Alabama won the latest edition of the Iron Bowl in stunning fashion on Saturday, beating Auburn with a game-winning touchdown in the final minute on a 31-yard touchdown pass that came on a fourth-and-goal play.
That play, which will be shown for the rest of time when discussing this heated rivalry, had Alabama fans losing their minds in a good way, and had Auburn fans feeling all the emotions in a rough way.
Look at this poor Auburn fan who thought she would be capturing a game-sealing moment for her Tigers, only to see a nightmare play out in front of her eyes:
Fresh off an emotionally charged 26-20 win over Texas A&M, Nick Saban entered the postgame news conference and started the session with a question of his own.
“All right, so what do we want to talk about first — the good news or the bad news?” Saban said. “Because we got a little of both.”
The bad news: Alabama totaled 23 rushing yards and 14 penalties for 99 yards, allowed six sacks, converted only 33 percent of its third-down chances and had a sixth(!) touchdown this season called back because of a penalty.
The win, an important one at that, makes the bad more digestible. Saban noted that Saturday’s win was an all-timer in his career for winning in spite of mistakes made.
Alabama found a way to win on the road and take control of the SEC West race, and it found some bright spots along the way.
There’s plenty to dissect and discuss after Alabama’s Week 6 win. Here’s what stood out after rewatching Saturday’s game:
Alabama’s defense after halftime is becoming its true identity. Since the Texas game, Alabama’s defense has allowed just 13 second-half points. That continued with just three points allowed Saturday.
One reason for that is the defense has cut down on explosive plays that flip the field, allowing one in the second half, while the other reason was field position.
Texas A&M ran about 70 percent of its offensive plays (24 of 34) in Alabama territory in the first half. That number dropped dramatically (12 of 26) in the second half.
Outside of the opening possession, three of Texas A&M’s five first-half possessions either started in Alabama territory or near midfield, through no fault of the defense.
In the second half, only one drive started in Alabama territory (after a Jermaine Burton fumble); otherwise the average starting field position was the Texas A&M 27-yard-line. Forcing the offense to drive a good distance made a difference.
Eventually, Alabama’s front seven took over the game and prevented Max Johnson from finding receivers downfield. An assist is given to the secondary, which after an injury to Malachi Moore, found its way and started communicating much better.
Sound coverage downfield led to a few coverage sacks, and none were more important than this second down sack that led to Chris Braswell’s blocked field goal two plays later.
The trio of Trey Amos, Terrion Arnold and Deontae Lawson was particularly impressive. Alabama recorded four fourth-quarter sacks after just one in the first three quarters.
