Iron Bowl 2024 position by position: Who has the edge?

For the second time in three years, the Iron Bowl doesn’t have much in the way of national championship implications.

Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) hosts Auburn (5-6, 2-5) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Tuscaloosa’s Bryant-Denny Stadium, with television coverage by ABC. The Crimson Tide is still clinging to faint College Football Playoff hopes (in short, a bunch of other teams would have to lose this weekend or next for them to get in), while the Tigers can achieve bowl-eligibility with a win.

Alabama is a double-digit favorite in this year’s Iron Bowl, and hasn’t lost to Auburn in Tuscaloosa since 2010. But as we saw last week in both Auburn and Norman, Okla., strange things are afoot in the SEC in 2024.

So how do the Crimson Tide and Tigers match up? We take a look in our annual Iron Bowl position-by-position breakdown:

Quarterback

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe was a legitimate Heisman candidate early this season, but he’s been outright bad in recent weeks, with just three touchdowns and five interceptions passing in his last five games. Auburn’s Payton Thorne, meanwhile, has gone from a minus to a plus since his mid-season benching, and has thrown eight touchdown passes with just one interception in November. Thorne has definitely been the better passer of late, but it’s Milroe’s running ability — he leads the Crimson Tide with 615 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground — that makes the difference. Advantage: Alabama

Running back

Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter is either the best or second-best running back in the SEC (Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson being the other candidate), with 1,145 yards this season — 560 in his last four games — and 21 receptions. Back-ups Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb are also capable of carrying the load if need be. Alabama depends heavily on Milroe in the running game, but among the backs, Jamarion Miller (557 yards, 7 TDs) is the best of an underutilized tandem that also includes Justice Haynes (428 yards, 6 TDs). Miller and Haynes are both threats as receivers, combining for 30 catches this year. Advantage: Auburn

Receiver/tight end

Ryan Williams (42 receptions, 804 yards, eight touchdowns) has been a true phenom for Alabama this year, arguably the greatest freshman receiver in program history. Germie Bernard, who followed DeBoer to Tuscaloosa from Washington and has 39 catches for 603 yards, is a solid No. 2. Beyond that, however, there’s not much for the Crimson Tide to consistently count on among receivers Kobe Prentice and Kendrick Law and tight ends CJ Dippre and Josh Cuevas (the four of whom have combined for 49 catches and three touchdowns this season). Auburn has two excellent freshmen in Cam Coleman (30-520-7) and Malcolm Simmons (36-417-3), plus a capable tight end in Rivaldo Fairweather (28-317-2) — though Fairweather is a game-time decision Saturday due to injury. But the most-consistent performer of the group has been Penn State transfer Keandre Lambert-Smith, who leads the team with 42 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. Quality of depth gives the Tigers a slight nod here. Advantage: Auburn

Offensive line

Auburn’s offensive line is not the outright liability it has been in recent years, though the Tigers have allowed 26 sacks, tied for fifth-most in the 16-team SEC. Four of the Tigers’ starting linemen are fifth- or sixth-year seniors, with sophomore center Connor Lew the lone exception. Right guard Jeremiah Wright has been banged up during the latter part of the season, but is expected to be at or near 100% on Saturday. Alabama has four likely future NFL players among its starting linemen, with All-SEC left guard Tyler Booker and center Parker Brailsford the best of the group. Sophomore left tackle Kadyn Proctor has also been mostly excellent after returning from an offseason transfer to Iowa. Right guard Jaeden Roberts missed the Mercer game due to injury, but was back in the lineup last week at Oklahoma. It’s right tackle that has been problematic, with neither Elijah Pritchett nor Wilkin Formby performing up to the rest of the unit’s standard. Still, the Crimson Tide’s line is one of the best in the country when it can avoid penalties. Advantage: Alabama

Defensive line

Alabama rotates several players up front with no true star, though nose tackle Tim Keenan and defensive end LT Overton in particular have had some big moments this year. Tim Smith, James Smith, Jah-Marien Latham and Damon Payne give the Crimson Tide excellent depth with no real drop-off no matter who is in the game. Some opponents have been able to run the ball on Alabama this season, however. For Auburn, sophomore end Keldric Faulk has emerged as a standout, with nine tackles for loss and seven sacks this season. Tackles Philip Blidi, Isaiah Raikes and Jayson Jones — all transfers from other Power 4 programs — don’t fill up the stat sheet, but get the job done vs. the run. (NOTE: For purposes of this discussion, we’re considering Alabama’s Wolf position and Auburn’s Buck position — both of which operate mostly as edge-rushers — as linebackers since they also have some pass-coverage responsibilities.) Advantage: Even

