Rapid Reaction: Mac Jones, Alabama roll to dominant Iron Bowl victory win over Auburn
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No Nick Saban, no problem.
Mac Jones threw 5 touchdown passes as Alabama looked every bit deserving of its No. 1 status in beating Auburn 42-13 in the Iron Bowl.
Jones finished 18-for-26 for 302 yards to help erase the sting of last year’s Iron Bowl loss.
DeVonta Smith blew through the Auburn secondary for several explosive plays, including a 66-yard touchdown to open the scoring for the Tide and a 58-yard touchdown reception in the 3rd quarter.
Smith finished with 7 catches for a 171 yards as the Alabama passing game carried the load for much of the game.
Jones threw 4 TD passes in the first half, and equally important, avoided throwing the 2 interceptions he threw against Auburn last year. Jones threw his 5th touchdown of the game to John Metchie early in the 4th quarter, giving Metchie his 2nd scoring reception of the day as well.
The outcome was never in doubt. Alabama led 14-0. After Auburn kicked a field goal to pull within 11, the Tide grew the margin as wide as 36.
Najee Harris was fairly quiet for the first 40 minutes and was seen having his ankle retaped on the sideline, but he eventually scored his FBS-leading 17th rushing touchdown of the year in the 3rd quarter on a 39-yard rush to give Alabama a 29-point lead. He finished with 96 yards.
Until breaking through in the final minutes, Auburn’s offense was never much of a threat to score a touchdown u day, as Chad Morris tried to stretch the Alabama defense horizontally more than anything else.
The Tigers had an opportunity for a 58-yard touchdown late in the 2nd quarter literally fall through the hands of Seth Williams. Rather than cut the score to 21-10 before the half, Nix was intercepted just a few plays later by Malachi Moore to keep Auburn at 3.
Auburn running back Tank Bigsby still looked hobbled by an injury sustained against Tennessee. He had a long rush of 6 yards. Auburn elected 3 times to kick a field goal while down double digits, converting 2.
Alabama’s defense had not allowed a touchdown for 13 quarters, the longest streak in the country, until Nix scored on a short run late in the 4th quarter.
Alabama’s revenge tour continues next week against LSU.
