My Analysis of the Iron Bowl: If the famous Punt Bama Punt game in 1972 was the most iconic or memorable victory in most Auburn fans Iron Bowl History, it will now likely shrink into the shadows of the 2013 Iron Bowl: Kick Bama Kick would be a rather fitting nickname for the 2013 Iron Bowl, and if a God-like and seemingly invincible Alabama team could be compared to Achilles coming into this game, it was special teams that proved to be the arrow in their heel. Theres a lot of finger pointing to be made by both sides, and lets face it, the field goal returned for a touchdown was a freak play, if not the most miraculous play, in Iron Bowl history. But in the end, there are 365 days of bragging rights and finger pointing to be made, so hey, lets go ahead and start it now: Bragging Rights: A.J. McCarron. Before helplessly watching Chris Davis run for the 109 yard go ahead touchdown, McCarron had played with the same finesse, maturity, and leadership that led Alabama to championships in 2011 and 2012. Although the final score of the 2013 Iron Bowl may not show it, McCarron once again proved to be the best QB in the NCAA. Drive after drive, McCarron proved his maturity to stay calm in the pocket, and showed incredible accuracy hitting receivers deep in the gaps. If A.J. McCarron does not win the Heisman Trophy, even a biased Auburn fan like myself is going to lose complete trust in the validity of the Heisman award. Finger Pointing: Nick Saban. If youre an Alabama fan this year, it shouldnt be the field goal return that haunts your memory. After all, it was a rather rare and freakish play, and it will be a long time before we see anything like that again. However, fourth down conversions are a part of every tough Iron Bowl, and the decision to go for it on 4th Down and 1 was undoubtedly the most foolish play call in Nick Sabans entire coaching career, and he certainly paid the ultimate price for calling it. Consider the fact that Alabama already had a 7 point lead, deep in Auburn territory, 4th quarter, with time running out. Its certainly not a time to call risky shots, and even a rookie coach can tell you to play it safe and kick the field goal. Why Nick Saban decided to go for it wasnt simply his lack of faith in his kicker, but was likely a simple case of over-confidence in a vain attempt to increase the score and impress the BCS voting machines. Unfortunately for Alabama, that single risky decision by Nick Saban is likely the most dominating factor that cost Alabama an otherwise secure victory. Bragging Rights: Auburn Offensive Line. Although Auburn has a nation-leading rush offense and a dual threat quarterback, Auburns offensive line opened up holes that your grandmother could run through. Considering the fact that Auburns offensive line was physically outmatched and statistically inferior to the Alabama defense, it was pure heart that pushed them to simply tire out and dominate Alabamas invincible defense. Just as much as Auburn was expected to run the ball, even more so, Alabama was expected to stop Auburns rushing attack in its tracks. Obviously, that didnt happen. No matter how good you are, its tough to win when you allow nearly 300 yards rushing. Finger-Pointing: Alabama Defensive Line. Although credit is given to Auburns fast play calling and deep rushing attack, Alabamas defense gave up a ridiculous amount of rushing yards. While physically outmatching the Auburn offense, Alabama failed to stop Auburn even on the most predictable of rushing plays. It leaves one to question whether Alabamas defense had their heads in Atlanta too early, or simply underestimated the passion of Auburns offense coming into this game. Its probably safe to say its a mixture of both. Bragging Rights: Gus Malzahn. This guy was coaching high school only 8 years ago, and tonight he is celebrating an impressive Iron Bowl victory in his first year of head coach at Auburn. And not only that, he matched wits with the best head coach in the NCAA, Nick Saban, and beat him. While Saban was making foolish 4th down decisions with time running out in the 4th quarter, Malzahn kept calm and stuck to his playbooks. Malzahn knew Alabamas defense would bite on a fake rush by Auburns dual threat quarterback, and thats exactly what happened. While Alabama defenders were closing in to stop Marshalls assumable run threat, they left a wide open Auburn receiver to make an easy catch and dash safely into the endzone for the tying score. Finger-Pointing: Alabama Defensive Coordinator. Coming into this game, defensive coordinator Kirby Smart had one mission and one mission only: Stop the Auburn rush. Its safe to say: Mission Failure. Lets face it, the entire nation knows Auburn is a one-dimensional team. They rush, they rush, and they rush again. And although you never know which one of Auburns four rushers, including quarterback Nick Marshall, is going to get the ball, one thing is clear: Auburn is going to rush the ball. While facing an entirely predictable Auburn offense, along with having plenty of talent to physically outmatching your opponent, Kirby Smart has simply no excuse to allowing his defense to absorb nearly 300 rushing yards from an inferior offense. Bragging Rights: Auburn Special Teams. Its been said time and time again that special teams can make or break a game, and time and time again so many coaches and fans forget that golden rule. But its safe to say that anyone that witnessed this years Iron Bowl will never, ever forget that rule as long as they live. Auburns punting unit showed up when it was needed most late in the game. Steven Clark hit two of the most beautiful punts in Iron Bowl history, with both times the ball landing precisely in perfect location to pin Alabama merely inches away from the goal line. And does anyone need to mention Chris Davis running back a 109.5 yard field goal return to end the game? Probably not, but what is worth noting is this: Auburn coach Gus Malzahn called a timeout just before the attempted field goal. During that time out, Malzahn specifically ordered corner-back speedster Chris Davis to play deep in the end zone in hopes that Alabamas freshman kicker wouldnt have the leg power to kick the ball far enough. Malzahn was right, and the rest is Iron Bowl history. Finger-Pointing: Alabama Special Teams. Very rarely will a team win when missing 4 out of 4 field goals, and that was the case in this Iron Bowl. Although Alabama kicker Cade Foster was 11 for 12 on field go success this year, the plains of Jordan-Hare may have been the twelfth man on the field to cause him the worst game of the year. On top of such misery, Foster was further humiliated by being replaced by a Freshman for the most important field goal of the year. While Alabama fans will always question Sabans risky call to replace his veteran kicker with a rookie, theres little doubt that Foster had enough opportunities to hit easy field goals that could have dramatically changed the final score of this game.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 09:19:06 +0000
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