TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Auburn forced four turnovers but couldn’t capitalize with touchdowns, falling to No. 13 Alabama 28-14 in the 89th Iron Bowl Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“We won the turnover battle but we’ve got to score touchdowns,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “Our defense couldn’t get off the field on third down and we couldn’t score touchdowns when we got in the red zone.”
Auburn’s Ian Vachon kicked a pair of field goals while Alabama answered with two Jalen Milroe touchdown runs to take a 14-6 halftime lead.
Kaleb Harris ended Alabama’s first drive by forcing a Ryan Williams fumble that Eugene Asante recovered on Auburn’s 27-yard line.
The Tigers drove 52 yards but missed a 39-yard field goal attempt. After the teams traded punts, Alabama took advantage of good field position by driving 52 yards and taking a 7-0 lead on Milroe’s 19-yard touchdown run with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter.
Auburn then drove 56 yards to Alabama’s 19-yard line but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 ended the opportunity.
Auburn was 4 for 12 on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth down while Alabama was 12 for 18 on third down.
Caleb Wooden’s interception at Auburn’s 9-yard line prevented another Alabama scoring opportunity and led to Auburn’s first points.
The Tigers drove 72 yards in nine plays and trimmed Alabama’s lead to 7-3 on Vachon’s 37-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.
Alabama answered with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, going ahead 14-3 on Milroe’s 1-yard run with 2:44 to play in the half.
After an Auburn punt, Jalen McLeod sacked MIlroe and forced a fumble that Philip Blidi recovered at Alabama’s 34-yard line.
Payton Thorne passed to Rivaldo Fairweather for 14 yards to give Auburn first-and-goal at Alabama’s 2-yard line with a minute left in the half, but three Tiger runs failed to generate a touchdown, resulting in Vachon’s 25-yard field goal and a 14-6 halftime deficit.
Alabama opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown run, taking a 21-6 lead on Justice Haynes’ 2-yard touchdown run.
Auburn went three-and-out on its first possession of the third quarter, leading to Mllroe’s third touchdown, a 17-yard run, that gave Alabama a 28-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Tigers responded with an 87-yard touchdown drive, converting on third-and-9 with Thorne’s 21-yard pass to Rivaldo Fairweather and scoring on Thorne’s 29-yard pass to Cam Coleman, the freshman’s eighth TD catch of the season and sixth in the past three weeks.
Jarquez Hunter’s 2-point run pulled Auburn within 14 points at 28-14 with 2:31 to play in the third quarter.
McLeod forced another Milroe fumble that Keldric Faulk recovered at Alabama’s 49-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Thorne’s 17-yard completion to KeAndre Lambert-Smith gave Auburn a first-down at Alabama’s 30-yard line, but the Tigers threw an interception on a double-pass.
After Auburn’s defense forced an Alabama punt, another interception ended the Tigers’ final possession.
Thorne completed 24 of 41 passes for 301 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Lambert-Smith caught eight passes for 116 yards while Coleman added seven receptions for 78 yards and a TD.
Dorian Mausi led Auburn with 10 tackles while Harris and McLeod each added nine.
Auburn (5-7, 2-6) concludes the season and turns its attention to Wednesday’s National Signing Day.
“It’s another step,” Freeze said. “We’ve got one top-10 class and hopefully we can land another next week. We have to go back and try to finish it, then see what we need in the portal to try to make sure we’re not feeling this way next year.”
GAME NOTES
>> Captains: Eugene Asante, Luke Deal, Jerrin Thompson, Jeremiah Wright
>> Coin Toss: Alabama wins the toss and defers; Auburn will receive
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: none
>> Auburn has scored in a school-record 154 consecutive games
INDIVIDUAL NOTES – OFFENSE
>> Jarquez Hunter is fourth among Auburn career rushers with 3,371 yards, passing Ben Tate (3,321 from 2006-09) and Joe Cribbs (3,368 from 1976-79); next is James Brooks (3,523 from 1977-80)
>> Hunter’s 1,201 yards this season rank 19th among Auburn single season rushers all-time
>> Hunter ranks sixth in Auburn career all-purpose yardage with 4,446 yards; next is Joe Cribbs (4,561 from 1976-79), Onterio McCalebb (4,566 from 2009-12), Bo Jackson (4,892 from 1982-85)
>> Cam Coleman is third in Auburn freshman receiving with 598 yards, passing Seth Williams (534 in 2018); next is Freddy Weygand (796 in 1984)
>> Coleman has eight touchdown catches this season, second most ever by an Auburn freshman behind Ronney Daniels (9 in 1999)q
>> Malcolm Simmons ranks fifth in Auburn freshman receiving with 451 yards to date, just behind Cam Coleman
>> Payton Thorne has 21 touchdown passes this season and 36 at Auburn
>> Luke Deal has set an Auburn record appearing in 65 career games
>> Rivaldo Fairweather is tied for the Auburn lead in career tight end receptions with 68 with John Samuel Shenker (68 from 2018-22)
>> Fairweather is fourth among Auburn tight ends in career receiving yardage with 763, passing Robert Johnson (741 from 2000-02); next is Fred Baxter (767 from 1990-92), John Samuel Shenker (779 from 2018-22)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES – DEFENSE
>> Kaleb Harris records his first career forced fumble; Eugene Asante records his second fumble recovery at Auburn
>> Keldric Faulk records his first and second career forced fumbles
>> Caleb Wooden records his first interception of the season and second of his career
>> Jalen McLeod records his second and third forced fumbles at Auburn
>> Philip Blidi records his first Auburn fumble recovery
>> Jalen McLeod has 13.5 sacks and 23.0 TFL for his Auburn career
INDIVIDUAL NOTES – SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Oscar Chapman is now the leader in Auburn career punts with 246, passing Lewis Colbert (244 punts from 1982-85)
