Crimson Tide tries to stay in Playoff hunt with Iron Bowl win – The Athletic

Alabama locked down the SEC West last week with a 42-35 win over Arkansas. Bryce Young arrived in Alabama one afternoon when Tide gave up 468 yards to the Razorbacks (about 6.4 per play). Young threw 5 touchdown passes and broke the show’s record for pitches in a single game with 559 passes in the air. Now, it’s naive to think that much of Alabama’s attention isn’t on the convention headlines. The encounter with Georgia next week will determine the fate of Tide’s College Football Playoff. But it won’t matter if Tide loses the Iron Bowl.

This year’s game takes place at the Jordan-Hare Stadium, and while Tide opens as the 19.5-point favorite, the hosts have won the last five years. The broadcast begins at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on CBS.

Not to downplay some of the wild moments we’ve seen from this series in recent memory, especially at Auburn, but it’s not easy to get excited about the Tigers for this year’s Iron Bowl. Less than a month ago, Auburn won 6-2 and this match may have determined the champion of the SEC West. Since then, the Tigers have lost three games in a row, most recently at South Carolina 21-17. Tank Bigsby (164 yards, one touch) played well in the loss, although Bo Nix’s absence left a significant hole in that offense. Auburn’s defense may temporarily keep things interesting, except Alabama has taken a 40-point lead in all but three games this year.

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The plot of Alabama-Auburn

Nothing is guaranteed for Alabama in the Iron Bowl: For Nick Saban, Jordan-Hare Stadium is a house of horrors.

Suttles: Cecil Hurt’s unparalleled intelligence, intellect, and presence around Alabama can never be reproduced

Suttles: Bryce Young made clear her value to Alabama in making her own Heisman Trophy statement

Straw Heisman Poll: Bryce Young, CJ Stroud catapults to the top while Kenneth Walker III falls to fifth

Expert selection against arbitrage

Selection made at Alabama -19.5

(Brian Robinson’s photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images; Athletic may receive an affiliate commission if you open an account with BetMGM through the links included in the article above.)