Joel Klatt: Auburn game is a 'black eye' on Alabama's CFP resume despite win
Alabama found a way to beat Auburn Saturday night, scoring a miracle touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 31 in the final seconds.
However, it was far from a pretty win. The Crimson Tide were outplayed for much of the afternoon and had to rally late, despite winning the turnover margin 3-0.
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt believes the way Alabama played against Auburn could hurt the Crimson Tide’s College Football Playoff chances, even though they did win the game. Klatt spoke about Alabama’s CFP chances on The Joel Klatt Show.
“Bama survives, and if they would’ve lost to Auburn, there’s no way that they could’ve gotten into the playoff. So they stay alive, although .. I don’t think they’re in a play-in situation, because now, that game against Auburn, is a bit of a black eye on their resume, even with a win, because of how it happened.”
Klatt feels that even if Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, it will need a lot of help after its ugly performance against the Tigers this past weekend.
Auburn entered the Iron Bowl with a 6-5 (3-5) record and fresh off of a 21-point home loss to New Mexico State.
“[Alabama] survives fourth-and-goal from the 31. Auburn, by the way last week, got beat by 21 against New Mexico State on the same field,” Klatt said. “To be fair, Auburn has played really well against SEC teams at home – lost to Georgia by 7, Ole Miss by 7, now Bama by 3. But they do have that New Mexico State loss by 21.”
Klatt added that he believes Auburn completely botched its defense at the end of the game. The Tigers only rushed two and gave Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe all day to survey the field.
He eventually found Isaiah Bond in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning score. Klatt feels that not putting pressure on Milroe was a mistake.
“Auburn runs one of the worst defenses you can possibly imagine… rushes two, and they have a spy. A spy for what? The 31-yard scramble when the rest of the defense is sitting at the goal line? Like what are we doing?” Klatt said.
“And to be fair, Milroe kind of threw a prayer, and they ended up winning the game. That was wild. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.”
Klatt gives Alabama credit for finding a way to win, but he believes the way the Crimson Tide played could hurt them in the long run.
“What a win for Bama, and then they stay alive,” Klatt said. “So now they’re still alive, and they’re still going to get people that argue for them, because that’s just the way college football works – even though they survived on a fourth-and-31, because Auburn doesn’t know how to play defense.”