Alabama tried to hand Auburn football bowl eligibility. The Tigers wouldn’t take it

TUSCALOOSA — It wasn’t a textbook example of a team giving away a game, but it was evident enough that Auburn football had many chances handed to it by the Crimson Tide in another Iron Bowl loss.

Jalen Milroe looked as good as he ever has, willing 13th-ranked Alabama to a 28-14 Iron Bowl win. But even as he turned in just his second performance with 200 passing yards and 100 yards rushing this season, he still turned the ball over three times.

The Auburn offense slouched in a lot of respects. It failed to get Jarquez Hunter off the ground, but it still somehow found its way to the red zone on nearly half its drives. A little more than half its drives actually ended within 30 yards of the goal line.

Still, with bowl eligibility on the line, all the Tigers could muster was two scores worth of points. They lost another contest like they had for much of the season — with an inability to capitalize on opportunities time and time again.

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“That’s what will set in your stomach,” coach Hugh Freeze said postgame. “That we didn’t score, and the opportunities we had.”

Auburn (5-7, 2-6 SEC) forced a season-high four takeaways against the Crimson Tide, falling on two Milroe fumbles, picking him off once and recovering a loose ball off a Ryan Williams reception on Alabama’s opening drive.

In all? The Tigers generated just six points off those Alabama turnovers, coming up scoreless on two of them and finding a field goal on two others.

What made matters worse was an inability to get off the field on third downs, which reared its head earlier in the season. The Crimson Tide converted on 12 of 18 third-down attempts, averaging 8.7 yards per play on…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-tried-hand-auburn-football-024401327.html

Author : The Montgomery Advertiser

Publish date : 2024-12-01 02:44:00

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