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How Alabama football defense shut down Auburn's Jarquez Hunter in Iron Bowl win
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- How Alabama football defense shut down Auburn's Jarquez Hunter in Iron Bowl win
Heading into Saturday's Iron Bowl , Jarquez Hunter had been hard to stop.
Auburn 's senior running back came into Saturday's contest averaging 6.6 yards per carry, totaling 174 carries for 1,145 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. He had rushed for more than 100 yards in four games this season, doing so in back-to-back weeks against Texas A&M (130) and ULM (102). He reached a career-high 278 yards rushing just a few weeks ago, doing so in Auburn's 24-10 win against Kentucky .
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However, against the Alabama football defense, Hunter's role within the Tigers offense was diminished in a 28-14 Crimson Tide victory.
Hunter was held to 4.4 yards per carry, finishing with 56 yards on just 13 carries. Only two of his rushes were for more than 10 yards: one for 19 and the other 21, both coming in the first quarter. He had two red-zone touches, both resulting in minus-1 yard. He also threw a fourth-quarter interception off a double-pass play intended for KeAndre Lambert-Smith that was instead picked off by Bray Hubbard.
It was all part of the Crimson Tide 's game plan.
"Out-physical them," cornerback Domani Jackson said. "That's the whole motto this whole week, just out-physical them, and they are going to break. We did that."
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In total, the Alabama defense dominated Auburn, especially its running game. The Tigers finished with 399 total yards of offense (98 rushing, 301 passing) and were held to 4-of-12 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down. Jihaad Campbell led Alabama with nine tackles, Domani Jackson adding eight. Zabien Brown and Hubbard each had an interception.
"We just executed the plan, executed the play-calling," defensive lineman Tim Keenan III said. "Making sure that everyone was in the spot that they needed to (be) and just listening to coach and believing in each other."
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Saturday was not the first time the Crimson Tide defense has fared well against Hunter. In last year's Iron Bowl, which Alabama won 27-24 on a late fourth-and-31 touchdown pass, Hunter was held to 93 yards on 14 carries. He also went 1-for-1 passing for 2 yards. The 2022 Iron Bowl was Hunter's best showing against the Crimson Tide as he tallied 135 yards on 11 carries.
Auburn had to settle for two first half field goals against Alabama's defense before finding the end zone in the third quarter on a 29-yard pass from Payton Throne to Cam Coleman . Alabama, though, never trailed behind three Jalen Milroe rushing touchdowns, the win marking the Crimson Tide's fifth straight over Auburn.
It also marked coach Kalen DeBoer's first Iron Bowl victory.
"It was a fun night for our guys to win the Iron Bowl," DeBoer said. "It's a big deal for us, as everyone knows. For us, we did the things we needed to do to give ourselves a chance to win."
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Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com . Follow her on X @annaesnyder2.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Alabama football shut down Auburn's Jarquez Hunter in Iron Bowl win
