TUSCALOOSA – Riding a wave of momentum into the 89th edition of the Iron Bowl after two-straight wins, Auburn had hope of its first win over Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium in 14 years on Saturday but was never able to capitalize in critical moments, falling 28-14.
With the loss, Auburn has endured four straight losing seasons – seven losses in four-straight seasons for the first time since a stretch from 1927-1930 – and ends any hope of a bowl berth, which will continue a streak of six seasons without a post-season win for the Tigers.
“Obviously, disappointing tonight. Disappointing season,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze after the game. “The ones who played their last game of eligibility in college football – we had some special, special young men in that group, and I hate to see them hurt and not go out on a higher note.”
There were a handful of things that went wrong for the Tigers on Saturday, but the glaring issues were missed opportunities in the red zone and third down defense. Auburn had four trips to the red zone and came away with zero touchdowns – its only touchdown coming on a 29-yard reception from Cam Coleman. Comparatively, Alabama had four trips to the red zone and scored a touchdown on every occasion.
“A different game for sure,” Freeze said on the missed opportunities in the red zone. “If you put those in the end zone – we had the opportunity three times in the first half.
The Tigers had a chance to cut Alabama’s 13-point lead to a one-score game after falling on a Jalen Milroe fumble, resulting in a fresh set of downs on the plus-side of the field with just over two minutes left before halftime. The Tigers moved their way down to the Alabama two-yard line and failed to punch it in for six on three consecutive plays – Auburn’s third failed red zone attempt of the half.
“We had Dre (KeAndre Lambert-Smith) open, just missed it on one of those,” Freeze said. “I regret calling the tempo-play on third-and-one. We should have slowed it down. There was enough time and still could have held my timeout and got us into something that was probably better.”
On the flip side, Auburn’s defense was atrocious on third down. Entering the day giving up a 36.75% conversion rate on third down, the Tigers gave up 12 third down conversions. Six of those came in the first half with an average distance of seven yards to gain.
“It wore on us the last two weeks, and we were so thin – I mean, we're thin – and you could tell we looked gassed at times,” Freeze said. “We knew how good Milroe was, and what he could do with his feet and his arm. And it just multiplies things when you can’t – and some of them are third-and-longs and you can't get on the field, fatigue, and it's just it wears on you.”
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