No. 13 Alabama hosts rival Auburn in Iron Bowl with both teams ending rough regular seasons

Auburn (5-6, 2-5 SEC) at No. 13 Alabama (8-3, 4-3, No. 13 CFP), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EST (ABC)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Alabama by 11-1/2.

Series record: Alabama leads 50-37-1.

What’s at stake?

Alabama is clinging to hopes of making the College Football Playoffs in Kalen DeBoer’s disappointing first season. The Crimson Tide hover just outside the top 12. But more controllable goals include extending a streak of 16 seasons with double-digit victories and winning a fifth Iron Bowl in a row. The Tigers, meanwhile, stayed alive in their hopes of making a bowl game with wins over Louisiana-Monroe and No. 20 Texas A&M. They’re trying to avoid a fourth straight losing season.

Key matchup

Auburn’s defense against Alabama’s dual threat quarterback Jalen Milroe. The Tigers have had some issues containing mobile quarterbacks, and few are bigger running threats than Milroe. In fact, Alabama has been at its best when he’s been a force on the ground in games like Georgia and LSU. He has run for 17 touchdowns but is coming off one of his worst performances in a loss to Oklahoma: three interceptions and a mere 7 rushing yards.

Players to watch

Auburn: RB Jarquez Hunter is the Tigers’ offensive workhorse, running for 1,174 yards and eight touchdowns. He has rushed for 232 yards and four touchdowns over the past two games and had a 278-yard performance in a road win over Kentucky.

Alabama: LB Justin Jefferson is expected to replace defensive play caller and leader Deontae Lawson. He has 45 tackles, five tackles for loss and two sacks. Lawson is out for the season with a lower body injury.

Facts & figures

Barring upsets elsewhere, this could be a rare game without national title implications for Alabama. Since the 2008 season, that has only been the case for six of 201 regular season games: the final three games in 2010 and the last three in 2022. … The Tide have won the last four meetings at Bryant-Denny Stadium by an average of 24.5 points while struggling in Auburn. … The ULM and Texas A&M games marked the first time Auburn had ever had a 100-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers in consecutive games.

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