Nick Saban said it best when commenting on this week’s Iron Bowl between No. 5 Alabama and No. 15 Auburn.
“A lot comes down to this game,” the Alabama head coach said during his Monday news conference. “It’s kind of the season within the season, so to speak, and I think if you have to explain that to your team or your players, they don’t really know what’s going on in football.”
Saban won’t have to do much explaining as his team knows what’s at stake on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium. On top of the rivalry's annual bragging rights, Alabama (10-1, 6-1 in the SEC) enters the game looking to make one final impression on the College Football Playoff committee. Meanwhile, Auburn (8-3, 4-3) would like nothing more than to spoil the Crimson Tide’s season.
Today, we will break down where Alabama stands heading into the Iron Bowl by providing three observations, two questions and one prediction.
THREE OBSERVATIONS
Alabama must prepare for sugar huddles
They call it a “sugar huddle” because it’s short and sweet. One of the staples of Auburn’s up-tempo offense under Gus Malzahn is his team’s quick huddles designed to confuse opposing defenses.
The sugar huddle starts as the offensive line turns its back a couple yards away from the line of scrimmage to receive information from the quarterback. Then receivers are sent out wide followed by a signal for the line to turn around and snap the ball shortly after. Oftentimes the sugar huddle is used to veil plays that require a lot of adjustment.
“It’s kind of hard to kind of judge what they might come out in because they’ve got a whole bunch of different formations,” Alabama safety Xavier McKinney said. “It’s hard to kind of guess what they may come out in, so when they do come out we’ve got to be prepared to make the call and make it quick.”
McKinney says his eyes are instantly drawn out wide to see if Auburn is hiding a wide receiver or tight end anywhere. Sometimes, an eligible offensive lineman might even find his way to the perimeter.
The safety’s instant recognitions can be crucial. If he’s able to spot a trick, Alabama might have time to compensate. If not, chaos will likely ensue. Here’s an example of how things went wrong for Alabama when Auburn used a sugar huddle to set up its final score in its 2017 Iron Bowl victory over the Crimson Tide.
