GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NCAAF: ALABAMA (6-5) at AUBURN (7-4)

NCAAF: ALABAMA at AUBURN

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NCAAF
ALABAMA 10
AUBURN (25) 17 FINAL</div>

 

NCAAF: ALABAMA at AUBURN

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NCAAF
ALABAMA 10
AUBURN (25) 17 FINAL</div>

 

NCAAF: ALABAMA at AUBURN

<div class="pre">NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
ALABAMA 0 7 0 3 10
AUBURN (25) 10 0 0 7 17 FINAL

AUBURN-TD, B Tate 3 YD RUN (W Byrum KICK) 6:52 1st Qtr
AUBURN-FG, W Byrum 37 YD 11:48 1st Qtr
ALABAMA-TD, J Wilson 2 YD RUN (L Tiffin KICK) 3:23 2nd
Qtr
AUBURN-TD, B Cox 1 YD RUN (W Byrum KICK) 11:02 4th Qtr
ALABAMA-FG, L Tiffin 49 YD 12:49 4th Qtr


ALABAMA AUBURN
First downs 15 17
Rushed-yards 36-112 41-165
Passing yards 113 117
Sacked-yards lost 2-19 2-18
Return yards 26 31
Passes 12-26-1 12-22-1
Punts 6-36.3 4-34
Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 6-38 3-35
Time of possession 28:51 31:09


Individual Statistics

RUSHING: ALABAMA-Glen Coffee 20-60, Roy Upchurch 8-41, Dj Hall 1-7,
John Parker Wilson 7-4. AUBURN-Brad Lester 22-98, Ben Tate 11-77, Carl
Stewart 1-1, - Team 2-MINUS 4, Brandon Cox 5-MINUS 7.

PASSING: ALABAMA-John Parker Wilson 12-26-113- 1. AUBURN-Brandon Cox
12-22-117- 1.

RECEIVING: ALABAMA-Dj Hall 3-29, Nick Walker 2-27, Nikita Stover 2-25,
Keith Brown 1-19, Glen Coffee 2-9, Matt Caddell 1-4, Travis McCall
1-0. AUBURN-Rodgeriqus Smith 3-46, Cole Bennett 3-22, Ben Tate 1-17,
Montez Billings 3-15, Mario Fannin 1-12, Carl Stewart 1-5.


Att: 87,451</div>

 

AUBURN, Alabama (Ticker) -- Auburn may not be finishing theseason at the top of the rankings, but at least they stilldominate the state of Alabama.


The 25th-ranked Tigers allowed just 223 yards en route to apunishing 17-10 victory over Alabama in the annual "Iron Bowl."

Senior quarterback Brandon Cox put the finishing touches on thegame with a rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter tobecome just the second quarterback in the history of the rivalryto preside over three straight victories.


"We tried to score that touchdown all second half and we knewthat if we put one in there, it would put our defense in a lotbetter situation and probably win us the game," Cox said. "Wegot a good punt return that put us in good position and we foundthe end zone. Our defense came back on the field after that andwas huge. They won us back the ball and we were able to justrun it out from there."


"What can you say about Brandon Cox?" Auburn coach TommyTuberville said. "He is a kid who has never lost to Alabama. Hecame in here and struggled very early in his career as afreshman and went home. He came back and to go out tonight anddo what he did ... it wasn't pretty, but he got the job done."

Auburn (8-4, 5-3 SEC West) has now won six in a row in theseries, with Alabama still holding the overall lead at 38-33-1.

Tigers defensive coordinator Will Muschamp worked under CrimsonTide coach Nick Saban at LSU and then with the Miami Dolphinsand seemed to have an answer for everything his mentor threw athim.


"This is a great rivalry, a great football game and I have neverbeen involved in a football game with as much excitement andenthusiasm as this game," Saban said. "It's disappointing forour fans and the people that support our program that we weren'table to do a better job and come away with a win. But more thananything I am disappointed for our players. I think our playersplayed their hearts out and really wanted to win this game.There are a lot of upset guys in there right now. As a coach youfeel like there is something you wish you could have done thatwould help them be more successful."


Auburn yielded just one touchdown drive, forced a fumble and aninterception and held Alabama (6-6, 4-4 West) to just 2-of-15 onthird down conversions in the contest.


"It was a typical Iron Bowl." Tuberville said. "There was a lotof defense. There was a lot of hard hitting. You had guys onboth sides playing hard. We knew we would get a good shot fromthem after not playing very well last week. We knew we would geta good shot from them.


"They played well. They did a good job coaching. They did somethings that kept us confused, but that's what this game isabout. It all comes down to who wins in the trenches and we hada lot of guys that played hard."


The Tigers jumped on top early when Ben Tate capped a 12-playdrive with a three-yard touchdown run at the 8:13 mark in theopening quarter. After forcing a punt on the Crimson Tide'sensuing possession, Auburn drove for a field goal and a 10-0lead before the end of the opening quarter.


"Ben Tate had a really good night," Tuberville said. "All therunning backs ran hard. When you talk about this game, you talkabout being physical and it all starts with the offensive line,but your running backs have to get yards after contact. It was asuper, super game by the running backs breaking tackles andgetting extra yards."


Alabama managed a rushing touchdown in the second quarter byquarterback John Parker Wilson, and kept their hopes alive witha 49-yard field goal with 2:16 remaining in the game. But anon-sides kick failed and the Tigers ran out the clock to securethe win.


The Crimson Tide lost for the ninth straight time in the monthof November and have dropped 14 of their last 17 in the season'sfinal month. They lost last week to lowly Louisiana-Monroe andhave not won since squandering a fourth-quarter lead againstthen-top ranked LSU.


"We were 6-2 at one point and we felt like things were goingpretty well, but then it just seemed like things stopped workingand we ended up losing four in a row," Wilson said. "It issomething that we are all going to have to work on for nextyear. We are going to have to get better in every aspect of thegame."


The win locks up second place in the SEC West for the Tigers.