The implications of this Iron Bowl might not run as deeply as others but the swings of emotions for both Alabama and Auburn will be remembered for a lifetime.
After Alabama was held scoreless against Auburn for the first time since 2002, Tide freshman wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks caught a 28-yard, game-tying touchdown Saturday with 24 seconds remaining to send the state’s 128-year old rivalry into overtime for the first time.
Alabama and Auburn traded touchdowns in the first overtime and field goals in the second overtime to send the game to a third overtime, decided by two-point conversions. Both teams converted, leading to a fourth overtime in which Alabama freshman cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry broke up T.J. Finley’s pass in the end zone. Bryce Young then completed the game-winning pass to John Metchie.
Alabama escaped from Jordan-Hare Stadium with one of its most dramatic wins, 24-22, of the Nick Saban era.
The Tide improved to 11-1, while Auburn fell to 6-6. But no matter the result Saturday, Alabama would have entered next weekend’s SEC championship game with a chance at the College Football Playoff.
Alabama, having already clinched the SEC West, could have lost to Auburn and still beaten top-ranked Georgia in Atlanta. That would have put the Tide in position to be the first-ever two-loss playoff team.
With its win, Alabama can lock up its trip to the final four with a win over Georgia, or keep itself in the conversation with a closely-contested loss.
However, little Alabama did for almost four quarters offensively Saturday should inspire confidence from either the committee or fans in a season where national title hopes seemed to have been teetering for weeks -- and could soon come toppling down.
Pendulum swings again from offense to defense
A week after Alabama piled 671 total yards on Arkansas, including a school-record 559 passing yards from Bryce Young, the same offense with the same players was staggeringly ineffective.
Alabama punted on its first seven possessions of the game, gaining only 68 total yards in a first half that saw the nation’s No. 1-ranked third-down offense convert only two of eight chances.
The offensive rut was a deeper version of the first half three weeks earlier against LSU, when Alabama did not get on the scoreboard until the final three minutes of the first half. The defense bailed out the Tide in that game with several key second-half stops, and Saturday’s Iron Bowl required the same.
Alabama’s defense dominated Auburn’s offense, doing its part a week after it allowed three second-half touchdowns to the Razorbacks that kept that game close.
The latest episode of the Tide’s dizzying back-and-forth saw the defense hold Auburn to only 141 yards in regulation, making three key stops on short fields while recording five sacks plus an interception.
The defense’s effort made it eventually possible for Alabama to tie the game, with the Tide’s fourth-quarter touchdown drive avoiding what would have been the Tide’s first game since 2011 without a trip to the end zone. Alabama finished regulation with 351 total yards, more than double Auburn’s output.
Offensive line gets rattled in first half, makes changes
Much of Alabama’s offensive issues can be attributed to the line of scrimmage, where the offensive line was almost entirely ineffective in the running game and the entire protection operation seemed to break down.
Alabama allowed five sacks in the first half, more than it gave up in the entirety of any other game this season. It gave up another two in the second half for a total of seven in the game -- tied for the second-most in any game under Saban.
Alabama made a switch at right tackle at halftime, replacing Damieon George with Chris Owens, who had spent most of the season at that spot. George had earlier been called for a costly block in the back penalty on a 16-yard scramble by Young in the second quarter.
Starting center Darrian Dalcourt was also replaced with sophomore Seth McLaughlin for much of the second half, but McLaughlin was at fault on a low snap that doomed a key fourth-and-2 play from Auburn’s 39-yard line in the fourth quarter.
However, the offensive line is only part of the equation that protects Young; the quarterback must make sure the group is in the right protection call. During the game, former Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith tweeted, “Why tf we doing all this checking at the LOS ?” in reference to the operation at the line of scrimmage.
In the running game, the tone was set on a pair of third-and-1 situations that Alabama faced in the first quarter. Brian Robinson was stopped short of the markers in each case, with Alabama lining up from the shotgun both times -- including a three-wide receiver package on the first.
Another key moment for the offensive line came on a fourth-and-1 run by Trey Sanders from Alabama’s own 46-yard line with 2:06 remaining in the game. Sanders was ruled short after a measurement.
Alabama finished regulation with 58 rushing yards after having minus-2 in the first half.
Pre-snap penalties, a point of aggravation for Saban earlier in the season, also cropped up again. Alabama was called for delay of game on the first play of a drive in the second quarter, and another time in the closing seconds of the half. The Tide was also called for an illegal formation on its first play of the third quarter.
Among Alabama’s 11 total penalties for 129 yards -- all in regulation -- was a flag on right guard Emil Ekiyor for continuing to play after his helmet came off during a 15-yard Robinson run. The penalty yardage was the most by Alabama in any game since at least the 2000 season, according to College Football Reference.
Special teams again an Iron Bowl factor
Two years after Joseph Bulovas missed what would have been the game-tying field goal in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Alabama’s field goal unit -- turned over since its last trip to Auburn -- could not get the job done in one key moment Saturday before converting another.
A late third-quarter drive that marked Alabama’s first trip across midfield since the opening possession ended in what would have been about a 37-yard field goal attempt by Will Reichard. But the snap to holder Paul Tyson, the third-year backup quarterback, was on target but bobbled. Tyson had to eat the play before Reichard could even attempt the kick.
Even a successful field goal would not have changed how Alabama approached its closing possessions of the game -- it still would have needed a touchdown in either case -- but it was another miscue on a night in which Alabama looked far from its once-efficient self.
The bobble was also enough to cause Alabama to make a change at holder, with punter James Burnip replacing Tyson for a successful 37-yard field goal in the second overtime that sent it to a third overtime.
Alabama loses top receiver to targeting
In another entry to the ledger of the Iron Bowl weird, Alabama’s top receiver Jameson Williams was ejected in the second quarter for a penalty usually reserved for defensive players.
Williams was flagged for targeting while covering an Auburn punt, lowering his helmet to strike returner Ja’Varrius Johnson. The call was upheld upon video review and Williams was forced to miss the remainder of the game, although he will be available next Saturday because it happened in the first half.
Williams, one of three national finalists for the Biletnikoff Award, had 43 of Alabama’s 50 total yards to that point in the game -- most coming on a 34-yard, first-quarter catch. That play was one of just four first downs that Alabama had in the first half.
Freshman Ja’Corey Brooks received snaps even before Williams was thrown out but saw his role expand upon the ejection. He made a 21-yard catch late in the fourth quarter before his 28-yard, game-tying touchdown that capped an unlikely 97-yard scoring drive.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.
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