Alabama Crimson Tide at Auburn Tigers
Friday, November 28th – Jordan-Hare Stadium - 2:40 PM ET
College Football Spread: Alabama -10
Alabama: The Week That Was
The Crimson Tide, like so many other SEC teams (including rival Florida), played a paycheck game in late November to rest up for bigger tests ahead. Alabama crushed Chattanooga, 45-0, in a bloodbath that was entirely expected. Running back Mark Ingram rushed for 102 yards in a shortened day of work, as the Heisman Trophy contender gave way to backups in the second half.
Punt returner Javier Arenas took a kick 66 yards for a touchdown. Alabama’s defense held Chattanooga to just 84 total yards and only five first downs while also snaring three turnovers on the afternoon. The Tide raced to a 35-0 lead with 9:53 left in the first half. From that point onward, coach Nick Saban began to focus on the Iron Bowl, saving his players from additional physical punishment.
Auburn: The Week That Was
The Tigers were off this past weekend, as they rested for Alabama without playing a cupcake. On Nov. 14, coach Gene Chizik’s team stumbled in Athens, Ga. Auburn fell to Georgia, 31-24, as an offense that started strong suddenly wilted against one of the weaker defenses in the SEC.
Georgia has been gashed by opponents this season, and in the first quarter, Auburn – behind quarterback Chris Todd – took advantage en route to a quick 14-0 lead. But after scoring twice in the game’s first 12 minutes, the Tigers improbably failed to score another offensive touchdown. Auburn did receive a 99-yard kickoff return from Demond Washington, which tied the score at 24-all in the fourth quarter, but Todd and the rest of an offense under the guidance of coordinator Gus Malzahn got shut down by the Bulldogs over the game’s final 48 minutes.
The Week That Is:
Alabama has already secured the SEC West title, but the Tide are focused on Auburn. The Iron Bowl – the bitter, nasty rivalry with obsessive feuds – always consumes the state of Alabama. Failing to win this game puts a coach’s job in jeopardy, and makes the next 365 days miserable for the losing fan base. Beating Auburn is a foremost priority for the Crimson Tide, who will play with considerable emotion.
The challenge for Bama, however, is that this game is being played at Auburn, in a series that used to be contested on a Bama-friendly neutral field in Birmingham. Now that this game has a home-and-home rotation between campus sites, the team with home field enjoys an extra edge each year. Auburn will go to a bowl game in one month, but this is truly the most important game of Auburn’s season.
If Gus Malzahn can find a way to crack the code of Saban’s dominating defense, Alabama will be in trouble, because the Tide – under shaky quarterback Greg McElroy – haven’t performed consistently in 2009. Bama wins, but in a game that will be decided in the final minutes.
Football Betting Pick: Auburn +10