It's Iron Bowl week, and a pretty normal one at that.
Alabama, at 9-2, is still right in the thick of the National Championship race. A win clinches the Crimson Tide's spot in next week's SEC Championship Game against either Texas A&M or Georgia, while a loss would not only knock them out of Atlanta but also keep them out of the playoff for the second straight year. It's the normal stakes that the Crimson Tide has when they face Auburn.
For Auburn, as usual, they are in the position of playing spoiler. At 5-6, the Tigers can only hope to grasp bowl eligibility at some also-ran site. But much more importantly for them, they can ruin Alabama's season. That's what they live for down on the Plains, and despite the pains of a brutally disappointing season, all would be forgiven if they can beat Alabama on Saturday.
There's nothing more at stake than there always is in the Iron Bowl. This game always means a ton, and that didn't change because of an expanded playoff field.
Jordan-Hare Stadium typically puts Alabama fans in a chokehold. That didn't change this year, but the Crimson Tide has - despite the narrative - come out victorious on the Plains the last two times they traveled down there.
If they want to do it for a third straight trip, these players will be important.
Alabama needs these three players to step up against Auburn
QB Ty Simpson
If you have followed this column all year, you know I try to steer clear of the star players and look for guys on the margins who could make a big impact. Not this week. This week, there's no bigger X-Factor for Alabama than the performance of Ty Simpson.
Simpson has put together two of his three worst performances of the season the last two weeks against Oklahoma and Eastern Illinois. He has looked a lot more like the QB we saw against Florida State - and ultimately questioned whether he could be the guy - than the one we saw throughout September, October, and the first part of November.
Alabama needs the version of Simpson that was leading the Heisman Trophy race this weekend against Auburn. Despite the many faults of the Tigers, they do have an elite defense that will seriously challenge an inconsistent Crimson Tide offensive line.
If Alabama wants to pull out the win at Jordan-Hare and keep their playoff hopes alive, Simpson has to play at a high level.
TE Kaleb Edwards
Freshman TE Kaleb Edwards could be of massive importance this weekend, particularly if senior Josh Cuevas is unable to go. Cuevas injured his foot in practice last week and missed the Eastern Illinois game. Kalen DeBoer was non-committal about his status for the Iron Bowl, but the initial expectation was that the injury would keep him out multiple weeks.
We'll find out more when Alabama releases its initial availability report on Wednesday night.
If Cuevas is out, Edwards could be crucial to Alabama's offensive success. Auburn will stress the Alabama offensive line with different pressure packages to try and keep Simpson uncomfortable. He's going to need his safety valves, and that's something Cuevas has been really good at being this season.
Edwards will need to step up.
LB Nikhai Hill-Green
Regardless of what Auburn's plan is at QB, the Tigers are going to be committed to trying to run the football on Alabama. It's been the strength of their offense all season. Per Game on Paper, Auburn is 20th in the country in EPA/Rush and 32nd in rushing success rate.
Both Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight bring a dual-threat element to the Auburn ground game, and it won't be easy to defend. Kane Wommack's defense has continued to improve all season long, and heading into the Iron Bowl, Alabama is now 22nd in run defense success rate.
Part of that improvement is because of the emergence of senior LB Nikhai Hill-Green, who has become arguably the team's best run defender. He has played a consistent role for Alabama over the last month and a half, and is a big part of the reason the defense has gotten better and better.
His physicality in defending the run is pivotal and will play a major role against Auburn.