TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Auburn forced four turnovers but couldn’t capitalize with touchdowns, falling to No. 13 Alabama 28-14 in the 89th Iron Bowl Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“We won the turnover battle but we’ve got to score touchdowns,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “Our defense couldn’t get off the field on third down and we couldn’t score touchdowns when we got in the red zone.”
Auburn’s Ian Vachon kicked a pair of field goals while Alabama answered with two Jalen Milroe touchdown runs to take a 14-6 halftime lead.
Kaleb Harris ended Alabama’s first drive by forcing a Ryan Williams fumble that Eugene Asante recovered on Auburn’s 27-yard line.
The Tigers drove 52 yards but missed a 39-yard field goal attempt. After the teams traded punts, Alabama took advantage of good field position by driving 52 yards and taking a 7-0 lead on Milroe’s 19-yard touchdown run with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter.
Auburn then drove 56 yards to Alabama’s 19-yard line but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 ended the opportunity.
Auburn was 4 for 12 on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth down while Alabama was 12 for 18 on third down.
Caleb Wooden’s interception at Auburn’s 9-yard line prevented another Alabama scoring opportunity and led to Auburn’s first points.
The Tigers drove 72 yards in nine plays and trimmed Alabama’s lead to 7-3 on Vachon’s 37-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.
Alabama answered with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, going ahead 14-3 on Milroe’s 1-yard run with 2:44 to play in the half.
After an Auburn punt, Jalen McLeod sacked MIlroe and forced a fumble that Philip Blidi recovered at Alabama’s 34-yard line.
Payton Thorne passed to Rivaldo Fairweather for 14 yards to give Auburn first-and-goal at Alabama’s 2-yard line with a minute left in the half, but three Tiger runs failed to generate a touchdown, resulting in Vachon’s 25-yard field goal and a 14-6 halftime deficit.
Alabama opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown run, taking a 21-6 lead on Justice Haynes’ 2-yard touchdown run.
Auburn went three-and-out on its first possession of the third quarter, leading to Mllroe’s third touchdown, a 17-yard run, that gave Alabama a 28-6 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Tigers responded with an 87-yard touchdown drive, converting on third-and-9 with Thorne’s 21-yard pass to Rivaldo Fairweather and scoring on Thorne’s 29-yard pass to Cam Coleman, the freshman’s eighth TD catch of the season and sixth in the past three weeks.
Jarquez Hunter’s 2-point run pulled Auburn within 14 points at 28-14 with 2:31 to play in the third quarter.
McLeod forced another Milroe fumble that Keldric Faulk recovered at Alabama’s 49-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Thorne’s 17-yard completion to KeAndre Lambert-Smith gave Auburn a first-down at Alabama’s 30-yard line, but the Tigers threw an interception on a double-pass.
After Auburn’s defense forced an Alabama punt, another interception ended the Tigers’ final possession.
Thorne completed 24 of 41 passes for 301 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Lambert-Smith caught eight passes for 116 yards while Coleman added seven receptions for 78 yards and a TD.
Dorian Mausi led Auburn with 10 tackles while Harris and McLeod each added nine.
Auburn (5-7, 2-6) concludes the season and turns its attention to Wednesday’s early signing period.
“It’s another step,” Freeze said. “We’ve got one top-10 class and hopefully we can land another next week. We have to go back and try to finish it, then see what we need in the portal to try to make sure we’re not feeling this way next year.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer