Tide Falls to Tigers in the Iron Bowl
Alabama went on the road and fell to in-state rival Auburn today 48-45. The Crimson Tide scored the most points that Auburn has given up all year but it wasn’t enough to claim the victory in The Plains. Alabama kicker, Joseph Bulovas missed a 30-yard field goal off the left upright with 2:00 left in the game that would have tied the game up at 48. The Crimson Tide was called for 13 penalties for 96 yards in the game, the most penalties ever under a Nick Saban coached team. The final penalty called on the Tide was for too many men on the field, gave Auburn a first down, dooming Alabama’s comeback efforts.
Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones had an up-and-down game in his third start of the season, his first on the road. Jones completed 26/39 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns, he ran eight times for 32 yards including an 18 yard scramble on a 4th down and seven. However he also threw two interceptions; both of which the Auburn defense returned for touchdowns. Jones, starting for an injured Tua Tagovailoa, responded to both his interceptions with subsequent touchdown drives.
Jones found sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Waddle four times for 98 yards and three touchdowns. Waddle also returned a kickoff for 98 yards and a touchdown giving him a total of 230 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns on the day. Najee Harris led the effort out of the backfield with 27 carries for 146 yards and one touchdown. Alabama’s offense outgained Auburn’s offense 515 yards to 354 yards. The offense scored enough to win the game but also contributed critical errors that kept Auburn in the game.
Alabama took a 31-27 lead into halftime but the end of half sequence was shrouded by controversy. With nine seconds left Auburn completed a pass for a first down. The Auburn receiver was tackled with one second left on the clock; with no timeouts remaining Auburn was able to benefit from a replay review placing one second left on the clock. Auburn was able to have its field goal unit on the field when the clock was restarted and Anders Carlson kicked a 53-yard field goal to pull the Tigers within four points going into the locker room.
In his halftime interview with Jamie Erdahl, Coach Saban explained the situation saying, “Well they said there was one second on the clock, but it’s a live clock so if they stop the clock there’s no way they can snap it and kick it in one second. If you clock the ball you’ve got to have three seconds to do it. So I don’t get it but it is what it is. We just have to keep playing.”
Anders Carlson was Mr. Consistent against the Tide making all four of his field goal attempts and all four of his extra points to account for 16 points in the game. Freshman quarterback Bo Nix led the Tiger offense by completing 15/30 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown; he also added 44 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Cottondale native Seth Williams led the Tigers receiving with three receptions for 66 yards. Jatarvious “Boobie” Whitlow led Auburn’s rushing attack carrying the ball 16 times for 114 yards.
At the end of the day Alabama’s offense could not overcome the two costly interceptions and the team as a whole could not overcome the 13 penalties. Alabama’s defense could not find a late game stop that would allow the offense to pull away. Alabama falls to 10-2 on the season and Auburn improves its record to 9-4. Nick Saban's record in Jordan-Hare Stadium as Alabama head coach drops to 3-4. Alabama will miss the College Football Playoffs for the first time since its inception. Alabama will likely be selected for the Sugar or Orange Bowl to finish its season.
Be sure to stay tuned to Tide100.9 as we break down the loss and discuss recruiting and the potential bowl game outlook for the Crimson Tide. You can always hear Eli Gold’s call of the game on our app or using tide1009.com/listen-live.