Alabama vs Auburn: 5 Keys to the Tigers Pulling a Major Upset

It was just five weeks ago, when the BCS standings were first released, that we had 10 undefeated teams standing in college football, but after a few wild weekends, we’re now only down to two.

The unexpected upsets have clouded the national championship picture and it has now left a one-loss Alabama team basically in control of its own destiny, even if it fails to make it to the SEC championship game.

The Tide are looking on the horizon and seeing a possible rematch of the “Game of the Century” with LSU in the BCS title game. But before they can board the plane down to New Orleans, Alabama will first have to take care of business against Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

The Tigers are already three-touchdown underdogs at home and not many people are going to be giving them a shot.

But not many people gave Baylor, Iowa State or USC a shot this past weekend, and we saw how that turned out.

An upset of Alabama isn’t probable, but if the Tigers could pull it off, the BCS standings would probably just spontaneously combust.

It should be fun to see how interesting Gene Chizik's crew can make it.

Here are five potential keys to Auburn upsetting Alabama and shaking the foundation of college football.

1. A Big Day for Michael Dyer

Even though Auburn’s struggling through a rough transition year on offense, that hasn’t stopped star running back Michael Dyer from putting up his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season.

Dyer has proven that he is one of college football’s elite backs and he’s lived up to his lofty 5-star recruiting status.

The 5’9’’, 205-pound sophomore has the power and the durability to wear down a defense, although he will face the toughest challenge of his career this Saturday, going up against an Alabama defensive front seven that is historically good.

Dyer will be up for the challenge, though. It will just be up to his offensive line to open up the holes for him.

2. Stop Trent Richardson

If I’m an Auburn defender, the one player my focus has to be on the whole game is Alabama RB Trent Richardson.

Richardson has exploded in his first year as the full-time starter, rushing for 1,380 yards and scoring 22 touchdowns this season.

He’s got to be the front-runner for the Heisman trophy right now, and you can bet that he’ll be looking to make a statement on Saturday.

The country will be watching Richardson this Saturday and it will be up to the Auburn front seven, which has fought through some growing pains this year, to try to contain him.

Richardson is the key to Alabama’s offensive success, and if the Tigers can slow down the ground game it will put more pressure on QB A.J. McCarron’s shoulders.

3. Momentum-Swinging Turnover, Return or Blocked Punt

Any team that pulls off a major unexpected upset usually needs one of three things to happen—a key turnover, a blocked kick or punt, or a return for a touchdown.

It's those types of momentum-swinging plays that can shift the entire balance of the game in a certain team's favor. 

Auburn hasn't been all that great at creating turnovers this season (only 20 on the year), but if the Tigers can find a way to get a big interception or fumble recovery on Saturday, it could change the complexion of the game. 

4. Force Field Goals

We saw how Alabama’s field goal kickers fared in the last pressure-packed game they played in.

Will they do much better on the road in a hostile environment at Auburn?

Auburn’s focus this week has to be on keeping Alabama out of the end zone, because it would be in the Tigers’ best interests to turn this one into a field goal battle.

5. A.J. McCarron Meltdown

Alabama QB A.J. McCarron has been good this year, but has he really been great?

Yes, McCarron’s completed a lot of passes and limited his interceptions, but what has he done that’s really stood out?

He came up short against LSU and he hasn’t played all that particularly well lately.

McCarron’s one of those quarterbacks who has quietly gone about his business and let his surrounding pieces do a lot of the heavy lifting, while making sure not to make any critical or major mistakes.

Well, will we finally see McCarron’s inexperience start to creep up on him on the road at Auburn?

One thing's for sure: if the sophomore signal-caller plays poorly, it's going to be up to Trent Richardson to pick up the slack.