Is Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne’s ground game tough enough to get an iron out?

The 2024 Iron Bowl is just around the corner and the stakes couldn’t be higher as No. 13 Alabama welcomes Auburn to Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The Crimson Tide is clinging to the last glimmer of hope for a major berth in the College Football Playoff, while the Tigers are looking for a win to play spoilsport and qualify for their second straight bowl game.

Second-year head coach Hugh Freeze almost pulled off a historic upset last season when he left the Crimson Tide as a double-digit favorite. Alabama needed a heroic fourth-and-31 attack by Jalen Milroe with 32 seconds left to avoid embarrassment and extend the Crimson Tide’s winning streak over the Tigers to four games.

Freeze was brought to Auburn before last season with one goal in mind: to beat Alabama. His predecessor, Bryan Harsin, went 0-2 in the Iron Bowls before being fired. Gus Malzahn spent eight seasons on the Plains, compiling a 3-5 record in the rivalry.

What lessons did Freeze learn from last season? How will he attack the Crimson Tide on Saturday? The answer can be found in the film as Alabama has three losses and Freeze has two wins as the teams prepare for the Iron Bowl.

Alabama has struggled with the quarterback run all season. South Florida’s Byrum Brown ran for 108 yards, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia had 20 carries for 56 yards, Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava had nine carries for 44 yards and Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold had 25 carries for 131 yards.

“Everyone is going to look at what other teams have done to be successful on both sides of the ball as part of a game plan,” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “I do think we saw a lot of one-plus style offense (against Oklahoma) — quarterback options to support the offense; more than we have seen from anyone else this year. So I thought that’s definitely always going to be a challenge when you have an extra hat in the box and the key is you’re going to get some yards if you have that style in the run game, but you have to certainly prevent you from making explosive plays.

Freeze has never shied away from using his quarterbacks in the run game as he has always been creative in his approach to the offensive football. Bo Wallace scored 11 carries for 32 yards in Freeze’s 2014 Ole Miss victory over Alabama. On the surface, the numbers aren’t overwhelming, but when you look at Freeze’s rhythm, it’s clear that his QB-designed run packages are the perfect change of pace to keep defenses off balance.

If the quarterback run is the variety, Auburn’s fastball is undoubtedly the SEC’s second-best rusher, senior running back Jarquez Hunter. Hunter managed 174 carries for 1,145 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. In the five Tiger victories, Hunter caught 89 carries for 715 yards and seven touchdowns.

Hunter showed the same rushing ability as Vanderbilt’s Sedrick Alexander, Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson and Oklahoma’s Xavier Robinson in her penchant for finding small gaps and exploding through the line with physicality.

The Tigers have the running back that can beat the Crimson Tide, but what about the quarterback?

Thorne struggled protecting the football this season, turning the ball over nine times, making eight interceptions and losing a fumble. However, Thorne has performed much better in that regard recently, throwing just one interception in the last three games.

All Freeze and the Auburn Tigers need to do on Saturday is provide the Crimson Tide with regular Hunter on the ground. Thorne doesn’t need to finish the day with flashy numbers as long as he protects the football and makes timely plays.

Thorne finished last year’s Iron Bowl completing just five of 16 passes for 91 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also had 15 for 57 yards, the most carries of any Tiger on the day.

A dedicated running game was at the core of every Crimson Tide loss in 2024, as Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma all ran for over 160 yards against Alabama. The quarterback trio combined for 54 carries for 231 yards, or 4.5 yards per carry, an absolutely outrageous number considering the NCAA still considers sack yards as negative rushing numbers.

Alabama needs to defend Hunter well in the running game and literally bring Auburn’s fastball into play, but the Crimson Tide defense also needs to be prepared for Thorne’s legs on crucial downs and distances to avoid having to pounce on Freeze’s move up.