Auburn's defense had no answer for Alabama wideout Amari Cooper. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
Saturday night’s game in Tuscaloosa was strange in some ways, full of irony.
Alabama – praised as the nation’s best defense, playing on its home field, defending its top College Football Playoff ranking, looking for consolation after last year’s dramatic loss in Jordan-Hare – gave up nine scores and 628 yards in total offense, all-time historically bad in an Iron Bowl … but won the game due to strong defense when it counted.
Auburn – the poster child for effective hurry-up offense, just two weeks after the worst offensive performance in Gus Malzahn’s head coaching career, wanting to reverse a late-season slump – put up those historic Iron Bowl numbers … but lost the game due to weak offense when it counted.
There are so many ways that this one can be analyzed and explained, but it really boiled down to this.
In the first half, Auburn’s offense moved inside the Alabama 10-yard line three times and came away with three field goals … instead of getting 21 points, the Tigers squandered a potential dozen. Alabama’s defense, which was allowing Auburn to move up and down the field, stood strong, holding their arch-rivals out of the end zone each time.
In a game won by 11 points, leaving 12 points on the field determines the outcome. Three field goals rather than three touchdowns. There you have it. Bama’s defense wins it.
The Tide also put up big offensive numbers, but it won the game on the other side of the ball. So Alabama heads into the game against Missouri in Atlanta this weekend proving again that championships are won with defense … even when the defense in the game is not good.
Like so many past classic Iron Bowls, they’ll be talking about this one for years to come.
There have been a lot of these games with big comebacks … most recently Alabama in 2009 and Auburn in 2010 and 2013, all three carrying the winning team to the BCS Championship Game. As the winner did in those games, Alabama showed championship stuff, coming back from a 12-point second half deficit when lesser teams might have folded.
Many expected this Iron Bowl to be a blowout, with the Tide peaking and the Tigers on the slide. In order to maintain credibility, I have to admit that I was one of those, predicting a Bama win by four touchdowns on Lindy’s web site and on radio shows. Obviously, along with many others, I was wrong.
We shouldn’t have been surprised. There is a long history of both teams being ranked, and when that happens, the games are hard-fought, competitive and close.
For the record, in the past 60 seasons, both teams have been ranked in the Associated Press poll heading into the Iron Bowl 20 times. Auburn leads in those games, 12-8, and the average margin of victory has been just 6.9 points. Alabama did get an element of payback on Saturday. Auburn had won eight of the last nine games when both were ranked, so the Tide did made it two of the last 10 with the victory.
The avalanche of points on Saturday broke the mold from those games when there have been two ranked teams. Only four times in those match-ups have either team scored as many as 30 points … Alabama (1971), Auburn (1989), Auburn (1995) and Auburn (2013). This year, 99 combined points were scored and both teams broke the 40-point mark with a total of 17 scores (12 touchdowns and five field goals.)
When there’s that much offense, there are a lot of players on both teams that deserve recognition.
Where do you start?
There have never been three receivers in one Iron Bowl game as good as Alabama’s Amari Cooper and Auburn’s Sammie Coates and D’haquille Williams. That trio combined for 551 receiving yards … Cooper (224), Coates (206), Williams (121). In the last two Iron Bowls, Cooper had 402 receiving yards and four touchdowns with 19 receptions, while Coates had 266 yards and three touchdowns on just seven catches.
Auburn’s Nick Marshall and Bama’s Blake Simms were phenomenal, both throwing interceptions, but both making key runs and passing effectively. Marshall’s performance was record-setting with an all-time Iron Bowl mark of 456 passing yards and three scores. In the last two Iron Bowls, Marshall threw for 553 yards and five touchdowns, and ran for 148 yards with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
Almost lost in the offensive landslide was the performance of Auburn’s true freshman placekicker Daniel Carlson – hometown, Colorado Springs, Colo. If he felt any pressure playing the nation’s No. 1 ranked team on national television, he didn’t show it. Playing in front of family and friends from the state of Alabama, Carlson hit all five of his field goal attempts, plus three extra points. His 18 points tied Cooper for the most points scored in the game.
Now, the path is clear on how Alabama can win the national title. Results of recent weeks have shown that there is no dominant team in the country this season. With the likely win over Missouri in the SEC Championship Game, the Crimson Tide should make the CFP Final Four and play the semi-final game in New Orleans’ Super Dome.
Looking farther ahead, in 52 weeks the two in-state powers will meet again, this time in Lee County on Auburn’s home turf. Both teams will return talented, deep teams and both will bring in highly-regarded signing classes.
Don’t be surprised if it’s another one with ironic twists, unexpected superlative performances and national importance.
Why would you expect anything else?
