Alabama vs. Auburn Prediction, Preview, and Odds

We have one of the biggest rivalries in college football on Saturday afternoon when No. 8 Alabama (10-1 SU, 7-0 SEC) meets Auburn (6-5 SU, 3-4 SEC) in the Iron Bowl.

Alabama, who has won nine straight games, still has CFP aspirations. The Tigers are attempting to spoil Alabama's season and win their first game in this series since 2019.

When it comes to college football picks, our NCAAF Predictions are stellar. 

Flying under the radar

Really? Alabama is flying under the radar? Nick Saban probably doesn't mind that Alabama is not forgotten, but waiting for teams from the Big 10, Pac-12 and ACC to lose so they can sneak up in the CFP rankings. But since losing to Texas 34-24 on Sept. 9, they have worked their way in impressive fashion but against a pretty down SEC. In their last game, they crushed FCS Chattanooga 66-10 at home as a 44-point favorite.

Alabama owns the SEC West once again with a 7-0 record. With LSU and Ole Miss at 5-2 and with losses already to the Tide. The player that makes Alabama roll (Tide) is quarterback Jalen Milroe, who is completing 66.4% of his passes for 2,267 yards with 19 TDs and six picks.  He also has 332 yards rushing and 12 TDs. He helps a ground game led by Jase McClellan (737 yards) become even more explosive. WR Jermaine Burton adds 29 catches with 642 yards and six TDs.

On defense, Alabama is as strong as ever. They allow 310.5 yards per game (17th), just 192.5 passing yards (23rd) and 117.9 points per game (29th) on 17.4 points (14th). Offensively, they are averaging 176.3 rushing yards (44th) and 229 passing yards. Linebackers Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner are dominant players who help dominate the run game.

Guaranteed game doesn't guarantee a win

If Auburn coach Hugh Freeze could change the scheduling for the season, he'd probably try and move New Mexico State off the schedule, considering they were anything but an easy win out of the Group of Five. The Tigers paid the Aggies nearly $2 million to come out East and New Mexico State destroyed Auburn 31-10 for their first-ever SEC win. This was truly embarrassing for a Tigers team that had just won three straight over Mississippi State (27-13), Vanderbilt (31-15) and Arkansas (48-10) before possibly looking ahead to Alabama and losing by 21 as a 25-point home favorite.

Auburn didn't show up in this game as the Aggies held them to just 213 total yards and 11 first downs. Payton Thorne was held to 148 yards and a TD and 38 rushing yards for the Tigers.

This is a streaky Auburn team that lost four games in the middle of the season to Texas A&M, Georgia by just seven, LSU  by 30, and Ole Miss at home.  Thorne is completing 64.9% of his passes for 1,580 yards with 14 TDs and seven INTs. He also has 463 rushing yards and three TDs. Jarquez Hunter leads the team with 772 yards rushing (5.8ypc) and seven TDs. He also has 16 catches for 111 yards.

Overall, the Tigers are solid against the pass, allowing 196.5 yards per game (28th) and 156.5 rushing yards (78th) with 21.5 points per game. On offense, they are a very good running team, averaging 194.6 yards per game (22nd), but they are throwing for just 162.9 yards per game in the air (121st).

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Best Bets for this Game

Full-Game Side Bet

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Yes, I'm taking a team that lost to New Mexico State at home last week. Were they ready to play last week and possibly looking ahead? Sure, they were looking ahead and weren't ready to play. At home, Auburn has given the Tide some very tough games, including taking them to overtime in 2021 as a 20.5-point dog and beating them outright two years before that. Auburn does have a very good running game and enough ways to make this a very competitive game because they will be up for this one. That's a huge rivalry and a win could make Auburn's season and end Alabama's playoff chances.

Prediction: Auburn +14

Full-Game Total Pick

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Alabama is going to score points. They've averaged 40 points in their last seven games. Auburn averaged over 35 points per game in their last three before the New Mexico State debacle. Last year's game was well over the total of 51 (49-27) and while I don't see it that high scoring, I can see both teams scoring the 30s.

Prediction: Over 49

Ben has been a sports writer for over 35 years, dabbling in college and pro basketball, college and pro football, baseball, college lacrosse, minor league baseball and even college gymnastics. He's also been involved in the gaming industry for nearly 30 years and has been looking to beat the books since he was 13! Ben has had great success in handicapping college football, the NFL, college basketball, the NBA and MLB for 27+ years. His Twitter handle is @BenHayesWAW