Auburn Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide – Breakdown and Prediction

Darren Lee/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA

Auburn Tigers vs Alabama Crimson Tide: The Iron Bowl matchup

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers at will collide in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, AL on Saturday.

 

Can the Tigers finish at .500?

The Auburn Tigers are 14th in the SEC with a 5-6 record, including 2-5 in conference play. They have won 3 of the last 4 games and are coming off an epic 43-41 four overtime win over the Texas A&M Aggies. Payton Thorne found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a two-point play in the fourth overtime to win the thriller for the Tigers. Throne was 19 of 31 for 301 yards including two touchdowns.

 

What’s in for Alabama?

The Alabama Crimson Tide are sixth in the SEC with an 8-3 record, including 4-3 in conference play. They are coming off a 24-3 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners that ended their three-game winning streak. Jalen Milroe went 11 of 26 for 164 yards. Jam Miller had 12 carries for 45 total yards.

 

Betting Trends

The Crimson Tide are 16-4 SU in their last 20 games overall, 11-0 SU in their last 11 home games, and 6-0 SU in their last 6 home games against Auburn. They are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against teams from the West Division and 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games played in Week 14. Alabama has played over the total point line in 4 of their last 6 games against Auburn and 6 of their last 8 games played in November and under in 4 of their last 5 games overall and 4 of their last 6 games against teams from the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against Alabama, and 2-6 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the Southeastern Conference. They are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on the road and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against teams from the West Division. Auburn has played under the total point line in 4 of their last 6 games overall and over in 6 of their last 9 games played in November.

 

Prediction and Conclusion

The 13th seed Alabama Crimson Tide are going into the last game of the regular season under huge pressure. They need to beat the Auburn Tigers to keep their hopes of making the College Football Playoffs. Kalen DeBoer has a difficult first season as head coach in Alabama but still can extend the Tide’s streak of 16 seasons with double-digit victories and win the fifth Iron Bowl in a row for the school program. The Tigers, on the other side, will try to avoid having a losing season, and that will not be easy to do. Alabama has won 8 of the last 10 games against Auburn, including the last four. They also have won the last four meetings at Bryant-Denny Stadium by an average of 24.5 points, so we go with Alabama to cover the -11.5-point spread.