Auburn Football 2010: Will Alabama End Tigers Unbeaten Run In Iron Bowl?

The time of year has arrived for one of the most intensive rivalries in all of sports. For fans in the state of Alabama it is simply called the Iron Bowl. Those across the rest of the world know it as the annual college football game between Auburn and Alabama.

The 2010 version of this game has the defending BCS Champions Alabama Crimson Tide facing the BCS' current top ranked Auburn Tigers team. It is expected to be another game of the ages this series is well known for.

This is a game that has most often hinged on the success of the rushing offense. Auburn is currently ranked second in the conference in rushing defense allowing 111 yards per game. Alabama is currently ranked sixth in the conference in rushing defense allowing 128 yards per game.

Both Auburn and Alabama have played Mississippi, Mississippi State and LSU the second-, third- and fourth-ranked rushing offenses in the conference respectively. Auburn is currently ranked first and Alabama fifth in the conference in rushing offense.

The first-, third- and fourth-ranked rushing defenses in the SEC are currently South Carolina, Mississippi State and LSU, all of which are common opponents of these two teams. Basic logic would dictate that a comparison of how these two teams performed against these common opponents might give some useful insight into the game.

Opponent	Conference Rank Rushing Defense	Auburn Rushing Production	Alabama Rushing Production
South Carolina	1	334 yards	36 yards
Mississippi State	3	190 yards	175 yards
LSU	4	440 yards	102 yards
Average	2.67	321.33 yards	104.3 yards

Looking at this particular aspect of the game, it would appear Auburn has the advantage in rushing offense.

Passing offense has been the wild card that has evened many games in this series. Alabama is currently ranked fifth in the conference in pass defense allowing 178 yards per game. Auburn is currently ranked 11 in the conference in pass defense allowing 244 yards per game.

Both Alabama and Auburn have played the first-, fourth- and eighth-ranked pass defenses in the conference LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State respectively. Alabama is ranked third and Auburn eighth in passing offense in the conference.

Opponent	Conference Rank Pass Defense	Auburn Passing Production	Alabama Passing Production
LSU	1	86 yards	223 yards
Arkansas	4	140 yards	194 yards
Mississippi State	8	158 yards	277 yards
Average	4.33	128 yards	231 yards

Alabama has the advantage in passing offense.

Auburn is ranked first and Alabama fifth in scoring offense in the conference. Both teams have played the second-, third-, fourth- and sixth-ranked scoring defenses in the conference in LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Arkansas respectively.

Opponent	Conference Rank Scoring Defense	Auburn Point Production	Alabama Point Production
LSU	2	24	21
Mississippi State	3	17	30
South Carolina	4	35	21
Arkansas	6	65	24
Average	3.75	35.25	24

Auburn has a substantial advantage in scoring offense.

Alabama fans will tell anyone that their biggest asset is the Tide defense. Most have assumed that the Auburn pass defense has been their weakness this year. Auburn is not looked upon as being a very good defensive team.

Alabama and Auburn have only played two passing offenses ranked in the top six in the conference as common opponents. Arkansas and South Carolina are ranked first and sixth respectively in passing offense in the conference.

Opponent	Conference Rank Passing Offense	Auburn Passing Defense Yards Allowed	Alabama Passing Defense Yards Allowed
Arkansas	1	428 yards	357 yards
South Carolina	6	305 yards	201 yards
Average	3.5	366.5 yards	279 yards

Alabama has the advantage in pass defense.

Rushing defense is essential in every SEC game. Alabama and Auburn have three common opponents in the conference top six in rushing offense Mississippi, Mississippi State and LSU ranked second, third and fourth respectively.

Opponent	Conference Rank Rushing Offense	Auburn Rushing Defense Yards Allowed	Alabama Rushing Defense Yards Allowed
Mississippi	2	218 yards	133 yards
Mississippi State	3	117 yards	149 yards
South Carolina	4	79 yards	110 yards
Average	3	138 yards	130.66 yards

The rushing defense seems fairly even.

Alabama hasn't played but one of the conferences top scoring offenses. This makes this particular part of the comparison less reliable than the others. Arkansas, Mississippi and South Carolina are the top three scoring offenses that are common opponents for both teams.

Opponent	Conference Rank Scoring Offense	Auburn Scoring Defense Points Allowed	Alabama Scoring Defense Points Allowed
Arkansas	2	43	20
Mississippi	6	31	10
South Carolina	7	27	35
Average	5	33.66	21.66

Alabama has a hefty advantage in scoring defense.

The results of the two teams compared to the best competition in each category is as follows.

Statistic	Auburn	Alabama
Rushing Offense	321.33 yards	104.3 yards
Passing Offense	128 yards	231 yards
Scoring Offense	35.25 points	24 points
Rushing Defense	138 yards	130.66 yards
Passing Defense	366.5 yards	279 yards
Scoring Defense	33.66 points	21.66 points
Win Margin	1.59 points	2.34 points