The concern Alabama fans had in the Iron Bowl was playing the matchup at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Nick Saban lost five times in 12 tries there as Alabama’s head coach, but he suffered only one defeat to the Tigers in Tuscaloosa (Ala.) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kalen DeBoer enters his first game against Auburn this weekend. Alabama needs chaos to happen to backdoor its way into the 12-team College Football Playoff, but it has to handle the Tigers first. Auburn is one win away from securing bowl-eligibility under Hugh Freeze for this season. A former Tide safety sees one way Auburn can leave Saban Field with an upset victory on Saturday. Roman Harper, an SEC Network analyst, gave the best plan for the Tigers on The Next Round.
Jarquez Hunter will be the key to Auburn trying to pull off an upset in Tuscaloosa.@Harp41 pic.twitter.com/GMA8b2p30F
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) November 29, 2024
“Jarquez Hunter is getting 30 carries,” Harper said. “Any time he has had 20 or more carries, he has had a brilliant game. The only thing that has slowed him down was Auburn offensively not giving him the ball enough. He is their special player, he is their best player on offense right now, and if you run the football you do two things. You condense the game, you put it on your terms, and Alabama is not immune defensively. We have seen them give up runs in multiple facets. Once you get the run going, then it opens up things in the pass game versus a young secondary. I am running the football early and often if I am Auburn.”
Hunter had 23 carries for 278 yards and two touchdowns in Auburn’s 24-10 win over Kentucky. He dominated Texas A&M’s run defense last week at Jordan-Hare Stadium, ripping off 130 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries in a 43-41 upset victory over the Aggies. Hunter recorded 20 carries for 152 yards and totaled two scores in Auburn’s 45-19 win over New Mexico.
Former Alabama safety wants to see Crimson Tide return to ‘winning the right way’
He averages nearly 16 carries (15.8) and 104.1 yards per game.
Hunter stands with 1,145 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, making him one of the best backs in the Southeastern Conference.
Alabama’s run defense allowed 139 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 26 carries to Dylan Sampson in a 17-24 loss to Tennessee. Xavier Robinson collected 107 yards rushing and two scores on 18 carries for Oklahoma in its 24-3 victory over Alabama. The combination of Diego Pavia and Sedrick Alexander totaled 120 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 41 attempts for Vanderbilt in its 40-35 win over the Tide. Hunter looks to pound Alabama’s front into submission and shorten the game.
If he has success, it will be a long offseason for the Tide.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
