Alabama

Mike McAllister, All Syracuse: Alabama

Andy Mitts, Blue Wings Rising: Alabama

Johnny Rosenstein, SportsBookWire.com: Alabama

Stephen Thompson, Inside The Panthers: Alabama

Mark Wogenrich, AllPennState.com: Alabama

 

BLEACHER REPORT

 

David Kenyon: Alabama 34-17

 

SPORTING NEWS

 

Bill Bender: Alabama 35-16

 

ATHLON SPORTS

 

Luke Easterling: Alabama

Steven Lassan: Alabama

Joe Vitale: Alabama

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Ralph Drusso: Alabama 31-14

 

BAMA247

 

Cody Goodwin: Alabama 35-7

John Talty: Alabama 34-24

Mike Rodak: Alabama 28-13

Kirk McNair: Alabama 35-17

Brett Greenburg: Alabama 34-13

 

AUBURN UNDERCOVER

 

Phillip Marshall: Alabama 28-16

Jason Caldwell: Alabama 31-20

Nathan King: Alabama 31-20

Christian Clemente: Alabama 27-17

Phillip Dukes: Auburn 31-30

Matthew Wallace: Alabama 31-21

Ronnie Sanders: Auburn 27-24

 

FINAL TALLY

 

Alabama picks: 67

Auburn picks: 2

Auburn covers the spread (-14.5): 43.6% of score predictions

Average score prediction: Alabama 33-18

[aubiefifty 16,902]

 

[aubiefifty 16,902]

tis slow right now. maybe it will pick up later. all i can say is WAR DAMN EAGLE and beat the turds!

[aubiefifty 16,902]

salty you going to the aufam tail gate?

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

Good morning from beautiful cool morning in Auburn Fiddy. Team out here at Marriott Resort Grand National. Ready to go and have great one. According to a close friend yesterday per Hugh really tough building a “team” when bringing in so many portal guys and with NIL. Players don’t hang out with each other like you would hope. Do not seem to have each others back on field and no real allegiance. 

Hopefully have them all on same page today. 

 

[aubiefifty 16,902]

2 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Good morning from beautiful cool morning in Auburn Fiddy. Team out here at Marriott Resort Grand National. Ready to go and have great one. According to a close friend yesterday per Hugh really tough building a “team” when bringing in so many portal guys and with NIL. Players don’t hang out with each other like you would hope. Do not seem to have each others back on field and no real allegiance. 

Hopefully have them all on same page today. 

 

i will be pulling with all my heart salty! i watched bo look like a wild man last night. it made me sad we screwed it up and proud because he is one of the greatest qb's playing this year. some of his throws last night were absolutely jaw dropping.

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i will be pulling with all my heart salty! i watched bo look like a wild man last night. it made me sad we screwed it up and proud because he is one of the greatest qb's playing this year. some of his throws last night were absolutely jaw dropping.

Watched him some myself and with you. Feel like he always took more of a fan beating here than deserved. Always will feel we beat Bammer in 21 with a healthy Bo. 

[aubiefifty 16,902]

1 minute ago, SaltyTiger said:

Watched him some myself and with you. Feel like he always took more of a fan beating here than deserved. Always will feel we beat Bammer in 21 with a healthy Bo. 

people are fickle. bo played hurt and i have never forgotten that. my next auburn jersey will probably be a number ten in his honor. i have a bo knows with nix on it t but i outgrew that rascal.

[aubiefifty 16,902]