The second half of the 2019 Iron Bowl was filled with everything that fans could have hoped for. Big plays, butting heads and nail-biting drama which closed the book on one of the stranger first halves played between Alabama and Auburn.
Offensively the star of the game was Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle who made big plays when running routes and during special teams returns. All throughout the game the sophomore took short throws and turned them into big plays. He even had numerous go-ahead scores throughout the contest.
Running back Najee Harris also had his hands all over the game. For the better part of the contest, Alabama’s offensive line won the battle in the run game which helped Harris pick up a few chunk runs which helped the offense control the ball.
Quarterback Mac Jones also performed admirably on the day as he was able to find the open man (usually DeVonta Smith) on big conversions for the offense. The redshirt sophomore did, in fact, throw two interceptions which were returned for touchdowns by Auburn which would prove to be pivotal for the rest of the game. Even with the interceptions, Jones showed toughness and maturity as he bounced back from the turnovers with scores.
Defensively was another day full of struggles for Pete Golding’s unit. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix made a bevy of plays with his feet and running back JaTarvious Whitlow slowly picked apart the front seven. Just like Joe Burrow, Nix was also able to escape from numerous sacks to help keep the Tiger’s drives alive.
The Crimson Tide also found ways to hurt themselves throughout the game in the form of the two interceptions and false starts in key moments. Jordan-Hare Stadium’s atmosphere was an obvious impact on the offensive line’s communication as they never found a rhythm in the pass protection.
But despite everything which went wrong, Jones led Alabama into the red zone with a little over two minutes left but a missed field goal by Joseph Bulovas put the tide on the wrong end of a 48-45 score.
And after an illegal substitution infraction, Alabama could not recover as they fell for the second time this season.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
