Alabama Football: 3 bold predictions for 2018 Iron Bowl vs. Auburn

1. Alabama’s defense wreaks havoc

Auburn’s offensive line has improved a bit as the season has gone on, but the Tigers have still been unable to consistently open up running lanes to keep their offense balanced. They’ve also been unable to consistently protect Jarrett Stidham against better defenses.

Alabama’s defense has gotten better and better as the season has gone on, and not many teams are better at creating havoc plays than the Crimson Tide. S&P+ describes havoc plays as plays resulting in a tackle-for-loss, a defensed pass, or a forced fumble. The Tide ranks second in such plays, creating havoc on 23.2% of defensive snaps.

The defensive line, led by the three-headed monster of Quinnen Williams, Isaiah Buggs, and Raekwon Davis, to go along with a Butkus finalist at linebacker in Dylan Moses, has keyed the dominance up front. It will be a big challenge for Auburn to keep them out of the backfield and give Stidham enough time to make plays down the field.

Williams in particular has been a difference maker, and is a finalist for prestigious awards such as the Outland Trophy and Bednarik Award, and it isn’t far-fetched that he could earn an invite to New York for the Heisman ceremony with a couple of big games against Auburn and Georgia.

Williams will clog the middle and take away the Auburn ground game, and with the likelihood that Auburn is going to be playing the majority of the game behind, that will lead to a lot of Stidham drop-backs, which will in turn lead to opportunities for Alabama’s defense to create havoc.

Look for the Crimson Tide to make it a miserable day for Stidham and company, as they help lead Alabama to a dominant Iron Bowl win.