Alabama Football: Iron Bowl comes amidst distractions for both teams

Alabama-Auburn is never a trap game; year in and year out, it is the most important game on either team’s schedule regardless of respective team records. When postseason implications come into play, the Iron Bowl just becomes that much more important. But the game definitely falls in a weird spot for an Alabama football team that really hasn’t played well in its last three SEC games.

The Tide is coming off of a bittersweet home victory over Arkansas, one that felt more like a loss due to its defensive struggles, but also one that clinched the SEC West. With a showdown in Atlanta against the Georgia Bulldogs looming, Alabama has to find a way to remain focused on its fiercest rival.

Alabama Football: Auburn’s season going off the tracks

If the Alabama football team has played poorly over the last month, the Auburn Tigers are absolutely reeling. Just three weeks ago, there were college football media personalities saying Auburn controlled its own destiny and could potentially get to Atlanta and beyond. The Tigers haven’t won a game since.

Auburn was written off early after a slow start, losing a close game at Penn State followed by struggle wins over Georgia State and LSU. The Tigers were then run off their own field by Georgia. However, after big wins over Arkansas and Ole Miss, many began to point out a path for Auburn to turn the SEC upside down. If it could find a way to win at Texas A&M, the claim went, Auburn would not be challenged again until it faced Bama, which would essentially be an SEC West championship game. An Iron Bowl for all the marbles, where anything could happen.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Auburn was suffocated by A&M, losing 20-3. It then had a complete meltdown at home, blowing a 25-point lead to Mississippi State. Auburn lost the game and its quarterback, as 3-year starter Bo Nix broke his ankle in the contest.

Having lost two in a row, and with its conference championship hopes long gone, the Auburn Tigers took backup quarterback and LSU transfer T.J. Finley on the road and dropped another winnable game, this time to South Carolina.

Alabama Football: Focus should be on Iron Bowl

While Auburn has looked miserable lately and hasn’t won a game since October 30th, any Bama fan worth his salt knows it would be foolish to overlook the Tigers. Strange things happen in Jordan-Hare Stadium (Bama has lost 3 out of the last 4), and this 2021 Alabama team has already shown plenty of vulnerability. It cannot afford to underestimate a struggling Auburn team now that it knows the #1 team in the country is lurking on the horizon.

Though Auburn’s season has descended into shambles, it’s important to remember that a wounded tiger is a dangerous one. We should assume that Auburn will still be hungry to satisfy its primary goal, which is its goal in most years: to ruin Alabama’s season.

Alabama Football: Will external factors distract Tigers?

Auburn, too, may have some trouble focusing on the Tide this week. Of course, there’s always the chance that some of its players have checked out. This season has not gone according to plan for the Tigers, particularly in the past few weeks. Additionally, a late-season quarterback change following a gruesome injury to Bo Nix, Auburn’s emotional leader, could be enough to derail the team’s mental state.

Lastly, head coach Bryan Harsin has been something of a distraction all year. While he got off to a decent start on the field, Harsin caused plenty of controversy with his vague statements in regards to the university’s vaccine mandate for employees. After three straight losses, Harsin’s on-field performance has also lost its luster. Finally, in recent weeks, he has become a recurring name in the University of Washington’s head coaching search.

Harsin came to the Plains from Boise State, so he is familiar with, and perhaps more comfortable in, the Pacific northwest. However, the optics of Auburn’s head coach trying to find a way out of the SEC after not even coaching a full season aren’t great, and certainly can’t be helping his team focus on Alabama.

In what has been a hectic college football season, it will be interesting to see if either team looks distracted when they take the field on Saturday afternoon for the sport’s biggest rivalry.