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The Auburn Tigers take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Check out our college football odds series for our Auburn Alabama prediction and pick.
The Auburn Tigers will soon hire a head coach. Lane Kiffin has publicly denied that he is heading to Auburn, outwardly stating that he is staying at Ole Miss. Not everyone believes him. That point aside, one wonders if the coaching situation will be a distraction for the Tigers as they prepare for this game. It's unlikely, since Carnell “Cadillac” Williams — the interim coach — is beloved by players and fully respected in the locker room. Auburn has played very hard for Cadillac over the past few weeks, and as a result, the Tigers have a chance to go to a bowl game if they win the Iron Bowl.
Is it unlikely that Auburn will win? Of course it is. However, Alabama trailed Auburn by seven points in the final minute of last season's game against the Tigers. The Tide came back to win that game in overtime, but they scored just three points in the first 59 minutes. They were physically outplayed. Auburn has been playing physical football the past few weeks, and Alabama's line play has simply not been as strong as it normally is. That's a key reason why the Crimson Tide have lost twice this season and are very fortunate they didn't lose on two other occasions: at Texas and at home versus Texas A&M. Those two games went down to the wire. The idea that Auburn can compete with Bama on a physical level is not ludicrous.
Where these teams are separated by a wide margin is at the quarterback position. Bryce Young has enabled Alabama to win nine games. Inferior quarterbacks would have lost a few more games. Young is the reason this team has a chance for 10 wins and a New Year's Six bowl bid. Without Young, Bama might be a three- or four-loss team.
Alabama played Austin Peay last week, giving the team a true break before this latest edition of the Iron Bowl. Alabama will expect to play one of its better games of the season, but this team has been so inconsistent that it's hard to take that for granted. 2022 Alabama has not been the sure thing past Bama teams have been under Nick Saban.
Here are the Auburn-Alabama NCAA Football Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Auburn-Alabama Odds
Auburn Tigers: +22.5 (-115)
Alabama Crimson Tide: -22.5 (-105)
Over: 49.5 (-110)
Under: 49.5 (-110)
Why Auburn Could Cover the Spread
The Tigers do play hard for Cadillac Williams. They are going to play hard on defense and should be able to have a modest degree of success against the Alabama offensive line. They might not outplay the Tide outright, but they won't get dominated, which is exactly why they will cover the very large point spread in this contest.
Why Alabama Could Cover the Spread
The Crimson Tide will take out their frustrations on Auburn in this game. Alabama has underachieved and underperformed for most of the year. It did well to beat Ole Miss a few weeks ago, but the Rebels are simply not as good as they seemed to be one month ago. Alabama knows it can play a lot better. This is the time when the Tide will turn in Alabama's favor.
Final Auburn-Alabama Prediction & Pick
Alabama will win, but the Crimson Tide are not an elite team this season. They don't destroy opponents the way they did in previous years. Auburn will cover.
Final Auburn-Alabama Prediction & Pick: Auburn +22.5
