No. 10 Alabama escapes Auburn with a 27-20 victory thanks to Simpson-Horton connection
Ty Simpson and Isaiah Horton connected three times for touchdowns, including on a fourth-down play in the waning minutes, and No. 10 Alabama escaped Auburn with a 27-20 victory in the rivalry known as the Iron Bowl on Saturday night
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Ty Simpson and Isaiah Horton connected three times for touchdowns, the last on a fourth-down play in the waning minutes, and No. 10 Alabama escaped Auburn with a 27-20 victory in the rivalry known as the Iron Bowl on Saturday night.
Alabama advanced to face fourth-ranked Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game next week in Atlanta and improved its chances of making the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide (10-2, 7-1) beat Georgia 24-21 on the road in the regular season.
Alabama was on the ropes again at Jordan-Hare Stadium. After leading 17-0 early in the second quarter, it was tied down the stretch. But Simpson found Horton on a fourth-and-2 play from the Auburn 6 with 3:50 remaining.
“He didn't panic at all,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said about Simpson. “The experiences we've had all season long, put him in that spot and he took advantage of it.”
It was the third and most important hookup of the night for Simpson and Horton. The duo also connected on 6- and 3-yard scores in the first half. But instead of taking a sure field goal, DeBoer gambled with his offense and then celebrated his first trip to the SEC title game.
“It starts with our head coach," Simpson said. "It comes from him, our resiliency and it just goes down the line. What a great team win.”
Simpson completed 19 of 35 passes for a season-low 122 yards. Horton finished with five catches for 35 yards, with all three scores coming in the red zone. Alabama won despite totaling 280 yards.
“These guys, they give you everything they got every single day,” DeBoer said, pausing to collect his emotions. "It's been a long road, but I can't wait to do more with them next weekend."
Alabama’s Jam Miller ran for 83 yards before leaving with an injury.
Ashton Daniels led Auburn (5-7, 1-7) with 259 passing and 108 yards rushing. Malcolm Simmons hauled in two long passes, including a 64-yarder for a touchdown and a 66-yarder that set up a score. But Auburn, which had done such a solid job of limiting turnovers all season, coughed up the ball late and failed to become bowl eligible under interim coach DJ Durkin.
Daniels had the Tigers on the move, taking advantage of a pass-interference penalty and scrambling for a first down on fourth-and-2, but star receiver Cam Coleman fumbled with 33 seconds left.
Recommended for you
The takeaway
Alabama: The Crimson Tide started fast, scoring on three of its first five possessions and leading 17-0, but second-half lulls gave Auburn a chance.
Auburn: The Tigers allowed 279 total yards, another stout defensive effort. But their next coach needs to fix the offensive side of the ball.
Bo Jackson honored
After the first quarter, Auburn honored 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson in recognition of the 40th anniversary of his historic season. Jackson ran for 1,786 yards and 17 touchdowns on his way to winning the award.
Up next
Alabama will get a rematch against Georgia, which lost the first meeting in Athens in late September.
Auburn, which had targeted Tulane coach Jon Sumrall to replace Hugh Freeze, probably needs to redirect its search with Sumrall expected to land at Florida.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.