Alabama had trouble stopping the run at times, but its ability to keep Auburn one-dimensional by necessity was a big reason the Crimson Tide got out of the Plains with a win.
That defense held Payton Thorne to just 2 of 10 through the air in the first half, sacked him four times and held Auburn to just 4 of 12 on third down.
Linebackers Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell were consistently in the backfield.
Turner had one sack and two tackles for loss, while Braswell had a sack and a forced fumble.
Even when they weren’t making plays, they were getting Thorne off of his mark or forcing running backs to make cuts in the backfield.
There will be a lot of focus on Auburn’s success on the ground, and the Tigers deserve credit for that.
However, the passing attack was never a threat due in large part to Alabama’s defensive success in key situations.
It’s been a wild season for Alabama’s offense, but especially so for the quarterback.
Jalen Milroe struggled out of the gate, lost to Texas, was benched in Week 3 and developed into a dual-threat weapon who is riding high when it matters most.
Milroe could have panicked on that wild sequence of events in the goal-to-go situation with under a minute left.
Instead, he looked like his heart rate was in the low 60s, even when all looked lost on the fourth-and-goal from the 31-yard line.
That composure not only filters through the offense and the locker room, but further establishes Alabama’s identity as the Tide head to Atlanta to take on two-time reigning national champion Georgia.
Nothing Alabama will see against the Bulldogs will compare to what it went through on Saturday night on the Plains.
Heck, we haven’t seen anything like that in recent college football history, if ever.
The coaching staff and Milroe have already rekindled the spark that led to their marriage.
It felt like coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and calling plays that didn’t fit Milroe’s strengths earlier this season.
That has changed in a big way, and the two will embark on a honeymoon to Atlanta next weekend.
