Alabama's Focus Against Auburn the same as Rest of Season: No Weirdness
Built by Bama. The Bama Factor. At some places they play football, at Alabama we live it. Be a champion.
Over the years there have been a variety of slogans and mottos associated with Alabama football under Nick Saban, and they've all been well thought out and popular.
When it comes to playing Auburn, though, weirdness has been the theme of late. For the past few years the more unconventional or odd the game, the more it's worked in the the favor of the rival from the Plains.
So for Saturday's matchup, the 85th in series history, Alabama's goal was to make the game as normal as possible, or at least drama/distraction-free.
Don't give Auburn a chance for a Kick Six, or benefit from a break like a throw into the end zone that bounces off someone's rear as part of a Double Pick Six.
Fight the weirdness.
It did just that with a suffocating 42-13 victory even though this game had surreal written all over it.
For example, for the traditional Senior Day celebration there were no families on the field. Some were in the stands, where attendance has been minimized due to the coronavirus pandemic. There's barely anyone on campus as the in-class part of the semester is already over.
Moreover, there was no head coach on the sideline.
After testing positive this week Saban had to address the players being honored from home via the new video screens at Bryant-Denny Stadium (which most fans have yet to see and enjoy), and wasn't allowed to be on the headset.
"This is one of the best classes of people that we've ever had," Saban said about how tough it was not being there for the outgoing seniors. "Great leadership, really good character. They've inspired a lot of guys on our team in a really positive way. I think they're all going to graduate, so we're really proud of them for that."
That's just about where the weirdness ended, though, after athletic director Greg Byrne, who has already been through a bout with a coronavirus, handed off the celebratory Senior Day footballs to Deonte Brown, Logan Burnett, Ben Davis, Landon Dickerson, Joe Donald, Thomas Fletcher, Miller Forristall, Najee Harris, Alex Leatherwood, Joshua McMillon, Dylan Moses, Chris Owens, Brian Robinson Jr., Charlie Scott, DeVonta Smith and Carl Tucker.
The defense came out very much like he last two games, when Alabama didn't give up a touchdown (and extended that streak to 12 quarters before yielding one with a 36-point lead). They shut down the running game and applied pressure, notching a couple of early sacks and never relenting.
The offense wasn't as immediate, but even more decisive.
Redshirt junior Mac Jones, who finished the Kentucky game by completing just two of his final seven passes, a string that started with an interception on poor decision, didn't connect on his first passes.
However, they ended up being the exceptions as he ended up 18-for-26 for 302 yards and five touchdowns while avenging his first career loss as a starter last year.
"Obviously not having Coach Saban was difficult," Jones said. "Obviously the coaches did a great job in preparing us."
What signaled that weirdness would not be a factor on this day was the first big mistake by Auburn. Looking to put two defenders on Smith out of the slot, it ended up with no one as the senior wide receiver made a double move and split them en route to a wide-open 66-yard touchdown over the top to open the scoring.
"When I saw the coverage I pretty much thought it was going to be a touchdown," Smith said even-keeled.
DeVonta Smith: Weirdness Killer. It has a nice ring to it.
At that moment, the game's outcome was no longer in doubt.
Auburn sophomore quarterback Bo Nix wouldn't be able to keep pace with Jones, who went from 0-for-2 to 9-for-12 with three touchdowns midway through the second quarter — including a pretty 24-yard touch throw to sophomore tight end Jahleel Billingsley for his first career touchdown.
The Tigers wouldn't be able to establish the run, which is the key to their offense, averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
The Auburn defense couldn't slow Alabama enough to keep it in the game, and it never had an answer to Smith. He had another big touchdown early in the second half and finished with seven catches for 171 yards (24.4 yards per catch) and might have all but locked up Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best receiver.
Put it together and in the first half Auburn had a handful of plays with gains 10 yards or more, while Alabama was averaging nearly 10 yards per play with 222 yards on 24 catches.
The Tigers crossed the 50-yard-line twice, one resulting in a field goal, the other stalling out after Seth Williams dropped what might have been a touchdown (with Nix taking a big hit in the process). Instead, freshman Malachi Moore made a veteran-type pick that Minkah Fitzpatrick surely loved from afar.
"Great win for our team," Saban said in a postgame teleconference from home, where he could hear Miss Terry cheering downstairs. "I think everyone really stepped up."
This was arguably the Tigers' worst loss in the series since the 49-0 shellacking in 2012, and it came with Saban not even in the building (although defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis said it only helped serve as extra motivation for the Crimson Tide). That year was telling, though because Alabama went on to win its third national title in four years, and Auburn made a coaching change.
However, Auburn's "weirdness" that it embraced back then isn't that weird anymore considering what the rest of college football is doing.
It's especially has nothing in comparison to 2020 as a whole, but this is where we're at.
When football is the thing the Crimson Tide is dealing with the most it's the team to beat. Through Thanksgiving Weekend, there's no doubt that its handled all the distractions and craziness of the season the best, and was deservingly No. 1.
"I think that the training and the discipline that you develop in people carries over, whether you're there with them or not," Saban said. "It's no different than with your kids. If your kids make really good choices and decisions, you can trust them to go out and do it even when you're not around. I think that speaks volumes for the character of our team."
Only it can't let up.
There's still LSU and Arkansas on the schedule, the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 19, and the possibility of going straight into playoff mode as the semifinals are set for Jan. 1.
Consequently, what everyone saw against Auburn will remain the approach for the rest of the season, only hopefully with Saban back on the sideline.
"Yeah, I did yell at the TV a couple of times," Saban said, but later admitted, "I guess it was more than a couple."
The fight against weirdness goes on ...
