“Familiarity breeds contempt”- Aesop, 550 BC

Let’s set the obvious aside. The Auburn offense and Alabama defense do not like each other. Now, with that said, time to delve inside the Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide ranks No. 28 nationally in total defense.

That figure takes into consideration passing/rushing yards combined. While concerning, aspects of the Alabama defense actually play into Auburn’s favor, and should help them on Saturday afternoon. 

The Big Play

In order to defeat Alabama or any other defense, you must generate big plays. In what feels like a relatively close game, Auburn needs to metaphorically punch Alabama square in the mouth. Whether a long pass or run, the Tigers offense must make the Tide feel their presence.

Bryant-Denny will be an electrically-hostile atmosphere for the men from The Plains. Hugh Freeze discussed the necessity of the big play during media availability. 

“Usually, the biggest ones need to be called against the right coverages at the right time, without pressure,” said Freeze. “All those are, sometimes, a guessing game, but I think we do have a knack for having good designs for some.

“We will need those to go multiple drives. You are not going to drive the football 75 yards every time without some explosive plays. That will be a big part of winning in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.”

The Flaw in Broad Daylight

For as formidable as the pass defense, the run defense looks rather shaky. Ranking 63rd nationally, the Tide will bend to a potent rushing attack. Five times during the season opponents run all over the defense for more than 150 yards, including a whopping 257 from Oklahoma last week.

This incarnation of the Crimson Tide front seven lacks the brutes along the defensive line to smother ball carriers. Jonathan Allen and Quinnen Williams won’t walk through the door on Saturday. A glaring weakness will see a team desperate to compensate. 

Meanwhile, Jarquez Hunter will feast, or at least he should. With holes available, he can pick his spot, or cut back and make his own. In his last Iron Bowl, Hunter will want to take advantage of his ability to cut and get north/south in a hurry.

Take A Chance

As mentioned, Alabama struggles against the run but excels against the pass. They’re 17th in the country in passing yards allowed at 181.2. They’re No. 11 in the country with 14 interceptions. This falls completely on the shoulders of the secondary. Seven deep in the secondary allows the Tide to attack offenses, regardless of route, down or distance. 

The Bama will look for Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne to make a mistake. Thorne threw six interceptions in Auburn’s first-four games, but has thrown only two in the last six. That doesn’t mean Auburn should put the game in Thorne’s hands. Rather, Hunter should be the focus of the game plan.

 Hunter’s running ability will force the secondary to creep up. A solid play action and vertical pass will bring success. Trust in the receivers’ ability after you trust in the safeties’ inability to not bite on a solid fake.

Bottom Line

Without monsters upfront, Auburn needs to freely run the ball with aggression. This will wear down a unit that’s displayed a lack of quality run support. Two dozen or more carries for the rushing attack brings defensive fatigue. 

Furthermore, without a strong pass rush, Auburn needs to roll the dice and gamble against a stout secondary. Left on several islands, bolstered by the ground attack, Auburn’s offense stands on equal footing with the Alabama defense.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — We’ve seen former Tompkins and current University of Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe make amazing plays on the field. Off the field, he is raising awareness for sudden cardiac arrest.

“It’s a sudden killer, it’s a silent killer, it happens in some cases without warning”, Ruqayya Gibson, Executive Director of Damani Gibson Foundation, said.

Milroe is the lead ambassador for the Damani Gibson Foundation. For every touchdown he throws or runs for, the foundation will donate an AED to a school or community to help save lives.

SEE ALSO:2 teens hailed as heroes after performing lifesaving CPR for wrestler in cardiac arrest

“Studies have shown that out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has a 10% average survival rate, but if someone gets an AED connected to them within the first minute, their survival chances go up to 90%. And that’s huge,” Gibson said.

Ruqayya Gibson is the former head track coach at Cy-Springs. Her son, 17-year-old son Damani, died from sudden cardiac arrest in 2019.

“When I think back to anything out of the ordinary, I would say leading up to the sudden cardiac arrest, he did seem tired. That was his warning sign that he was tired, but he had enough energy to go to practice. You know, he went to practice. He had a great practice. He ran around off at practice that day and won the run-off”, Gibson said.

Gibson stepped away as an assistant track coach at the University of Alabama to pour all her time and energy into the foundation. “It just warms my heart to have such good people involved in his campaign who I get to see live out their dreams, even though I didn’t get to see Damani live out his dreams,” she said. “That’s why I call them the dream favors: because we’re trying to save other athletes, kids, youth, and other people, all in general, from losing their dreams to something that is a silent killer but is also preventable.”

Other Damani Gibson Foundation ambassadors include former Kinkaid running back Josh Williams, current LSU RB Shadrach Banks, Jr., and former North Shore WR and LB Shadrach Banks.

Why every minute matters when someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest

(It) can’t be stressed enough about awareness and prevention for SCA. ” It’s very important to get your regular checkups, but also ask for heart screenings,” Gibson said.

“The EKG is good across the board for anyone to get at least every year or every two years because the heart does change over time. So if you’ve gotten it once, don’t just say, okay, they’ve gotten their heart screened. I don’t have to do it anymore.”

Saturday afternoon, one of the SEC’s most storied rivalries will be renewed. Auburn will take on Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and the Thursday injury report has been revealed.

Both teams are dealing with notable injuries. On the Crimson Tide side, linebacker Deontae Lawson went down against Oklahoma and will be out for the matchup after undergoing surgery, teammate Malachi Moore confirmed Tuesday. For the Tigers, tight end Rivaldo Fairweather showed up on the injury report Wednesday as a Game Time Decision.

Alabama is looking to bounce back from a loss to Oklahoma last time out. It marked the Crimson Tide’s third loss of the season, leading to questions about their College Football Playoff hopes. Alabama came in at No. 13 in the latest rankings, just outside the 12-team bracket based on projected seedings.

Auburn will look to get revenge after last year’s loss in the final minutes at Jordan-Hare Stadium, but brings momentum into the matchup. The Tigers held on to defeat Texas A&M last week – another one of the upsets around the SEC – and will look to continue playing spoiler in Saturday’s matchup against Alabama.

Auburn and Alabama will square off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Here are the Thursday injury reports for both teams.

Full Alabama at Auburn Thursday injury report

Alabama Crimson Tide

Auburn Tigers

Alabama and Auburn engaged in a thriller a season ago at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and it came down to a 4th-and-Goal play from the 31-yard line. That’s when Jalen Milroe connected with Isaiah Bond in the back of the end zone, giving the Crimson Tide what would be the game-winning touchdown in the 27-24 victory.

This time around, the Tigers are going to Tuscaloosa. Cam Coleman had the perfect way to sum up their mentality, as well.

“Really a revenge tour,” Coleman said, via Jacob Waters of Opelika-Auburn News. “We’re going in their place and we’re really just going to go into their crib and just take over and have fun while we’re doing it.

“This is going to be some of the last memories we make with each other so let’s go make it a memorable game.”