Written by Paul Myerberg at USAToday.com
Breaking down No. 1 Alabama’s 30-12 win against No. 16 Auburn in the 2016 Iron Bowl:
THE BIG PICTURE: Alabama moved one step closer to completing one of the most impressive regular seasons in recent college football history by beating rival Auburn to remain unbeaten heading into next weekend’s SEC championship game against Florida.
However, Saturday wasn’t about a perfect regular season, nor was it about the College Football Playoff. While the win solidified Alabama’s place as the top team in the penultimate Playoff rankings, the game itself lacked national meaning; win or lose, the Tide were headed to the SEC title game.
This was all about the Iron Bowl, with all this rivalry entails — bragging rights, first and foremost. Think going 12-0 is sweet for Alabama? Nothing could be sweeter than completing a 12-0 mark on the back of a win against your in-state rival.
WHAT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT: But the win was littered with lapses into sloppiness: Alabama was careless with the football, subpar on special teams, inconsistent at quarterback and altogether average, relatively speaking. This was particularly true in the first half, as the Tide’s issues allowed Auburn to hang around with a far superior opponent.
It’s OK. The win is important, as is the message Nick Saban will inevitably share with his team before meeting the Gators — that the Tide can’t rest on their laurels against any opponent. That may have been the case against Auburn.
KEY STAT: Alabama led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter, with Auburn getting the scoring started with a field goal following a long punt return. But the score belied the Tide’s total dominance: Alabama had 159 yards to Auburn’s zero at the end of 15 minutes. Yes, zero yards. The offense would get better, but not by much.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: One week after missing Alabama’s win against Chattanooga for what Saban called a violation of team rules, wide receiver Ardarius Stewart paced the Tide with 10 receptions for 127 yards and a score. Despite missing three games overall, Stewart is the team leader in receiving yards (800) and receiving touchdowns (eight).
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