Sunday Hangover: Auburn

A victory in the Iron Bowl is always a welcome outcome. The Tide beat Auburn by a two-score margin. 

Milroe had a three-touchdown game on the ground with 104 net yards. Jamarion Miller had 84 net rushing yards, and Haynes chipped in with a touchdown run. 

Bernard had his best game of the season with seven catches for 111 yards. 

One of the real positive trends in this game is that Milroe was targeting the tight ends more than he has in the past. If you go back and analyze past Sunday Hangover posts over the years, one consistent complaint I have had was that the Tide offense needs to pass to tight ends more often. 

They did in this game with a total of 8 catches: 3 to Dippre, 3 to Cuevas, and 2 to Ouzts. And if I remember right, there was a pass each to Dippre and Cuevas that could have been touchdowns if they brought in the passes.  

The defense gave up some yards but foiled the Tigers when they had their chances. I was worried because Lawson is out for the rest of the season, but I think Jefferson did a fine job as the defensive play caller. 

And Jihaad Campbell showed why he's likely to be a first-round pick. He led the team with 9 total tackles in the game. 

Next up is the great unknown because the likelihood of Alabama making the 12-team playoff is low. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

I enjoy watching Auburn students cry. 

This season's Iron Bowl was frustratingly glorious. 

4th and goal from the 31, and Milroe throws a dime to Bond in the back corner of the end zone. Apparently, the name of that play is "gravedigger." 

I highly doubt Alabama makes the four-team playoff even if they beat Georgia. They are just too many unbeaten teams, and I would bet that Texas beats Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game.

I still want the Crimson Tide to win of course.

However, I'm not confident at all because of the way Auburn ran the ball on us. Auburn is one dimensional. Georgia is not. 

As Coach Saban intimated in the post-game interview, Alabama finally got some good luck at Auburn. Usually it's the other way around.  

Music Friday: Auburn

Another Iron Bowl win for Alabama. 

Even though Auburn tried its best with a running quarterback, which is typically the kryptonite for the Tide, the Alabama offense was just way too much for the Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagles.

Young had a great game, which has become expected, and it's too bad we come to expect it all the time because without him, I suspect Alabama would have had more than two losses this season. 

From a media standpoint, the 2022 season for Bryce Young has been severely underrated. 

In yesterday's game, Young threw the ball to nine different receivers, so he spread the reception love around. 

The other standout junior Will Anderson Jr. had three tackles for loss and two sacks, and like Young, has been underappreciated for his stats this year. He wasn't as explosive as last year, but he had a solid season. 

Both players are likely to go in the top ten of the NFL draft. 

Alabama will have a lot of off-season work to do for the 2023 season with a battle for starting quarterback waiting for them (Milroe vs. Simpson). We'll lose a lot from a defense that had tremendous promise but often was leaky in certain games. We'll lose a lot of DBs to the draft and graduation I suspect. 

I think we'll be solid at running back again even if Gibbs decides to go out in the draft. 

There's solid depth at WR, but as always, line play is key. 

I'm not expecting some championship games shakeout in which Alabama gets into the four-game playoff. 

But if were to happen, I suspect Alabama would be up against Georgia. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

What a frustrating yet ultimately rewarding Iron Bowl. 

Alabama played like crap on the offensive side of the ball for over three and a half quarters until they finally woke up and got their collective shit together for a 98-yard scoring drive. 

It was a finally satisfying Iron Bowl win at Auburn. The four overtimes made Auburn fans believe, but the pass to Metchie finally broke Auburn hearts. 

I love it when the Tide breaks Auburn hearts. 

Two freshmen stepped up their games in this win. Ja'Cory Brooks caught the long touchdown pass from Young. And in the fourth OT, Kool-Aid McKinstry batted down the Finley's pass in the end zone. 

Auburn's DC Derek Mason had an effective game plan that I'm sure UGA will try to duplicate and improve upon. Regardless, I was surprised that George was left out there that long at RT. Owens did a much better job once they put him in at RT about two quarters too late. 

Alabama has to be a heavy underdog in the SEC Championship, which is a position they aren't used to being in. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

 So Bo Nix called Mac Jones a "game manager," huh? How'd that work out? During the game, the announcers related this comment, which apparently got the wide receivers all riled up to show what Mac can do. 

Here's what Mac did: 18 for 26 passes completed for 302 yards and 5 TDs.

Once again Devonta Smith put up huge numbers and brought in two more touchdowns. Metchie had a solid game. And Billingsley has emerged as one of those super-athletic TEs who can create serious matchup problems. 

Najee had a solid game with a great TD run and an outstanding catch and run off of a dump pass. 

Final score: 42 to 13. 

The lone touchdown by Auburn came in the fourth quarter. However, the Tide defense played well by mainly shutting down the Auburn run game throughout most of the game, which then hindered their play-action, gadget stuff they do with their passing game. 

The biggest change I've seen in this team is the play of the defense. If we want to think back to the olay defense that happened versus Ole Miss, it's clear the D has gotten better. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

What a crappy Iron Bowl for the Tide. And what a horrible way for the team to end its otherwise strong season. 

