Alabama had to work hard to get rid of Auburn on Saturday night, winning the Iron Bowl 27-20 on a late touchdown pass from Ty Simpson to Isaiah Horton. The Crimson Tide finish the season 10-2 and earned a spot in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday against Georgia in Atlanta.
Everything was slipping away for Alabama. It's Iron Bow game with Auburn? Slipping. It's shot at an SEC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff? All of it, slipping away.
The Crimson Tide had blown a 17-point lead to their hated arch-rivals, who were simply playing out the string on a disastrous 2025 season. But quarterback Ty Simpson came to the rescue, leading Alabama on a game-winning drive. He hit Isaiah Horton for a 6-yard score on fourth down, giving the Tide a 27-20 victory.
With the win, Alabama finishes the regular season with a 10-2 record and a 7-1 mark in the SEC. They've earned a spot in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday in Atlanta.
Here's the game story from Bama Roundtable publsiher Hannah Stephens.
Alabama Survives Jordan-Hare, Beats Auburn 27-20 in a Gritty Iron Bowl Classic
Ty Simpson and Isaiah Horton sparked Alabama's gritty Iron Bowl win. Defense sealed the tense 27-20 victory, punching their ticket to Atlanta.
Simpson was 19-for-35 passing, but only for 122 yards as he struggled to get the ball downfield. But he had three touchdown passes — all to Horton — to keep his Heisman Trophy hopes alive. Auburn finished the season with a 5-7 record, and 1-2 under interim coach D.J. Durkin, who replaced Huge Freeze earlier in the month.
Winning the Iron Bowl is always a big goal for Alabama, but the win on Saturday night kept all their postseason hopes alive, too.
"I just couldn't be more proud of these guys for this game and just how resilient they were within the game," Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. "Obviously, we jumped on them pretty quick early, but they had some explosive plays, and I feel that's the one thing that disappointing, is we gave him some explosives and we didn't have the explosives.
"But the takeaways and taking care of the football ourselves was huge. Just the fight and the belief, that was big. I think there are some teams that hope they can find a way. I think our guys really understand that they get in these spots and that they're going to make happen. Nothing's going to be given to you; you've got to earn it. These guys have done that since Day 1. They've worked for this — situational football, four downs, whatever it might be.''
Alabama and Georgia met earlier this year, with the Crimson Tide winning 24-21 on Sept. 27. It was the Bulldogs' only loss all season. The title game is at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.
Simpson threw for 276 yards and two scores against Georgia in September. He's grown into a winning quarterback under DeBoer, and the drive to save the game showed a lot. He stayed calm and collected on the winning drive.
"He just didn't panic, and kept trying to find a way to get the next first down,'' DeBoer said of the final drive. "It starts with one and just focus on the next play. And, you know, never worry about the what-ifs, the situation, just focus on the moment, get your call in, get your your pass protection set, get your check made.
"Whatever it is, go out there and just execute the best you can. And when it goes well, you stay on the field, and that's what these guys did. So I'm proud of Ty and just the way he executed on the drive and, obviously, on that last fourth down.''