Auburn's opening drive: Three straight passes; three straight incompletions. Forced to punt. This crowd in Bryant-Denny is loud.

Alabama's opening drive: Mixed it up with a nice blend of runs and passes. Was able to move the ball, but an apparent missed PI on Auburn contributed to things stalling out around midfield. Alabama punter Bernier was able to pin Auburn on its own 12-yard line.

INJURY UPDATE: Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs is in the medical tent after the 75-yard run from Shivers was called back. Looks to be a lower leg injury.

ANOTHER INJURY UPDATE: Jaylen Waddle went down after the gunner made contact. Training staff went onto the field, but Waddle was able to walk off under his own power. Looks to be okay, but we'll see.

Update on Buggs: He's out of the medical tent and riding a stationary bike, for what it's worth. Not sure if he'll return or not yet.

By the way, looked like a defensive holding on Jerry Jeudy downfield. Need a second look, but it looked like a missed call.

Score update: Alabama takes it 34 yards on five plays in 2:02 minutes. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa capped off the scoring drive with a seven-yard touchdown run.

Alabama now leads 7-0.

Score update: Auburn ties things up after a nine-yard rush from Anthony Schwartz on the jet sweep. Auburn moved the ball at will. The biggest gain came when Alabama brought extra pressure on a third and long but couldn't get home. Stidham was able to dump it off to Whitlow for a 25-yard gain and first down.

The drive was 10 plays for 73 yards.

Auburn is currently 3 for 5 (60 percent) on third downs. They were only converting 34.01 percent heading into this game (13th in the SEC). Not a good start for this Alabama defense.

End of the first quarter..

Score: 7-7

Note: Alabama had the ball 1st and 10 on the 15-yard line going in.

Recap: Alabama offense is moving the ball well, but some unfortunate events have led to stalled drives. Defense is struggling to contain Whitlow (8 touches for 51 total yards). If the Tide continues to bring pressure, they have to be able to get home. Can't leave the running back unguarded for that long.

Score update: 14-7 Alabama. The Tide answered with a four-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Henry Ruggs III (his ninth of the season). That's now three receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown from the sophomore.

Scoring drive included eight plays for 69 yards.

There may have been some people who were surprised by Bleacher Report's article about Josh Jacobs. They shouldn't have been, though. The junior keeps showing why he's the best running back in a loaded backfield.

Score update: Alabama 17-7. The Tide extends the lead with a 30-yard field goal from Joseph Bulovas (sigh of relief). Tua Tagovailoa is continues to show that he's one of the toughest quarterbacks to bring down in the pocket. Very similar to Tony Romo in that way -- a magician.

That scoring drive went 10 plays and 57 yards. Time of possession was 4:18.

INJURY UPDATE: After returning to the game for a brief time, Isaiah Buggs is now heading to the locker room.

Update: Auburn blocked Alabama's punt. That puts the Tigers at the 23-yard line going in. Still 17-7.