Auburn Football: Post-spring game-by-game predictions for 2019
Based on this scenario, I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that Malzahn might be coaching for his job in the Iron Bowl. And luckily for him, the game is in Jordan-Hare Stadium, which has been a bit of a house of horrors for Alabama.
I noted this in my Alabama game-by-game predictions, but if you ignore the outlier 2012 Iron Bowl in which the Tide rolled to a 42-14 victory, here’s the average score of Iron Bowls since 2007 that were played at Auburn:
Auburn: 22.2
Alabama: 21.4
Alabama and Auburn have split the last six meetings at Jordan-Hare, and neither team has won more than one in a row during that span. That might signal an Alabama victory historically, with the Tigers taking the 2017 edition 26-14.
With some potential defensive upgrades and a loaded offense, Alabama has a chance to be even better than it was a year ago. Heisman favorite Tua Tagovailoa is back at QB, Najee Harris leads a talented, yet young stable of running backs, and the Tide probably boasts the best collection of wide receivers in the country, headlined by a pair of potential first round picks in 2020. The offensive line should also be very good, even after losing multi-year starters Jonah Williams and Ross Pierschbacher.
If the defense takes a step forward, and it should, Alabama is probably the national championship favorite. But we’ve seen the Crimson Tide win the title without having to win the Iron Bowl before, and it’s likely that they would have clinched the West already in this scenario, meaning a loss here wouldn’t necessarily affect their playoff standing outside of seeding.
Even still, I think Alabama is the better overall team and will come out on top, although it will be a fight until the very last whistle.
Pick: Alabama 34, Auburn 27 (8-4, 4-4)
Next. Way too early 2020 NFL Mock Draft. dark
What do you think Auburn fans? Given the difficulty of the schedule, would an 8-4 mark next season be enough for Malzahn to remain the Tigers head coach moving forward, or would a fifth Iron Bowl loss in six tries be the final nail in his coffin?