Instant Analysis - Nov. 27
Alabama 26 ... Auburn 21
Pete
Fiutak
It took 11 games and just over 58 minutes, but finally, the hiring of Gene Chizik caused Auburn fans to rip their hair out.
Chizik and his staff did a fantastic job of getting the Tigers in a position to pull off the mega-upset over the No. 2 team in America, and it would’ve been a win that could’ve made his life really, really nice for the ensuing 360-something days until next year’s Iron Bowl, but instead, this game might be known more for the disastrous final few minutes than it will for the near-upset.
While it wasn’t Les-Miles-vs.-Ole-Miss on the oops level, Chizik and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn inexplicably slowed down its high-tempo offense to a crawl in the most critical point in the game. There should’ve been time for at least three more plays in the final minutes if the offense was able to hustle up a bit more, but instead, Auburn had to settle for a Hail Mary attempt that wasn’t even close. While Auburn might focus on the poor ending, the real story was how Alabama came up big in a nasty situation.
Great teams aren’t always great; they’re great when they have to be.
Yeah, I know, nice cliché, but that has to be the belief when it comes to elite teams playing a rivalry battle on the road. Texas had to survive Texas A&M’s best punch, while Alabama found a way to get the job done against an Auburn team that threw everything but Bo Jackson at the Tide.
The Auburn coaching staff came up with a tremendous gameplan, threw the entire offensive playbook at the Tide D, and did a fantastic job of ending Mark Ingram’s Heisman campaign by holding him to 30 yards on 16 carries. But Alabama was able to pick up the slack with Greg McElroy conveniently forgetting that he’s bad at playing football on an epic final touchdown drive to keep the dream season alive.
And now there won’t be any Christmas cards coming Auburn’s way from Cincinnati or TCU.
Richard
Cirminiello
There are drives in college football that are so dramatic that people talk about them for generations. Alabama QB Greg McElroy engineered just such a drive on the Plains of Auburn Friday evening.
In one of the most memorable Iron Bowls in recent history, McElroy led the Tide on a 79-yard, clock-draining drive that kept the Tide perfect and on target for a spot in the national championship game. Maybe more important in these parts, it allowed ‘Bama to maintain bragging rights in a state where the countdown to next season’s rivalry game has already begun.
For McElroy, who has struggled to move the offense for much of the last two months, this was a redemptive moment at a most opportune time in the season. And a much-needed confidence boost heading into next week’s showdown with top-ranked Florida. All of those poor performances against the likes of Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee back in October are a distant memory as far as ‘Bama fans are concerned. All they know on this day is that when the game hung in the balance and the road crowd was at its loudest, he went 7-of-8 down the stretch, including a four-yard touchdown flip to Roy Upchurch for the win.
Alabama is still one of the six remaining unbeaten teams in America ... barely. It would not been possible without an epic drive that’ll be etched in the memories of Crimson Tide and Tiger fans for as long as they live. Yup, this rivalry is truly that big, stirring passions that transcend all records and rankings.
Matt Zemek
1) Mark Ingram vanished from the Heisman race (though his gain of four extra yards made a third down conversion more manageable on Alabama’s winning drive), so someone else needed to fill the void for Nick Saban’s team.
Enter Julio Jones.
Third down after third down, the man who towered over the SEC last season – but who hadn’t overwhelmed the conference for most of this year – put his stamp on the latest Iron Bowl. Whenever a ballsy Greg McElroy (what a performance by that lad) needed to move the sticks and keep the Tide from falling off the ledge in the fourth quarter, No. 8 became the No. 1 force in Jordan-Hare Stadium. When Alabama overcame a 2nd and 16 and converted a third down thanks to a Jones catch midway through the fourth quarter, one had the sense – despite the 21-20 Auburn lead – that the SEC West champs were going to play for Pasadena on Dec. 5 in Atlanta. It’s all because of Mr. Jones, a man among boys in Alabama’s most satisfying triumph of a still-perfect season.
2) Yes, Auburn quarterback Chris Todd made several beautiful downfield throws, plus a few improbable runs to power the Tigers’ offense in this contest. Yet, the impossible-to-read signal caller left many observers wondering why he’s so utterly inconsistent.
When Auburn took a 14-0 lead and got the ball back, Todd – without pressure in the pocket – simply air-mailed two easy throws that allowed Bama to get a much-needed defensive stop and settle into the game. When Auburn got a 21-14 lead and had a chance to put its foot down in the third quarter, Todd failed to make crisp passes that would have put his backs and receivers in position to produce big gains. Up 21-17 thanks to his generally stout defense, Todd had another shot to give the Tigers leverage and breathing room, but a bad interception enabled Bama to gain three more points and enter its final drive in need of just a field goal, not a touchdown.
The point of this line of analysis is to show that Todd – while great on some occasions – made billy-basic blunders that were entirely avoidable… and this doesn’t even touch on the train wreck in the final “two-minute drill” that was really a 10-minute drill. Had Todd kept a cooler head on a more consistent basis, Auburn would have been able to consolidate momentum and enter the final minutes with an eight- or 10-point lead instead of a one-point margin. Alabama’s defense was resourceful in the fourth quarter, but Chris Todd was shaky enough throughout this game to keep the Tide close. Considering that Auburn was either leading or tied for most of the afternoon, its quarterback has to bear a considerable share of the blame for a stomach punch on the Plains.
Michael Bradley
There won’t be too many style points awarded for Alabama’s win over Auburn, but when the goal is perfection, that’s enough for any team. And when you have a quarterback who can coolly lead a game-winning drive in front of a frothing enemy crowd, you have plenty. On a day when the vaunted ‘Bama ground game stalled, and star back Mark Ingram left the game with a hip pointer, Greg McElroy completed 21-of-31 passes for 218 yards, two scores and no picks. Most importantly, he directed a 15-play, 79-yard drive that lasted more than seven minutes and won the game for the Tide, which can now spend a week wondering if it will have enough to erase the ugly memory of last year’s SEC title game loss to Florida and preserve its unbeaten season once again. Ingram should be back, if we are to believe Tide coach Nick Saban, but it will be vital that the Tide defense is back to the level it showed earlier and not susceptible to the big plays Auburn unfurled Friday. Bama can be excused for needing a late burst to survive the Iron Bowl, but a similar effort next week likely won’t be enough against the Gators.