Iron Bowl previews and predictions, College Football Friday viewing guide and open thread

Happy Friday, everyone. As you likely heard, we got the sad news yesterday that Bill Battle, former Alabama athletic director and player, passed away.

“Bill Battle was first class in every way,” former Alabama football coach Nick Saban said in a statement. “He represented The University of Alabama with tremendous character and integrity. He was an outstanding football player at Alabama, a successful collegiate head coach and visionary who revolutionized the business of college athletics.

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“I got to know him best when he returned to direct the Alabama athletics department where his vision and leadership were driving factors in the Crimson Tide’s success that resulted in our 2015 national championship. Terry and I are saddened by his passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Mary and their entire family. He will be deeply missed.”

Battle was a beloved figure in Tuscaloosa and a successful businessman who founded the Collegiate Licensing Company, that has since been acquired by IMG and serves as the largest licensing outfit in college athletics. More importantly he was known as a kind, generous person, and will be missed.

Tomorrow is the Iron Bowl. Here are your previews.

On the other side, Alabama’s offense will be hungry to rebound from a rare dud. Oklahoma stifled Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, limiting him to just seven rushing yards in the Sooners’ 24-3 upset, but Auburn’s defense isn’t equipped to repeat that feat. The Tigers have consistently struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks, allowing big rushing games from A&M’s Marcel Reed (66 yards), Oklahoma’s Michael Hawkins (69 yards) and Arkansas’ Taylen Green (80 yards).

This sets the stage for Milroe to get back on track, unleashing his dual-threat abilities to carve up Auburn’s defense. His running ability will likely open up Alabama’s passing game, creating the balance the Crimson Tide need to bounce back. With their playoff hopes still alive, expect Alabama to push the pace and put points on the board.

Buckle up for a thriller in Tuscaloosa pushing the game total over 52 points.

Is there room for the Iron Bowl to get wild? We think so. Auburn has put together back-to-back wins, and Alabama has been an inconsistent team on a week-to-week basis. Hugh Freeze and Kalen DeBoer will favor aggressive play-calling, and that will lead to turnovers. Auburn’s defense allows 3.0 yards per carry. Jalen Milroe bounces back and plays hero again, but it won’t be easy.

Pick: Alabama wins 30-20 but FAILS TO COVER the spread.

It’s Auburn vs Alabama. It’ll be weird, it’ll go against logic and reason, and it’ll be dramatic in some way, shape, or form. But Auburn isn’t getting close to 500 yards in this.

Even so, it’ll be more of a shootout than you might think in the first half, but the Tide D will clamp down in the second half.

It still won’t be enough to get into the CFP without a ton of crazy losses this weekend.

Hummer (Auburn +13.5) — Did you watch last week’s game against Oklahoma? There’s no way I can pick Alabama to cover that spread. You could argue — despite their head-to-head result — Auburn is a much more talented offensive football team than the Sooners and nearly as good defensively; both are top 20 in terms of yards allowed per play. If Payton Thorne can play reasonably clean, Auburn keeps this close enough. … Alabama 34, Auburn 27.

Crawford (Auburn +13.5) — I like the team playing momentum in this game getting almost two touchdowns. If Auburn tackles well and can pressure Jalen Milroe, perhaps the Tigers even win on the moneyline. Alabama’s playoff hopes have diminished, but they’re not over yet. The Crimson Tide need a win in the Iron Bowl or there’s going to be significant pressure on Kalen DeBoer heading into December and his first full signing class set to arrive. … Alabama 31, Auburn 24.

No. 13 Alabama 28, Auburn 24: Throw stats, records and past performances out the window. This is the Iron Bowl, a game that has been decided by a single score in three of Alabama and Auburn’s past five meetings. What could be an advantage? The Crimson Tide’s ball-hawk, takeaway-happy defense against Thorne, despite having four interceptions in his past eight games after a four-interception game against Cal. One takeaway could be the difference Saturday, one that could give DeBoer his first Iron Bowl victory.

No. 13 Alabama 38, Auburn 31: Something Auburn fans can celebrate is that the Tigers have finally rounded into form. They’ve showed enough to expect a competitive game in Tuscaloosa, but they’re also heading to a place where Auburn hasn’t won in 14 seasons. It’d need a perfect-and-then-some performance to beat the Crimson Tide, and I don’t see that happening.

Recency bias seems to be prevalent here, as Auburn played perhaps its best game of the season last week and Alabama played its worst in many years. And, it’s possible that neither of those games will turn out to be an outlier as both teams repeat that performance.

Regression to the mean is much more likely, however. Alabama is favored by double digits for a reason, and have played much better at home than on the road. Auburn’s defense has given up too many deep balls in the passing game, so look for Ryan Williams to feast tomorrow while Payton Thorne gets back to turning the ball over as he has all season. I’ve got Alabama 31, Auburn 17.

Of course, that is merely my opinion. Vote and give us your thoughts in the comments.

It is Thanksgiving weekend, which means you have football to watch all day. Oklahoma State vs Colorado is probably the most interesting of the morning slate, followed by the always fun Egg Bowl and Clean, Old Fashioned Hate. You can consider this your open thread. Schedule below courtesy of CFBGrid.com, all times Central.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.