Auburn outsmarts Alabama for Iron Bowl win

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Analysis: Auburn outsmarts Alabama for Iron Bowl win

ByBrandon Marcello

11-14 minutes

 

AUBURN, Alabama — Put 1 second on the clock and get off Gus Malzahn's back.

No. 15 Auburn knocked off No. 5 Alabama 48-45 in dramatic fashion Saturday evening at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Alabama's Joseph Bulovas missed a 30-yard field goal to tie the game in the final 2 minutes and Auburn held on by forcing Alabama into a substitution infraction on fourth-and-4 with 1 minute remaining in the game.

The win gave Malzahn his third win against Alabama coach Nick Saban, making him the only man in the country to accomplish that feat. Meanwhile, Saban remained winless against Auburn teams to end a season with nine wins or more and has yet to defeat the Tigers when they're ranked inside Jordan-Hare Stadium — streaks that stretch back to his tenure as LSU's coach.

The game had a little bit of everything, including controversy that ended with Auburn on the right side of history. Officials placed 1 second on the clock before halftime, allowing Anders Carlson to kick a 52-yard field goal. The field goal proved to be the difference in the victory, and in the eyes of Malzahn, all of the momentum swung to the Tigers after the kick split the uprights.

Saban was, well, furious. It may not have been the Kick Six again, but in the end, Auburn knocked off Alabama with an additional second added to the clock once again.

Let's get to our quick analysis of Auburn's incredible victory against the Tide:

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Picking it up

Auburn's defense may have given up a ton of yards, third-down conversions and was charged with way too many penalties, but the Tigers came up huge a handful of times, and not just when they picked off two passes and returned them for touchdowns.

Still, it's those Pick 6 plays by safety Smoke Monday and linebacker Zakoby McClain that deserve applause and recognition.

Monday gave Auburn a 17-10 lead in the second quarter with a 29-yard Pick 6 — only the second by Auburn in Iron Bowl history. Then Auburn doubled up history as Zakoby McClain picked off a pass in the end zone as it seemed Alabama was about to expand its lead to 38-30 in the third quarter. Instead, Mac Jones' pass bounced off the back of running back Najee Harris in the end zone and into the arms of McClain, who ran like he has never run before in his life. He turned on the jets and outran the entire Alabama offense and received an escort during the final yards to return the interception 100 yards for a touchdown that gave Auburn a 37-31 lead.

If there was one criticism you could throw at the Auburn defense's way it was the fact they hadn't had any turnovers immediately turning into touchdowns. That's a difficult thing to do throughout a season, but the Tigers stepped up in the biggest game of the season with two Pick 6's in the first three quarters.

Incredible.

Bo Nix runs the show

What if you told Bo Nix before the season he wouldn't throw a single interception inside Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2019?

"I would have believed you," he said.

Maybe people should start believing more in the freshman quarterback. He was 15 of 30 passing for 173 yards and one touchdown, a fantastic 14-yard throw to Sal Cannella, and also rushed for 44 yards on six carries, including a crucial pick up of a first down on a 15-yard run in the second half.

Nix ran the offense up and down the field and came up big in the big moments. Auburn may have been outgunned 515 yards to 354, but Nix did everything he had to do to win the game. He deserves a tip of the cap.

For a young man who grew up adoring Auburn, the quarterback couldn't let go of the game ball after he kneeled in the victory formation at the end of the game. He only put it down once before speaking to the media after the game, and that was placing it in his locker to celebrate with teammates. He tucked the ball under his left arm as he walked into the media room, almost paving the way and protecting the ball as he would on a draw play on the field. He never let go of the ball, even as he fielded questions.

For him, this was a moment he fantasized about most of his life. And he wasn't going to let go of this moment.

Anders Carlson's redemption tour

What can you say about Anders Carlson? He entered the night missing six straight field goals from beyond 40 yards and then drilled four (actually five) against the Tide to give the Tigers 12 crucial points.

No kick was bigger than his 52-yarder as time expired in the first half. A 17-yard pass to JaTarvious Whitlow on a screen netted the Tigers enough yards to get into field goal range, but time expired. Auburn had no timeouts. It appeared the Tigers burning two timeouts on the previous drive because of substitution errors (receivers coach Kodi Burns received an earful from Malzahn on the sideline) had left Auburn no opportunity to score before halftime.

Malzahn, however, pleaded with game officials to review the catch. He believed 1 second should be added to the clock. Meanwhile, Alabama jogged to the locker room. A review showed Auburn should have 1 second back on the clock, and as Alabama rushed to get back to the sideline, the Tide had to call a timeout.

There's just something about the Iron Bowl and 1 second remaining on the clock.

Carlson drilled a 52-yard field goal as time expired, sending Alabama coach Nick Saban into a frenzy on the sidelines as he yelled at referees. For the second time since the Kick Six, adding an additional 1 second on the clock proved to be the kill shot for an Alabama team inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Carlson would go on to hit a 44-yard field goal to give Auburn a 40-38 lead with 49 seconds remaining.

Carlson said after the game he felt bad for his kicking mate, Alabama's Joseph Bulovas, after he bounced a 30-yard field goal off the left upright with 2 minutes remaining.

