Alabama vs. Auburn: 5 reasons the Crimson Tide defeat the Tigers
By Adam Cox
On Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers will play the 81st Iron Bowl. Here are 5 reasons why the Crimson Tide should be the odds-on favorites.
Awake from your post-Thanksgiving dinner slumber! Rub the tryptophan out of your eyes. The final regular season weekend of college football is here! And with it comes a slate of big rivalry games for your Thanksgiving weekend enjoyment.
Baylor at Texas Tech. Louisville vs. Kentucky. Notre Dame at USC. Wisconsin vs. Minnesota. Florida at Florida State. Ohio State vs. Michigan. The outcomes of these games provide university pride, hardware to the winning team, an edge in recruiting battles, and bragging rights for the next year.
Perhaps the in-state battle of most consequence this rivalry weekend is the top 15 match-up between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn University Tigers. Can the Crimson Tide finish their regular season undefeated and maintain their #1 playoff ranking heading into the SEC title game against the Florida Gators? Can the Tigers rebound from their defeat at Georgia 2 weeks ago and ruin Alabama’s perfect season?
For Alabama, all signs seem to point towards a successful conclusion to their regular season, while Auburn is most likely heading toward disappointment. Here are 5 reasons why the Alabama Crimson Tide will emerge victorious over the Auburn Tigers and retain possession of the James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy.
5. Alabama is getting healthy
The health of their offensive line was a major concern for the Crimson Tide heading into this week’s game against the Tigers. Cam Robinson has started at LT for Alabama since the first game of his freshman year in 2014. He was questionable for the Iron Bowl after injuring his left shoulder in Alabama’s game last week against Chattanooga.
Starting RG Korren Kirven similarly hurt his left shoulder versus Chattanooga and was also questionable this week.
According to Nick Saban, however, both are expected to play on Saturday. If they were to miss the game, it may not seem like a big deal to some. After all, Alabama just reloads. There should be plenty of talent available to replace those guys if necessary. But this ignores the importance of experience and chemistry. Considering Auburn’s ability to stop the run and get after the quarterback, Alabama needs to field their best OL this weekend.
Alabama may also benefit from an important addition this Saturday with the return of RB Bo Scarbrough. A knee injury suffered against LSU has forced Scarbrough to miss the past two games, although he had been cleared by team doctors and was available if absolutely necessary.
Scarbrough has been alternatively, if sometimes simultaneously, hampered this season by injury and his presence in Nick Saban’s doghouse. When he is playing to his potential, however, Scarbrough is the latest in the line of talented Crimson Tide power running backs. Against a stout Auburn DL, Scarbrough will be a welcome weapon.