Over the last two years, the Iron Bowl has produced Auburn’s immortal Kick Six and a 55-44 Alabama win in the highest-scoring game in the rivalry’s decades-long history. The 2015 edition might be a little less exciting, especially if No. 2 Alabama rolls as expected.
Iron Bowl 2015, Alabama vs. Auburn: Start time, live stream, TV schedule and 3 things to know
After two years of thrillers, Alabama looks like a heavy favorite in the Iron Bowl.
Nick Saban's team is 10-1 on the year, and has an inside track to the College Football Playoff that only No. 1 Clemson doesn't envy. The Tide need to win out to get into the season's final quartet, yes. But Auburn is 6-5 and 2-5 in SEC play, and No. 12 Florida, which Alabama would see in the SEC Championship Game, has spent November squeaking by every team it has seen.
Auburn can ruin all that, dashing its hated rival’s championship dreams, but the Tigers face an uphill road. Not only have they struggled to find consistency on both offense and defense, they’re facing a red-hot Crimson Tide outfit that has won its last eight games, and all but one of them by at least 13 points.
And of late, Alabama’s been even better, winning its three November games by an average of 29.7 points per game.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Online streaming: CBS Sports
Spread: Alabama is favored by 14.5 points.
Make friends: You can hang out in SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Roll ‘Bama Roll(for Alabama fans) and College and Magnolia (for Auburn fans).
Three big things to know
1. Nickvember? No-Loss November? Whatever cute name you want to give it, the historical dominance from Nick Saban’s teams in November is remarkable. Alabama is 26-5 in November since going 0-4 in the month in 2007, Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa.
2. The SEC stakes are high. Alabama can make the SEC Championship Game with a win or with a loss and an Ole Miss loss. But history would suggest that banking on the latter is a rather poor prospect: Of the Crimson Tide’s nine SEC Championship Game appearances to date, the only one that came after a loss to Auburn happened in 1993.
3. Sith Lord and Padawan meet again. No defensive assistant worked with Saban prior to his time at Alabama more closely than Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who helped LSU win a national title in 2003 and followed Saban to the Miami Dolphins in 2005.
Since both coaches’ returns to the collegiate ranks, though, teacher has dominated student. Saban’s teams are 3-1 against Muschamp’s, and the only win for a Muschamp-coached team came in that forgettable 2007 Alabama season. The coaches’ last meeting was more lopsided than most: Alabama beat Florida 42-21 in 2014, with the Crimson Tide setting multiple records for offense against the Gators.
See More:
