Tide true to form
Even with Saban’s absence, No. 1 ’Bama rolls in Iron Bowl
TUSCLAOOSA, Ala. — Once the Iron Bowl kicked off, Nick Saban was just another passionate, heavily invested fan whowas powerless to help his teamwin. His team stillwon— big . Mac Jones passed for 302 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, highlighted by two long ones to DeVonta Smith, and Alabama rolled over rival Auburn 42-13 on Saturday without Saban.
The Crimson Tide, No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, continued a dominating march through a schedule of all-Southeastern Conference games even minus its six-time national champion coach on the sideline.
Saban tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and watched the game feed from home, witnessing the usual array of big plays with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian running the show.
Saban said his staff “did amarvelous job.” “Sark did a nice job of managing things, and I sat here and felt a little helpless,” he said in a postgame zoom from his home. “I could see things and yell at things and listen to (wife) Miss Terry yell downstairs.
“It’s a little different. It still feels good to win.”
The resultwasmuch of the same against the 22nd-ranked Tigers (5-3, 5-3 SEC), who suffered the second-most lopsided loss of Gus Malzahn’s coaching tenure. The only bigger margin was Alabama’s 52-21 win in the 2018 Iron Bowl.
“They’re a very, very talented team,” Malzahn said.“Weknewthat. Stillwecame in here with the mindset thatwewanted to win the game. To beat a team like that on the road, you’ve got to make plays. We didn’t do that. We didn’t play our best. It’s obvious.”
Alabama (8-0, 8-0) led a string of three straight touchdowns with Jones’s 66-yard touchdownto Smith, whowas streaking by himself downfield after Auburn defenders bit on a double move. He later added a 58-yard catch and run on a quick slant, sprinting away from the Tigers.
Smith had seven catches for 171 yards. Najee Smith ran for 96 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown, and John Metchie III caught a pair of scoring passes.
“Not having Coach Saban is difficult and obviously he did a great job preparing all of us for a situation like this. It was clear we were prepared for this situation.”
BoNix passed for 227 yards and ran for a late touchdown for the Tigers, but also threw two interceptions.
“It feels pretty terrible,” Nix said. “It’s not very fun. It just hurts because of everything that I’ve put into it, everything that I’vedonetoget to thismomentandjust come up a lot short.
“It’s an awful feeling, to be honest with you.”
Saban, meanwhile, couldn’t talk to his team starting 90 minutes before kickoff though he still led the preparation during the week. He spoke to the media in his home’s “recruiting room,” filled with Alabama memorabilia, including an elephant head on the wall and a pool table with a crimson playing surface.
“Thatwas really hard, especially the fact that I feel great,” the 69-year-old said.