The Alabama Crimson Tide recorded their 10th win of the season by defeating the Auburn Tigers 49-27 in the Iron Bowl on Saturday.
The Alabama Crimson Tide suffered two heartbreaking losses to the Tennessee Volunteers and LSU Tigers in the span of three weeks, hypothetically ending any chance of making the College Football Playoff. But since, they were able to win their next two games, including one against the Ole Miss Rebels. They had the chance to end their regular season on a high note with a win over the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl.
That’s exactly what the Crimson Tide did, as they picked up a massive 49-27 victory over the Tigers to win the Iron Bowl for the third straight year. With this win, and the chaos in the rest of the college football world (Ohio State blowout loss to Michigan, and Clemson loss to South Carolina), the debate began as to whether Alabama could make the Playoff.
Let’s take a look at what members of the college football media world took away from Alabama’s win over Auburn.
CFB media reacts to Alabama Iron Bowl win over Auburn
... who is Alabama's best win? how few top-25 wins will they have on Dec. 4? I get why they're ranked where they are, but let's look at the actual resume for a potential two-loss at-large team. https://t.co/y19DqEzwEq
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) November 27, 2022
Of course, there will be a 2-loss CFP team at some point, and whenever that is -- possibly in 2 weeks -- of course it will be Alabama.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 27, 2022
CBS selling Alabama’s playoff chances like they do in April with the “Rory just needs to go out in 30”
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) November 27, 2022
Not sure how many style points Alabama can get against a 5-win team, Gary.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 27, 2022
Alabama backing into the CFP and winning it all is what every Expansionist deserves
— Josh Pate (@LateKickJosh) November 27, 2022
Auburn finished with 318 rushing yards against Alabama.
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) November 27, 2022
Tigers close the season with four straight games of 250-plus rushing yards. That's the first such four-game stretch for Auburn on the ground since the 2013 season (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Missouri).
Alabama went 7-6 in the first year of the Nick Saban era.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 27, 2022
Every year since? At least 10 wins. pic.twitter.com/olQaojpyhd
Fans will certainly be waiting to see how much Alabama will leap up the next Playoff rankings after this win.
Auburn did get on the scoreboard first with a 24-yard touchdown run by quarterback Robby Ashford. From there, Alabama responded with three touchdowns. Just when there was hope for the Tigers after cutting the deficit to 28-14, Alabama responded with yet another run of three touchdowns. It was that kind of game for Alabama and Auburn.
Quarterback Bryce Young had a solid showing in what could be his final home game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, as he is NFL Draft eligible after this season. Young completed 20-of-30 pass attempts for 343 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
As for Auburn, they had two 100-yard rushers in Ashford and Jarquez Hunter. Ashford ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns, while Hunter picked up 134 yards and 11 carries.
Alabama’s success under head coach Nick Saban continued, as the program has won 10 games in a season for the 15th consecutive year.
The Crimson Tide end their regular season on a high note. Now, they await their fate in regards to which bowl game they will play in after the conference championship games next week.
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