Linebacker

Buck linebacker Jalen McLeod is arguably the best player on Auburn’s defense, with 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks this season. Inside ‘backers Dorian Mausi (team-high 71 tackles, 8 TFLs) and Eugene Asante (40 tackles, 2.5 sacks) are also dependably good. Ole Miss transfer Austin Keys and freshman Demarcus Riddick have split time at strong outside linebacker, though Riddick has been the more productive player of late. For Alabama, Mike linebacker Jihaad Campbell has had an All-SEC-caliber season, with a team-high 97 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five sacks and numerous other big plays. The loss of Stinger (weak inside) linebacker Deontae Lawson to a season-ending knee injury last week is massive, however, as the redshirt junior was defensive coordinator Kane Wommack’s eyes and ears on the field. Former junior college transfer Justin Jefferson has been solid as the third inside linebacker, but now becomes a starter at a key position. Redshirt sophomore Qua Russaw has filled in nicely at Wolf following a season-ending arm injury to Quandarrius Robinson three weeks ago vs. LSU, but the Crimson Tide is painfully thin at the position. Advantage: Auburn

Secondary

Auburn’s secondary has gotten better as the year has gone along, but is still prone to the big play. The standouts are free safety Jerrin Thompson, a Texas transfer, and sophomore cornerback Kayin Lee. Thompson is second on the team with 60 tackles, and also has two interceptions and four pass breakups. Lee also has two picks and seven PBUs. Freshmen Kaleb Harris at safety and Jay Crawford at cornerback have been pressed into the duty this year and have been just OK. Star/nickelback Keionte Scott has been banged up all year and has not really been an asset defensively. Despite some injuries and inexperience, Alabama’s defensive backfield has been outstanding at taking the ball away from the opposition. The standout is of course senior safety Malachi Moore, who has 66 tackles, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two interceptions this season. Sophomore safety Bray Hubbard has arguably been an upgrade at the other safety spot since starter Keon Sabb was hurt, regularly making big plays vs. both the pass and the run. At corner, USC transfer Domani Jackson and freshman Zabien Brown have been mostly good this year, and each has a game-clinching interception. The Husky (nickel) position is an important spot in Wommack’s defense, but no one among Devonta Smith, DaShawn Jones or Red Morgan has been especially productive this year. Advantage: Alabama

Special teams

Alabama’s Graham Nicholson was the Lou Groza Award winner as the country’s top kicker at Miami of Ohio last season, but hasn’t been given much opportunity to shine this year, with only eight field goal attempts. Punter James Burnip has been outstanding, however, averaging 45.1 yards per attempt with excellent hang time. The Crimson Tide is just OK in the return game, with limited opportunities given the way modern college football teams approach the kicking game. When Alabama needs a big punt return, Ryan Williams will fill in at that spot. The Crimson Tide’s coverage units have been excellent, particularly on punts, as opponent have just five return yards all season. Auburn’s place-kicking situation was a disaster most of the season, though walk-on Ian Vashon has stabilized things in recent weeks. Towns McGough has been solid on kickoffs, with 42 touchbacks. Punter Oscar Chapman has been just OK, though the coverage unit has been good. Jeremiah Cobb is one of the better kickoff return men in the SEC, though he does not have a true breakaway this year. Keionte Scott was outstanding on punt returns a year ago, but hasn’t shown the same burst this season due to injury. Auburn does the little things well on special teams, but if the game comes down to a big kick, bet on Alabama. Advantage: Alabama

Coaching

Kalen DeBoer came to Alabama with excellent credentials at several levels of college football, though it has at times been questionable if he was ready for the SEC from a temperament standpoint. He’s very even-keeled, and doesn’t appear to take losing hard enough to satisfy many observers. Wommack’s defense was roasted with regularity early in the season, but has been largely outstanding in recent weeks. The offense under Nick Sheridan, in particular quarterback Jalen Milroe, has regressed, though. Auburn’s Hugh Freeze has looked checked out at times this year, and has on several occasions committed the egregious sins of blaming his players rather than himself. His mood has improved as the Tigers have gotten better as the season progressed, however. First-year defensive coordinator DJ Durkin — who once worked for former Auburn DC Will Muschamp at Florida — has done an excellent job, molding the Tigers into one of the better defensive units in the SEC. Advantage: Even