No. 10 Alabama survived an Iron Bowl thriller on Saturday night, outlasting Auburn 27-20 at Jordan-Hare Stadium to clinch its spot in next week’s SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide squandered a 17-0 lead but responded with an eight-minute touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a tenure-defining gamble from Kalen DeBoer.
With the score tied at 20 and four minutes remaining, the second-year coach went for it on fourth-and-2 from Auburn’s 6-yard line. The bold move paid off when Ty Simpson hit Isaiah Horton for the go-ahead touchdown — their third scoring connection of the night — as the Crimson Tide improved to 10-2 (7-1 SEC).
Even after that score, Alabama still had to survive late-game drama. The Tigers were driving when star receiver Cam Coleman fumbled at the Alabama 20 with 33 seconds left. Bray Hubbard recovered to seal the win.
The victory marked Alabama’s sixth straight in the series and improved the Tide to 30-1 against unranked Auburn teams. DeBoer is the first Alabama coach since Gene Stallings in 1990-91 to open his tenure 2-0 against the Tigers.
Auburn (5-7) made it a bumpy ride. Playing under interim coach D.J. Durkin, the Tigers rallied from a horrendous offensive start and tied the game at 20 on Jeremiah Cobb’s 2-yard touchdown with 11:43 remaining. Alabama answered with its 15-play go-ahead march.
Simpson finished 19 of 35 for 122 yards and three touchdowns. Jam Miller led the Tide with 83 rushing yards on 15 carries before leaving in the second half with an injury.
