Will quarterbacks determine the outcome of Iron Bowl?
The Iron Bowl is usually centered around NFL-caliber defensive linemen and big, bruising tailbacks and ballhawking defensive backs and fan bases who long have left the land of sanity.
And in 2017, it remains so. With a twist. The 2017 Alabama-Auburn game also is a quarterback stage.
Bama has built a dynasty without elite quarterbacking. Auburn has built a reputation of wild swings in quarterback level. Cam Newton one year, merry-goround the next.
But Saturday in Auburn, the quarterbacks take a backseat to no one. Auburn has a passer deluxe in Jarrett Stidham, who as a true freshman was good enough to make Baylor’s offense hum. And Bama has a dual-threat sophomore in Jalen Hurts who has performed superbly on the biggest of stages.
“That's something that is very, very important in a game like this, because I do think that the offense being able to function in those circumstances is very important to being successful, especially against a good defensive team like they have,” Bama coach Nick Saban said. “We've been in some of those situations this year whether it was Mississippi State, Texas A&M. And I think the more experience you have in those situations, the better chance you have of handling it. Being able to keep your poise in games like this is very, very important as well, at all positions, but since the quarterback is sort of the distributor of the ball every play, I think it's really important for him."
Hurts remains a bigtime runner. He’s not running as much as he did as a freshman, but his average per carry is up, from 5.0 to 5.8 yards per game. And his passing is much more efficient — 14 touchdown throws, with only one interception, after throwing nine picks last season.
Meanwhile, Stidham has completed 67.8 percent of his passes, with 16 TDs and four interceptions. Not Big 12 numbers, but excellent in the SEC.
“I think their quarterback has played better and better as the year's gone on,” Saban said of Stidham. “He's always been a really talented guy. I think he has a tremendous amount of talent. He's athletic. He's got a really good arm. He makes quick decisions to get the ball out of his hand. But I think he's improved because he understands the offense better and they've done a better job as the year's gone on of giving him time to make plays in terms of their pass protection and he's been able to take advantage of it, and they've made a lot of explosive plays, and he's especially good throwing the ball down the field.”