2005 Iron Bowl

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The 2005 Iron Bowl was decided on November 19, 2005, the 70th in the series, and the ninth held at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. Auburn defeated Alabama by a score of 28-18 in front of 87,451 fans. The win was Auburn's fourth consecutive Iron Bowl victory.

Both teams came into the game ranked in the top 11 of the Associated Press poll, both with overtime losses to LSU muddying hopes of an SEC championship bid. After losing wideout Tyrone Prothro to a broken leg in the victory over Florida, Alabama had been relying on its defense, led by DeMeco Ryans. Auburn's offense was surging, with Kenny Irons amassing 179 yards against Georgia the week before.

This bumper sticker was seen soon after the game.

Once the game started, it was the Tiger's pass rush that set the tone. Tide quarterback Brodie Croyle was sacked 11 times in the game, and Auburn put up 21 unanswered points in the first quarter and cruised to a dominant victory in front of their raucous, orange-clad fans.

Drives

1st quarter

  • Alabama received the kickoff and started from their own 17. Croyle was sacked twice and the Tide's Jeremy Schatz punted from the 3 yard line.
  • Auburn took over at Alabama's 40 yard line. Brandon Cox completed three straight passes, the last to Ben Obomanu for a 7-yard touchdown. John Vaughn kicked the extra point.
  • A penalty on the kickoff started the Tide off at their own 8 yard line. Alabama's Ken Darby gained one yard, and the punt went out of bounds at the Alabama 31.
  • After a 21 yard catch by Courtney Taylor, Kenny Irons punched it in from the 8 to give the Tigers a two-touchdown lead.
  • Alabama returned the kickoff to the 25 and went backwards again, punting from the 12.
  • Auburn's third drive was capped by a 45 yard reverse play to Obomanu. Vaughn's kick made it 21-0 with 3:51 remaining in the 1st quarter.
  • Once again, Alabama was driven backwards with two more sacks. Schatz' punt was returned to the 41.
  • Jake Collins forced and recovered a fumble to return possession to Alabama at their own 37.
  • Kenneth Darby picked up the Tide's only first down of the opening quarter as time ran down.

2nd quarter

  • Darby rushed for 18 and 6 yards in a drive that brought Bama to 2nd and goal at Auburn's 1 yard line. Tim Castille punched it in to put the Tide on the board. Jamie Christensen kicked the extra point.
  • Auburn's first possession of the 2nd quarter was 3 plays and out. Kody Bliss punted for the first time, giving Alabama the ball on their own 30.
  • Alabama failed to pick up a 1st down and punted out of bounds at the Auburn 24.
  • Auburn went 3 and out again, downing the punt at Alabama's 22.
  • Another negative-yardage series after a sack ended in a 42 yard punt to the Auburn 39.
  • Auburn put together an 8 play, 61 yard drive highlighted by Irons' 11-yard rush and two long passes from Cox. Cole Bennett caught the touchdown pass to give Auburn a 28-7 lead.
  • Auburn called two timeouts during Alabama's last series of the half, winning the ball at the 40 after Schatz' punt, but losing 10 yards on an illegal block.
  • A 46-yard play with seconds remaining ended at the Alabama 26 to run out the half.

3rd quarter

  • Christensen kicked off to start the 2nd half, yielding a touchback.
  • Auburn punted on 4th and 7 to give Alabama the ball at the Tiger's 34.
  • Darby rushed 4 times in a row after a 5 yard false start, recovering his own fumble at the 16. Croyle was sacked on the next play for a loss of 10, and Christensen kicked a 43-yard field goal to bring the score to 28-10.
  • Devin Aromashodu flubbed the kickoff, downing the ball on the Auburn 3 yard line.
  • Unable to get a drive going, Bliss made a 54 yard punt from the end zone.
  • Alabama lost 10 yards on their series, capped by another quarterback sack.
  • Taking over at their own 38, Auburn managed only 7 yards. Bliss' punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
  • Three straight Darby rushes netted no gain, and Schatz punted from the 20. Auburn recovered Tre Smith's fumble on the return.
  • Starting from their own 28, Irons had three double-digit rushes to advance the Tigers to the Alabama 45 as time ran out.

4th quarter

  • Auburn's drive stalled at the 29 and Vaughn missed his 46-yard attempt.
  • Alabama got two first downs on their next series, marred by two false start penalties and a 5-yard sack. The punt was downed at the Auburn 10.
  • Four straight handoffs to Kenny Irons netted 14 yards and Bliss' punt went out of bounds at the Alabama 29.
  • Croyle started the next series with a 34 yard completion to Nick Walker. He completed 5 more passes in the series, which advanced to the Auburn 8. Croyle was sacked on 4th and 5 to prevent a score.
  • Taking over at the Tiger's 15, Kenny Irons amassed 8 yards in three straight rushes, returning the ball to Alabama at the Auburn 46.
  • John Parker Wilson came in for Croyel and completed 3 of 4 passes, including a 37 yard pass to DJ Hall, who was tackled at the 1 yard line. Wilson carried it in for a score on 1st and goal, and passed to Hall for the 2-point conversion at the end of regulation to give Alabama 18 points in the loss.

References

  • "Alabama defense unravels as Auburn pounds out upset in Iron Bowl." (November 20, 2005) Associated Press
  • "Tigers, Tide enter Iron Bowl on vastly different notes." (November 13, 2005) Associated Press

External links

Iron Bowl (Alabama vs. Auburn)
Sites: Alabama State Fairgrounds, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Highland Park (Montgomery), Lakeview Park, Jordan-Hare Stadium, Legion Field, Riverside Park (Montgomery), and West End Park.
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