After getting a victory over Western Carolina at home, the University of Alabama had media availability for four student-athletes on Monday.
The Crimson Tide now turns its attention to its in-state rival for the Iron Bowl.
Auburn, who enters at 8-3, have one of college football’s best defensive lines. With names such as Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Tyrone Truesdell and Big Kat Bryant, the Tigers have 26 sacks and allow just 16.2 points per game.
No one has reached 30 points on its defense and it held a high-flying LSU offense to its lowest output of the season, 23 points. The quartet of Landon Dickerson, DeVonta Smith, Xavier McKinney and Jared Mayden all spoke on the challenges this team will face on Saturday.
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Even with Auburn being a tough out, Alabama remains confident in Mac Jones.
He was effective in his second start, completing 10 of 12 passes for 275 yards and tied his season-high for touchdowns (three). All four players spoke confidently on how the redshirt sophomore is ready for this moment.
They talked about his preparation and how the team will not try to place too much on him. Much like Tennessee, this team knows how much the Iron Bowl means to a lot of people in the community. Mayden, in particular, remembers losing against Auburn in 2017 and how the crowd noise seemed to really affect that team.
“We have to take the crowd out the game,” Mayden said. “We have to make them sit on their hands… Just try to make the stadium empty by the end of the game, so that they have to just sit there and play football. We have to make them play good, solid football.”
Alabama may not be in control of its own destiny, but a strong win over Auburn does help a lot.
Since 2009, a meaningful trip to the postseason for the Tide has come through it playing the Tigers.
It must win convincingly this week and get a loss from Utah, Georgia and Oklahoma in order to jump into the No. 4 spot for the College Football Playoff.
Listed below are the player interviews.
Landon Dickerson
Devonta Smith
Jared Mayden
Xavier McKinney
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