But he couldn't feel that bad, could he?

As crazy as it gets

The second quarter was as crazy of a succession of plays as you may ever see. The teams combined to score 48 points in the second quarter, and punched back and forth in the final 6 minutes of the first half.

The teams scored a combined 17 points in the final 66 seconds. Auburn went from securing all of the momentum, to watching it melt away in a span of only four plays late in the second quarter. The Tigers grabbed a 17-10 lead on safety Smoke Monday's 29-yard interception return for a touchdown. Jaylen Waddle then raced 98 yards on the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to tie the game. But Auburn's bad luck was just beginning. JaTarvious Whitlow fumbled, setting up Alabama with a short field. Mac Jones made Auburn pay with the short, four-play, 37-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touch pass to Henry Ruggs in the back of the end zone to give Alabama a 24-17 lead with 4:12 remaining in the first half.

Auburn, however, didn't buckle. The Tigers battled back with an impressive seven-play, 75-yard drive that included an amazing one-handed catch by Seth Williams down the field and Will Hastings bailing out Bo Nix on another field beyond the first-down marker. Then came the catch of Auburn receiver Sal Cannella's career as he snagged a 14-yard pass near the left boundary, placed both set of toes down in bounds and helped tie the game with the touchdown snag.

Later, Jaylen Waddle scored again with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Jones. The momentum was back on Alabama's sideline with 33 seconds remaining and the Tide set to receive the kickoff in the second half.

But Auburn managed to drive down the field, without any timeouts remaining, and a review placed 1 second back on the clock to allow Anders Carlson to drill a 52-yard field goal to pull Auburn within 31-27 at halftime.

If that wasn't the craziest end to the first half of an Iron Bowl game, I'm not sure what is.

Discipline needed

Auburn has been among the worst teams in the nation when it comes to penalties, but on Saturday night the Tide had 13 too many.

The biggest penalty of the game was the last one: a substitution infraction on the Tide with Auburn facing fourth-and-4 with about 1 minute remaining. The Tigers lined up in a trick formation with punter Arryn Siposs split wide and quarterback Bo Nix remaining on the field in the Shotgun formation. The plan was to motion Siposs into the backfield to punt the ball, but the Tigers' plan worked as the Tide picked up a substitution infraction to reward Auburn a first down on the 5-yard penalty.

Still, both teams were undisciplined for most of the night.

A win will cover up the mistakes, for sure, but it might have been the worst night of the season — and not just because of the amount of flags.

First, running back JaTarvious Whitlow lost his cool and picked up an offsetting personal foul penalty. Later, Seth Williams was frustrated with a cornerback in tight coverage, stood to his feet after falling down, talked some smack and then threw his right hand at an Alabama player. It cost Auburn great field position, and the Tigers settled for another field goal to take a 40-38 lead on what could have been a touchdown drive.

The regular season is over, and only one game remains with the bowl game, but this team had some of the worst discipline problems on offense and defense in the Malzahn era.

The defense allowed Alabama to pick up first downs on four penalties through the third quarter, and also had 12 men on the field twice.

Every play is huge in big games. Giving an already-great offense like Alabama more yardage, especially after picking off two passes (!) for touchdowns, is a killer. Sure, opposing offense and defenses have hurt Auburn this season, but more often than not, the Tigers have shot themselves in the foot at key moments in big games.

Looking ahead to next season, that needs to be a focus. Malzahn’s teams have generally had great discipline. This one has struggled in big moments this season.

But Alabama struggled a lot more Saturday night.

"The disappointing thing to me is we came here with the idea that we needed to play with a lot of discipline, not get a lot of penalties," said Saban, "... And I don't think we did that great."

Malzahn out-coaches Saban

I'm gonna say it: Gus Malzahn had his team more prepared than Nick Saban.

The game came down to two moments at the end of each half, and it was all set up by Malzahn.

He argued for 1 second on the clock before halftime. He got it and Auburn kicked a field goal.

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Later, he lined up Bo Nix in punt formation with punter Arryn Siposs at receiver. Alabama was trying to figure out if Auburn was in an offensive set or if they were going to punt it on fourth-and-4. Should Jaylen Waddle, who burned Auburn all night with his speed, be placed at punt returner? Well, Malzahn out-smarted Saban and the Tide had 12 men on the field. The penalty gave Auburn a first down and it effectively ended the game as the Tigers went from fourth-and-4 to first-and-10. Alabama was out of timeouts and Auburn kneeled twice to ice the game.

How long has that been in Auburn's playbook? The entire season, but it wasn't until Saturday night against the Tide that Malzahn saw an opportunity to utilize it and potentially force his opponent into a mistake.

Chalk up this as an Iron Bowl win for Auburn and a coaching win for Malzahn, the only man who owns three wins against Saban.

"You know, he's a great coach," Malzahn said. "Everybody knows that, but this is Auburn and they're Alabama. This is the best rivalry in college football. It's not about me. It's about our players. Our players believe they can beat them. All the other teams for the most part hope. I'm just real proud of our players. It's about our players — it's not about me."

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[ToraGirl 5,498]

GREAT article, Fifty!  Thank you so much!!