The final game of Alabama's regular season is upon us. But before the trip to Atlanta to take on the Gators and then (hopefully) a Championship bowl game in Pasadena, there's arch-rival Auburn. Bama will travel to the plains of Auburn in hopes of retaining the Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Award trophy. This will be the first Bama-Auburn game on a Friday in 21 years. The deck is stacked against the Tigers in this game, but anything can happen. Auburn's OL is experienced, but thin. They have been lucky to avoid injury here all season. Their rushing attack is lead by Sr. Ben Tate. Tate believed he was the best RB in the state, but forgot about Mark Ingram. If Auburn was actually in Georgia, as some people believe, Tate may be correct.
QB Chris Todd has been inconsistent this season for the Tigers, but is still a quality SEC player. His numbers have been similar to Greg McElroy's. Auburn will have their work cut out for them moving the ball on this Alabama defense. OC Gus Malzahn is a master of misdirection, but a team as disciplined as Alabama should be effective if they play assignment football. Alabama will still try to get to Todd early in the game. Look for blitzes by Sr. Javier Arenas, who is as effective in tackles for loss as he is in returning punts. Other than that, Alabama knows they have a talent advantage. They will play a basic defense and rely on talent and depth to avoid tiring from Malzahn's high-tempo offense.
Alabama will counter as they have all season, with a bruising running game and play action passing. Bama leads the SEC in rushing offense. Auburn is last in the SEC in rushing defense. It does not take a "rocket surgeon" to realize this could be a problem for the Tigers. The fact that Auburn's defense is dinged up from injuries and lack of depth will not help their performance. If LB Eltoro Freeman is not cleared to play, you can bet Ingram will have a performance worthy of a Heisman trophy.
Although I always get nervous at this game, I think the Tide will take care of business. Alabama wins 31-10.
I don't want to act like a typical Auburn fan if this situation was reversed, so I won't gloat and go on about how bad we're going to win...I'll just say good luck to Auburn, and "may God have mercy on your souls". Bama wins 42-13.
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