One of the best rivalries in all of college sports renews on Saturday when the No. 13 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (8-3) host their in-state nemesis, the Auburn Tigers (5-6) inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama is not out of the playoff picture, but a fourth loss in the SEC would eliminate the Tide from the inaugural 12-team playoff picture. With a win, a 9-3 team like Alabama – especially with their win over Georgia – is a hard team to leave out of this year’s playoff picture.
Auburn is fighting for its own postseason berth, needing a win to get to 6-6 and become bowl eligible. The Tigers have rattled many cages over the past four outings, winning three of those four contests to set up a postseason opportunity.
Will the Tide prevail over the Tigers, or can Auburn once again thwart Alabama’s postseason aspirations? We’ll cover that and our three best player prop bets for Saturday’s rivalry game.
Earlier this season, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe looked poised to become the next Crimson Tide student-athlete to earn the Heisman Trophy following his sterling start to the season.
Those aspirations came crashing down as the year – and an SEC schedule – took its toll on Milroe. He’s thrown from 459 yards in his past three games, tossing more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) during that stretch.
Against Auburn, expect Milroe to return to his early-season form. Bettors should expect Milroe to pick apart the Tigers’ defense for multiple scores through the air and significant yardage as Alabama needs this win to salvage their playoff dreams.
Senior wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith is finishing his final season on a high note for the Tigers, logging 286 receiving yards on 12 receptions over the past three outings to help his team win two of its past three games.
Lambert-Smith is a big-play receiver, and he has four catches over 50 yards already this season. He’s also recorded eight games over 62 receiving yards, giving bettors confidence he’ll eclipse that mark for a ninth time against Alabama.
We rarely call for the same player to have such a magnanimous game, but Milroe has seemed to step up for big occasions this year.
The 6-foot-2 quarterback has logged 615 rushing yards this season and 17 touchdowns on the ground.
Still, Milroe is that special athlete, and the Iron Bowl brings out the best in big players. Expect Milroe to rush for over 53 yards for the fifth time this season to help the Tide close out their season with a victory.
I expect Alabama will win this game, but the line is set at nearly two touchdowns. That’s too large of a spread with the Crimson Tide looking as shaky as they have over the past two months.
A better option would be for two offensive minds to post a lot of points against each other on Saturday. The Tide has scored 36.2 points per contest this year while Auburn has punched home 31.0 points per outing.
Expect a similar effort Saturday when these teams meet, putting this contest into the 60-70 total point range.