Arguably the biggest Iron Bowl takes place Saturday when the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide take on the fourth-ranked Auburn Tigers. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have Alabama favored by 10 points.
Many are talking about this being the greatest Iron Bowl of all time. Yet, oddsmakers don't seem to agree. The Crimson Tide are favored once again this season by double figures, this time over a Top 5 team that is also a rival. Seems the people in the desert don't believe Auburn is going to be able to put up a fight.
Auburn's offense has been pretty impressive this season. They run the football like a team that doesn't know how to use the forward pass and it's been effective for them. Yet, in their lone loss this season Auburn totalled just 213 yards on the ground against LSU. Typically that wouldn't be bad, but Auburn is averaging better than 320 yards on the ground per game this season, which is second best in the country.
Alabama's defense is better than LSU's and we're sure they'll be up to the challenge of trying to stop the Auburn rushing attack. But what if the Tigers were able to control the ground game and run on the Crimson Tide? What if they won? That would surely throw a wrench into the final BCS and it's what many people are hoping for, especially those in Columbus, Ohio.
The Tide has steam rolled their way to another 11-0 record and they'll play in the SEC championship game again if they can win this football game. Hard to believe, but this Iron Bowl will be the first where the winner is guaranteed to play in the SEC championship game. None of the previous contests had that riding on the line.
We don't think the world would be shocked if Auburn won this game. They've won and covered in seven straight games overall and have risen to fourth in the rankings. Yet, Alabama has won 17 consecutive road games.
A.J. McCarron has been the quite leader for Alabama and we think he'll play well in this game. The Tide can obviously score points and we know their defense is the best in college football. But will McCarron continue to avoid making mistakes and lead his team to a win?
Auburn, if they can run the football, will hang around in this game. Ultimately, they're still not on the same level as Alabama. But in a one-game scenario they only have to be better than Alabama for 60 minutes on the field. However, this doesn't seem like a spot where the upset will occur. Both offenses will look good, but the Tide defense will make the difference in this one.
Free Pick: Alabama 31, Auburn 24
College Football Free Picks: Alabama vs Auburn Betting
What college football bettors need to know about Alabama Crimson Tide vs Auburn Tigers on Saturday (11/30/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Marco D'Angelo, with Bryan Leonard & Ken Thomson.
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