With the 85th matchup of the Iron Bowl scheduled for Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the staff at Touchdown Alabama Magazine has compiled a series of 10 stories on the best games from the rivalry.
The series will break down the lead up to each game, the significance of the matchup, and the game itself as we go down memory lane of Alabama versus Auburn. We will provide two to three stories per day, until kickoff this weekend.
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The No. 10 contest to remember is the 2017 Iron Bowl.
Lead up to game
After having an undefeated regular season in the previous year, the University of Alabama eyed a second straight perfect campaign in 2017 under Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide won close meetings against LSU and Mississippi State and after a dominant victory over Mercer, all attention shifted to a showdown with Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Gus Malzahn and the Tigers were No. 6 in the country, carrying a 9-2 record into the contest.
Despite the losses, it still had a shot to play for a Southeastern Conference Championship and it was looking to take its opportunity while spoiling Alabama’s. For the Tide, Jalen Hurts was playing in his second Iron Bowl. He was having a good season statistically; nevertheless, some felt as though he was limited in running the offense. Many fans wanted to see Tua Tagovailoa (true freshman) play — due to all the great things they heard in practice — yet Saban stuck with Hurts.
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In a game where the weather conditions were not great, the winner would represent the SEC Western Division for the conference championship.
Significance of the matchup
Along with the SEC title opportunity on the line, this was actually the first Iron Bowl where nothing terrible happened to the loser — in terms of postseason action. Alabama suffered its first loss of the year, 14-26, but the CFP Selection Committee still deemed it as one of the best four teams in the sport. Jalen Hurts struggled tremendously in the passing game and the Tide’s offense was one-dimensional; however, it did not matter. Saban and company were able to get some critical players healthy at the right time, and the team crafted out a victory over Clemson (24-6) and defeated Georgia (26-23) for a national title.
The 2017 Iron Bowl Game
Much like the 2010 and 2013 situations, Saban would love to have a do-over for 2017.
He tried to spot play a few linebackers that returned from serious injuries, including Terrell Lewis, Christian Miller and Mack Wilson, but it did not work. Auburn’s game plan of ball control, taking downfield shots and winning on third down made it difficult for Saban, Jeremy Pruitt and the Alabama defense. Kerryon Johnson, who totaled 1,320 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns that year, wore the Tide’s defensive front down in one of his eight 100-yard performances at running back.
Auburn gave him the ball 30 times for 104 yards with one score. Johnson even tossed a touchdown pass.
While he was giving the Tide death by 1,000 cuts, Jarrett Stidham played with pure efficiency.
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A transfer quarterback from Baylor, Stidham completed 21 of 28 passes for 237 yards. The athletic signal caller also hurt Alabama with his legs, collecting 51 rushing yards with one touchdown on 12 carries. Defensively, the Tigers forced 10 incompletions from Jalen Hurts and held Calvin Ridley to just three catches for 38 yards. The Tide did establish a rushing attack and carried a 14-10 lead in the third quarter, but it could not create any type of balance or stretch the field vertically.
Auburn generated two sacks, nine quarterback hurries and allowed just three conversions (11 attempts) on third down.
Alabama’s secondary allowed a 100-yard receiver in Ryan Davis (139) and was highly disappointed.
Would the game have had a different outcome if Tua Tagovailoa played? Maybe, but Saban is not one for hypotheticals.
Even with the Tigers winning the matchup and going to the SEC title game at 10-2, this Iron Bowl went down as the one that did not matter. Alabama got into the CFP, and fans eventually saw Tagovailoa come off the bench and lead it to a national championship win over Georgia.
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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.
