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Alabama vs Auburn Opening Odds — Crimson Tide 19-Point Favorites for Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare

Jack Magruder

by Jack Magruder in College Football

Updated Nov 21, 2021 · 12:42 PM PST

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young throwing a pass
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws against Arkansas during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
  • No. 2 Alabama is a 19-point favorite over Auburn
  • The Crimson Tide is 6-5 ATS, 2-2 on the road
  • Auburn is 5-6 ATS, 3-3 at home

No. 2 Alabama (10-1) is a 19-point road favorite against Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl at 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, on CBS The Tide have won five games in a row since a 41-38 loss at Texas A&M.

Auburn (6-5) has lost three in a row to fall out of the AP Top 25 in coach Bryan Harsin’s first year. The Tigers are 2-3 against teams ranked in the AP poll.

Alabama vs Auburn Opening Odds

Team Moneyline Spread Total
Alabama Crimson Tide NA -19 (-110) Over 53.5 (-110)
Auburn Tigers NA +19  (-110) Under 53.5 (-110)

Odds as of Nov. 21 at DraftKings.

Alabama and Auburn have split the last 20 games between the two, going 10-10 both straight up and ATS. The Tide have won five of the last seven, going 4-3 ATS.

Auburn has won and covered three of the last four at Jordan-Hare, and over a longer stretch are 6-3 straight up and ATS at home. The Tigers’ 48-45 victory in 2019 served as the final blow to knock Alabama out of a chance at CFP Final Four. The Crimson Tide did not appear in a New Year’s Six Bowl that season for the first time since 2010.

Alabama Gets By

The Crimson Tide enter Jordan-Hare, a venue where they have had tempered success, after a record-setting day by quarterback Bryce Young, who despite passing for 559 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-35 victory over Arkansas fell behind Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud in the DraftKings’ latest Heisman Trophy odds.

Young is listed at +150, the first time this season he has not been the favorite. Stroud is listed at -200.

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Arkansas’ had 468 yards total offense, 358 passing, and had second-most points Alabama has given up,  behind Texas A&M’s 42. Aggies’ quarterback Zach Calzada had 285 yards passing against the Tide.

Alabama, which ranked fourth in the FBS in total defense before Arkansas, is now eighth, giving up 306.5 yards against per game. They are fifth in rushing defense at 85.9 yards per game.

Auburn Struggles Continue

The Tigers were without key components quarterback Bo Nix and placekicker Anders Carlson in their 21-17 loss at South Carolina as a 7.5-point favorite Saturday, and neither will be back for the Iron Bowl.

Tigers’ quarterback T.J. Finley, as LSU transfer, was 17 for 32 for 188 yards with a touchdown in his first start in place of Nix, who underwent season-ending ankle surgery earlier in the week after suffering the injury in the fourth quarter of a 43-34 home loss to Mississippi State on Nov. 13. Finley had played five previous games off the bench.

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New placekicker Ben Patton missed a 25-yard field goal that would have brought the Tigers within one point on the third play of the fourth quarter.  Carlson suffered  a knee injury an onside kick late against the Bulldogs.

Auburn has blown 28-3 and 14-0 leads in its last two games. South Carolina outscored the Tigers 21-3 over the final three quarters Saturday and Mississippi State scored 40 straight points after falling behind 28-3 the week before, the largest blow lead in Auburn history. The Bulldogs had 415 yards passing in that one.

Auburn has given up 426.5 yards per game since the schedule got real six games ago but limited South Carolina to 306.

By the Numbers

Alabama has won the last two at Jordan-Hare when favored by 15 points or more. Auburn is 1-4 ATS against opponents currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Alabama is 24-1 straight up in is last 25.

History suggests the line should tighten, but it is hard to back a backup quarterback who was 14 for 28 for 144 yards and a touchdown in a 55-17 loss against Alabama while at LSU in 2020 and lost his job to Max Johnson in the second half of that game.

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