Grading Alabama’s 55-44 comeback win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
OFFENSE: B
The Crimson Tide hurt themselves early with Blake Sims’ three turnovers, although the senior made up for them in spades with a lights-out second half performance. Sims was 10-for-12 for 175 yards and 3 TDs after his third pick, adding on a rushing score as well. After a performance like this one, where the Crimson Tide steamrolled their way to 55 points and 541 yards, it’s fair to say that Lane Kiffin has done wonders for the offense. There is the caveat that Auburn’s defense has been somewhere between bad and horrific for the last six weeks, but Alabama still looked like a juggernaut. T.J. Yeldon was fantastic running the ball all night, and the offensive line cleared big holes despite losing Cam Robinson in the second half. Derrick Henry came up big late in the game as well. There was also a fellow by the name of Amari Cooper on the field, and he looked like the best player in the game by a wide margin. The junior receiver had 224 of Alabama’s 312 yards through the air to set an Iron Bowl receiving record, shaking loose for three scores as well. The points and yardage total are impressive, but Alabama can’t afford to turn the ball over like that as the games get bigger.
DEFENSE: C
Kirby Smart’s side of the ball found a way to slow Auburn somewhat in the second half, but the Tigers still put up 630 total yards, the most Alabama has ever allowed. The Crimson Tide had trouble with all aspects of Auburn’s up-tempo, read-option attack. Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne both stretched the Alabama defense out early, although the Tide were able to reign them in later in the game, thanks to strong games from guys like Trey DePriest, Nick Perry and D.J. Pettway. The more troubling aspect was the way Marshall and his receiving corps torched Alabama through the air. Sammie Coates, D’haquille Williams and Quan Bray burned the secondary time and again, getting behind the secondary with ease and ripping balls away from defensive backs when the coverage was tight. Despite the huge yardage total, Alabama was able to hold out on four long Auburn drives and force field goals, and Perry came up with an interception that turned the tide of the game for good in the third quarter.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B+
Alabama can breathe a sigh of relief, with only one special teams gaffe that didn’t end up being all that costly. The Tide had an extra point blocked in the second half, although it had no bearing on the final score. Alabama only had to punt twice, but J.K. Scott once again made his case as the best punter in the country, booming them for an average of 55.5 yards and having one downed inside the 20.
COACHING: B
Kudos go to Nick Saban, who said after the game that he wasn’t eager to pull the plug on Blake Sims despite his senior’s turnover issues. Sims had been money all season, and he rewarded his coach’s faith by helping to turn it around and carry the Crimson Tide to a win. Alabama will certainly have some major defensive adjustments to make going forward, but Saban and Smart have to at least be relieved that they were able to stop Auburn’s scoring long enough to roar into the lead. For all the stares that Kiffin seems to get on the sidelines, he has the Alabama offense operating at the highest level we’ve ever seen.
OVERALL: B+
The defense sure was lucky the offense was around to bail it out, while the offense should feel fortunate that they were going against Auburn’s porous defense. Both sides of the ball did positive things despite the stumbles and the Tide got some Herculean efforts from their stars to win one of the most thrilling games in Iron Bowl history and perhaps the best game of the college football season. There’s much and more to clean up before the SEC Championship next week and a possible playoff run after, but the Crimson Tide were better on the whole than their individual units were and deserve major credit for shifting into a gear few other teams have to earn the comeback win.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
