Despite being all but eliminated from championship contention, Alabama football still has plenty to play for in 2022. It is coming off a big road win over a highly-ranked Ole Miss team and hopes to continue that momentum through the end of the season. Show How Alabama finishes this year could serve as a springboard into 2023, much like the Tide’s 2019 Citrus Bowl victory that ultimately propelled the team to the 2020 national championship. This week’s game against a lower-tier opponent in FCS Austin Peay provides value in a unique way. While Coach Nick Saban would never phrase it this way, this game should not be competitive. Therefore, many reserves and younger players could see significant game experience for Alabama football. Players such as Bryce Young, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Eli Ricks have battled recent injuries and may not play in the game at all, opening up more opportunities for other contributors. The following week, Alabama will host the Auburn Tigers, who seem to have found new life under interim coach Cadillac Williams. The Iron Bowl is always one of the biggest games of the year, and the 2022 matchup will be no different. With Alabama falling short of an SEC Championship game appearance and essentially eliminated from playoff contention, the Iron Bowl seems to carry a little extra weight this season. While it won’t replace a championship of any kind, it will provide an opportunity for the 2022 Alabama football team to re-assert its dominance and begin to make amends for a disappointing season. Bama fans would love to see this team exorcise some of its demons and take its frustration from this year out on the Tigers. With a win, Alabama’s draft-eligible junior class (led by Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr.) could finish their careers 19-0 in Bryant-Denny Stadium and 3-0 overall against Auburn. If Alabama can close out the regular season 10-2, it will likely make a prestigious New Years’ Six Bowl. Contrary to popular belief, these bowl games are still important and should be considered an honor to play in. Regardless of certain players potentially choosing to sit out the game, either for Alabama or its opponent, the game will be important in determining the attitude of the program and the fan base heading into the offseason. While the standard for Alabama football is championship or bust virtually every year, there is still a lot to play for in a non-championship season. Regardless of the circumstance, Alabama players should compete with pride while donning the Crimson and White, paying respect to the program’s history and tradition. The next six weeks should teach the fan base a lot about the state of Alabama football going forward. The Iron Bowl doesn't have College Football Playoff or SEC West implications tied to it, but there are plenty of ramifications for the postseason. If Auburn wins, it becomes bowl eligible. Meanwhile, Alabama locked that up weeks ago. The question now is: what game will the Crimson Tide play? There are a variety of possibilities heading into the final week of the regular season. So, past the pride that is on the line in the Iron Bowl every year, there is more at stake when No. 8 Alabama (9-2, 5-2 SEC) faces Auburn (5-6, 2-5) on Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Tigers are looking for their first win in Tuscaloosa since 2010. That's the last time the Crimson Tide lost three games in the regular season. With more results in college football each week, there are more possibilities ― and sometimes more clarity ― as to which team could end up in which bowl. Here are three of the most likely scenarios for the Crimson Tide as long as it beats Auburn.  ALABAMA FOOTBALL:Whatever Alabama football offense looks like in 2023, Jase McClellan needs to be big part of it CRIMSON TIDE:From comfort foods to favorite songs, Alabama football players reveal game-day rituals Orange BowlMost projections have said this, and it makes sense for Alabama. The highest-ranked team according to the CFP rankings will go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The next two SEC bowl opportunities will be the Cotton Bowl or the Orange Bowl. The Cotton Bowl goes to an at-large team against the top Group of 5 team, but the Orange Bowl is open only to the ACC vs. an SEC or Big Ten team. Georgia is expected to be the top-ranked SEC team and make the playoff. Whether the CFP committee still has Tennessee ranked above Alabama remains to be seen. The committee could keep the Vols ahead of the Crimson Tide, despite Tennessee's 63-38 loss to unranked South Carolina. The Vols have the head-to-head win, but Alabama also doesn't have as bad of a loss as Tennessee now has. The Crimson Tide lost both of its games on the last play. To that point, the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll released Sunday has Alabama at No. 7 and Tennessee at No. 11. Either way, it's quite possible the Vols could get one of the at-large spots in the Cotton Bowl. It probably wouldn't make sense for the Crimson Tide to go there for a second consecutive year. The Orange Bowl then becomes the most likely for Alabama. In this scenario, LSU would be the SEC team in the Sugar Bowl. But ... Sugar BowlLet's say LSU wins the SEC Championship Game. The playoff picture gets further muddled. If any two-loss team was going to make the postseason, it would likely be the SEC champion who also beat the top team in Georgia. In that scenario, both LSU and Georgia could make the playoff, opening up the Sugar Bowl slot. If Alabama is the third-highest ranked team in the CFP rankings in the SEC, the Crimson Tide would go to the Sugar Bowl. There's also one other possible scenario ― LSU loses the SEC Championship Game by a wide margin. The Tigers would have three losses, albeit because of having played one more game. Perhaps the committee decides to rank two-loss Alabama ahead of the Tigers, opening another possible window to the Sugar Bowl. Don't book your trip to New Orleans just yet, but it's not impossible. Cotton BowlThis probably is not terribly likely, but it's also not off the table. If LSU ends up going to the Sugar Bowl, then that would leave the Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Citrus Bowl as the three top destinations for the Crimson Tide and Tennessee. Even though Alabama just played in the Cotton Bowl, the folks in Texas could see the Crimson Tide as the most appealing option, depending on who else is available. Or, it could pick a team such as Penn State, moving Alabama to the Citrus Bowl if Tennessee got the Orange Bowl spot. The CFP rankings on Tuesday night, with the Vols losing, will be telling as to how this could play out for the Crimson Tide in terms of bowl landing spot. Where is the Iron Bowl next year?The Iron Bowl--2022 - Tuscaloosa - Alabama.Travel.
What is Alabama's football schedule for 2023?2023 Alabama Football Schedule. Who has won the Iron Bowl the most?Alabama leads the series 48–37–1. The game has been played in four cities: Auburn, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. Alabama leads the series in Birmingham (34–18–1). Auburn leads the series in Tuscaloosa (7–6) and Auburn (10–6).
Why did the Iron Bowl stop?The first Iron Bowl game was played in Birmingham in 1893. Auburn won, 32-22. Because of a disagreement the two teams stopped playing after the 1907 season. They didn't resume playing until 1948 after the Alabama Congress threatened the schools with a loss of funding.
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