No. 13 Alabama Wins Fifth Straight Iron Bowl Over Auburn

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Jalen Milroe completed 18 of his 24 attempts for 256 yards and added another 104 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground as No.13 Alabama (9-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) beat Auburn (5-7, 2-6) on Nov.30 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard led the TIde with 7 receptions for 111 yards.

In this Iron Bowl, emotions were fully displayed as a fight broke out in the third quarter when Auburn wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith blocked Alabama corner Devonta Smith into the sidelines. Players from both teams rushed to the area as officials and team staffers tried to de-escalate the situation. The scuffle resulted in penalties for Alabama's Smith and Malachi Moore costing the Tide 15 yards. Fortunately for the Tide, the penalties had little effect on the game's outcome as they won 28-14.

Auburn at Alabama

The game started as a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to put points on the board. Alabama scored first with 3:18 left in the first quarter. After forcing Auburn to punt, the Tide scored again on their next drive, extending the lead to 14 points. Auburn scored 6 points on two field goals from walk-on kicker Ian Vachon to cut into the Tide's lead. The half ended with a score of 14-6 in favor of the Tide.

Alabama started the second half with a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped off with a 2-yard touchdown run by Justice Haynes. Alabama continued their strong start to the second half by forcing Auburn to punt and completing a six-play drive for 60 yards and a touchdown on its ensuing drive. Auburn looked to come alive on offense completing a 10-play, 87-yard drive, finished by a 29-yard pass from Peyton Thorne to Cam Coleman for a touchdown to make the score 28-14. Alabama lost a fumble on its next drive but Thorne would throw interceptions on Auburn's next two drives to cement the Tide's victory.

Turning Point

Alabama controlled this game from the start but tempers and the intensity of this rivalry boiled over in the second half. Alabama's Smith erupted after Auburn receiver Lambert-Smith blocked him into the sidelines. The incident led to multiple players from both teams flocking to the area and jarring with each other. The outcome was personal foul penalties for Smith and Moore. Moore became the first Alabama player to be a part of 5 Iron Bowl victories.

What It Means

Alabama keeps their slight College Football Playoff hopes alive and Kalen DeBoer becomes the fourth Alabama head coach to win the Iron Bowl in their first year. Alabama will now sit back and watch what happens over championship weekend to see where they land as far as the playoffs and bowl selection goes.

Auburn found themselves on the losing end of the Iron Bowl for the fifth consecutive year and coach Hugh Freeze failed to reach bowl eligibility despite a lot of promise heading into the season. Auburn currently holds a top-10 recruiting class and is ready to see what Freeze can do in 2025 with a roster full of his recruits.