3 players who could be X-Factors for Alabama football in Iron Bowl against Auburn

Alabama football heads into Saturday afternoon's Iron Bowl against Auburn in Tuscaloosa coming off a deflating defeat on the road in Norman to Oklahoma. The loss to the Sooners continues to weigh heavily on the minds of Alabama fans as it knocked the Crimson Tide out of the SEC Championship race, and likely ended its College Football Playoff hopes.

That should not affect a thing on the field this weekend. Because the Iron Bowl is a season in and of itself. It has never mattered what the record of either team is when they meet at the end of November. All that matters is that each team despises the mere existence of the other.

The honeymoon is long over Kalen DeBoer, but things will get even rockier for the first-year head coach if he loses his first Iron Bowl, especially at home against a 5-6 Tigers team. It would be the third loss of the season for Alabama to a team with five or more losses. An unacceptable reality for fans and power brokers in Tuscaloosa.

If Alabama wants to avoid an 8-4 regular season and its first loss to Auburn in five years, these three players will be of key importance.

3 players who could be X-Factors for Alabama against Auburn

3. Domani Jackson

USC transfer Domani Jackson has been a godsend for Alabama this year. The junior has provided much-needed veteran leadership in a cornerback room that featured a lot of freshmen. He's been lockdown on his side of the field.

Against Auburn, Jackson will face a big test. He'll likely draw the assignment of star freshman WR Cam Coleman.

After a slow start to his freshman campaign, Coleman has back-to-back 100+ yard days. He led Auburn with 7 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' upset win over Texas A&M. QB Payton Thorne loves taking shots down the field to Coleman when he is in one-on-one situations.

Coleman will get plenty of one-on-one opportunities and it will be up to Jackson, and freshman CB Zabien Brown, to win those battles.

2. Justin Jefferson

This one is rather obvious following the season-ending injury to star LB Deontae Lawson.

Jefferson will step in at LB and will be the green dot signal caller for the defense. So not only will Jefferson be tasked with replacing Lawson's production - he's the team's second-leading tackler - he'll also have to replace his leadership in the middle. Neither is a small task.

Jefferson is extremely talented and has plenty of snaps under his belt. He's the team's fourth-leading tackler himself despite a lot fewer snaps than the guys around him statistically.

Jefferson is athletic enough to contend with athletic quarterbacks. Auburn's Thorne will run any chance he gets, and you can get that Hugh Freeze saw how effective the QB run was for Oklahoma. Jefferson will be in position to make plays on Saturday. The question will be whether or not he will make them.

1. Jalen Milroe

All season I've avoided using Jalen Milroe in this weekly X-Factor column. I've tried to single out players who are less talked about. But let's face it: Milroe's performance is the only one on this list that really matters.

Alabama only goes as Milroe goes. He struggled mightily against Oklahoma last week, and Alabama's offense managed a meager three points, its lowest offensive output in 20 years.

Alabama needs Milroe to be the star version of himself. The version of himself that showed up for the Crimson Tide against Georgia and LSU. If the version of Milroe we saw against Tennessee and Oklahoma shows up, then Alabama is going to finish the season on a sour note in the Iron Bowl.

Milroe is Alabama's ultimate X-Factor.