The Alabama Crimson Tide was far from perfect while winning the Iron Bowl. Plenty of national, college football pundits will make that point. Some will fairly say the Alabama Football win was not pretty. A drop on a sure touchdown pass and too many Crimson Tide turnovers kept the game from being a pretty win. Crimson Tide fans know to ignore such dissonance.
The Alabama Crimson Tide win was imperfect. So are most Iron Bowl wins and the 2024 game followed the pattern. But imperfection does not make an Iron Bowl win less great. The games are all about which team stands tall at the end. Auburn lost that battle and lost again when more than a few Auburn players could not cope with their comeuppance.
Auburn could not deliver on Iron Bowl week, bold claims. The most glaring fail was by Auburn linebacker, Demarcus Riddick. Before the Iron Bowl Riddick denigrated Ryan Williams and pronounced "I will not lose to Bama while I am here." Riddick also claimed he is faster than Jalen Milroe. Riddick was credited with just two tackles against Alabama, and Milroe outran him for a touchdown.
Alabama Crimson Tide defenders didn't do much talking during Iron Bowl week. Their play said much on Saturday. Alabama's sound defensive plan was to limit Jarquez Hunter and make Payton Thorne beat the Tide. Thorne played pretty well with 301 passing yards and 41 rushing yards but produced only one scoring drive, not aided by an Alabama turnover. Hunter went into the game leading the SEC at 6.58 yards per carry. He averaged 4.3 yards against Alabama and produced only 56 yards, with 21 coming on one play. Auburn had no chance to win without a big game from Hunter and Kane Wommack's defense slammed that door.
Last Alabama Crimson Tide Game for Jalen Milroe?
Jalen Milroe delivered a big game in likely his last game at Bryant-Denny. Milroe was an outstanding 18-for-24 passing, for 256 yards. He rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns. Two lost fumbles and an interception blemished Milroe's performance, but one of the fumbles resulted from a pass protection bust.
The Iron Bowl win kept Playoff chances alive for the Alabama Crimson Tide. More importantly long term, it was a win that Kalen DeBoer had to get in order to build momentum for the 2025 season.
Note: Game stats provided by ESPN