Alabama rolls past Auburn in Iron Bowl
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama: Bryce Young and Alabama got to win No. 10, even if title No. 7 isn’t in the cards.
Young passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in perhaps his final home game for No. 8 Alabama, leading the Crimson Tide past Auburn, 49-27, in Saturday’s (Sunday in Manila) Iron Bowl.
Alabama (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 7 CFP) reached double digits in wins for a 15th consecutive season but is all but certain to fall short of those ever-present national title aspirations.
The Tigers (5-7, 2-6) were trying to ensure bowl eligibility and salvage a disappointing campaign that included the Oct. 31 firing of coach Bryan Harsin.
Tide coach Nick Saban said criticism after his team’s two last-play losses “really united the players.”
“I think one of the things I’m most proud of is the fact that when everybody thought they were out of it — when there were a lot of naysayers out there — this team didn’t give up on themselves, didn’t give up on each other and won some tough games to finish the season,” Saban said.
Young, a junior, completed 20 of 30 passes with an interception and ran for 48 yards. The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, whose season was impacted by a shoulder injury, is projected as a high NFL draft pick if he leaves early. So is Tide All-America linebacker Will Anderson Jr., who had a couple of fourth-quarter sacks.
Both talked about their time at Alabama without shedding light on their plans.
“It’s been a pleasure,” Anderson said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”
Added Young: “It meant the world to me.”
Auburn ran for 318 yards, its most against Alabama since gaining 355 in 1983. But the Tigers’ passing game was pretty much nonexistent. Quarterback Robby Ashford became the first Auburn player to run for two touchdowns in the Iron Bowl since Carnell Williams — now the Tigers’ interim coach — in 2003.