There will be an extreme focus on the last penalty of the game, but Alabama has so many damn penalties.

I do agree with Saban and others that it was absolute bullshit that Auburn essentially was given a timeout at the end of the half when they had zero timeouts. In my mind, the ball should have been set, with one second left, and then they should have run the clock, which would have translated to no try at a field goal.  

The one pick-six by Jones was bad. He just overthrew it. The other one, at the end of an impressive drive, was just freaky. 

Besides those crucial miscues, Jones played well. And the offensive line, except for some notable exceptions, did a good job of protecting him.

Najee and Waddle were absolute beasts in the game. 

With the Tide out of the playoff for the first time, my bitter thoughts venture toward the bowl game and which players will be going out in the draft. 

I suspect the trio of outstanding receivers ~ Jeudy, Ruggs, and Smith ~ might all go into the draft. Those three plus Waddle is the strongest wide receiving corps I've ever seen play for the Tide. Or in college football for that matter. 

I worry about Najee getting seduced by the NFL draft since he is a junior, but I wonder about what his draft grade will be. Coach Saban's advice is always that if you're not a first rounder, you should come back for school and to improve your draft stock. That's what Raekwon Davis did.

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

That was not a disappointing Iron Bowl like last year.  

It was close in the first half, but then the Crimson Tide pulled away. 

However, Auburn did score on a trick play and a grossly under thrown ball that turned into a touchdown. 

Tua torched the Auburn defense. 

I'm still concerned about the Tide defense's ability to stop the run, especially with an SEC Championship game on Saturday against Georgia, a team that knows how to run the ball. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

What an awful, awful game. 

The Tide played poorly and made stupid mistakes. 

The main statistic that was the harbinger of doom is third-down conversions. Auburn was exceptional on third-down conversions. Alabama didn't get its first one until maybe the third quarter. 

Horrible. 

So it's likely the Crimson Tide is out of the playoffs unless the committee goes by what they say from time to time about how they want to "have the four best teams" in the playoff. 

Alabama is one of the four best college football teams in the country.

However, I doubt they get to participate in the college football national championship playoff. 

#$%@

[Belated] Sunday Hangover: Auburn

If you hadn't watched the game and based your impression of the Iron Bowl on the sports highlight shows, you probably would have thought Alabama had control the whole game. 

That's partly true. The defense didn't give up a touchdown, but Hurts had two dumb interceptions that gave Auburn great field position. However, they only came away with field goals. 

Alabama went into halftime with only a four point lead. After halftime the Crimson Tide went to a more run-heavy offense, and success followed. 

Next up is the SEC Championship game versus Florida. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

This one was entirely too close for my comfort. But a W is a W. 

While Derrick Henry probably would deny that he's tired, I'm sure he is. He was an absolute BEAST yesterday. 

His performance reminded me of the when Mark Ingram took over the South Carolina game and scored a decisive touchdown late in the game to seal a victory. 

Henry scored a touchdown in the last minute of the game, but the decisiveness of his work was milking clock and running the ball for first downs when the defense knew he was going to run the ball. 

Stats wise, Henry had 48 carries for 271 net yards and the one touchdown. The longest run he broke off was 30 yards, so the carries just piled up: 5 yards gained here, 8 yards gained there, 4 yards gained here, 12 yards gained there, and so on. 

And how about Adam Griffith. While I know Alabama wanted touchdowns instead of field goals, Griffith had field goals from 26, 40, 26, 50, and 47 yards. 

What surprised me in the first half was that Auburn was able to run the ball a bit on Alabama's defense, yet they turned it around in the second half and held the Tigers to only 91 net yards gained in the contest. 

Next up is Florida in the SEC Championship. 

Sunday Hangover: Auburn

As far as highly anticipated games go, this one ranked up there with the Florida rematch in the 2009 SEC Championship. 

Even though Alabama had secured the West division after Ole Miss beat State that afternoon, after the horrifying "kick-six" in last year's Iron Bowl, Tide fans surely wanted to win this game really badly. 

And what a crappy first half for the Tide. I was worried whether the defense would hold up because they were on the field so long. The major difference in the game was Alabama's red-zone defense. They held Auburn to four field goals with good defense and a smidge of luck thrown in.

Blake Sims threw three atrocious interceptions in the middle of the game, which led the coaching staff to get Jacob Coker ready just in case he right the QB ship. Sims did, and the Tide defense played much better in the second half. 

Amari Cooper had a record-setting game: 13 receptions for 224 yards and 3 TDs, an Iron Bowl record for yards received. T.J. Yeldon garnered 127 yards on 19 carries and 2 touchdowns. Derrick Henry had some great runs later in the game and gained 72 yards on five carries and had a touchdown. 

Senior Nick Perry had a key interception in the second half. After Eddie Jackson got torched repeatedly, which was a surprise, senior Bradley Sylve came in and played well. I expected freshman speedster Tony Brown to replace Jackson, so it was satisfying to see him step up, especially because Sylve didn't play well in a number of games last season. 

So up next is the SEC Championship against Mizzou, a team that finds a way to win games.