Auburn's best chance at upsetting Alabama this Saturday inside Bryant-Denny Stadium would be trying to trade touchdowns with the Crimson Tide.
The more Auburn and Alabama reach the end zone, the better the chance the Crimson Tide will botch an extra point. Redshirt freshman kicker Joseph Bulovas missed two extra-point attempts during the Crimson Tide's 50-17 triumph over The Citadel this past Saturday and also missed two in the 29-0 win at LSU.
"We've had some issues in that regard, no doubt," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Monday during his weekly news conference. "I think we've had to improve at times in all areas - the snap, the hold and the consistency in the kick. Being a kicker is a lot like playing golf in that you have to be able to count on three or four benchmarks of things that are going to help you be consistent and minimize bad contact. We have not gotten Joe to where we're comfortable or he's comfortable with that.
"He's working on it, but this is not acceptable, to be honest with you, from anyone's standpoint."
Alabama has missed a whopping eight extra-point tries this season, while Auburn enters this week having made 262 in a row dating back to 2013.
Kicking woes have factored into Alabama's last two Iron Bowl defeats, with a botched field goal late in the third quarter last November failing to stop Auburn's momentum as the Tigers scored the final 16 points of a 26-14 victory. In Auburn's memorable 34-28 triumph in 2013, Cade Foster missed two field-goal tries and had a third attempt blocked before Adam Griffith's potential 57-yard game-winner was instead returned more than 100 yards by Chris Davis in a play forever dubbed the "Kick Six."
Bulovas was replaced this past Saturday by Austin Jones, a graduate transfer from Temple who was the starter at the beginning of the year but got the hook after missing two extra points in the second game against Arkansas State.
"We're going to work really, really hard to try and get it fixed," Saban said, "and if there is somebody else on our team who we feel can do it better, then the possibility exists that we'll do that, whether it's at snapper, holder or kicker."
Auburn's 2013 and 2017 Iron Bowl victories were accompanied by Southeastern Conference Western Division titles, but this season's Tigers are 7-4 overall, 3-4 within the SEC and playing for pride. Alabama is 11-0 and ranked No. 1, needing a win this week to potentially earn a spot in the College Football Playoff regardless of next week's outcome against No. 5 Georgia in the league championship game.
With a state championship game, an SEC championship game and a national playoff semifinal a possible scenario for Alabama's next three contests, there is a lot to digest for Crimson Tide players. This week contains a revenge factor, however, as last season's 12-point outcome was the Tide's largest margin of defeat in an Iron Bowl since 1969.
"The players all know what happened last year," Saban said. "They didn't feel great about it, and they've had to live with it for nearly 365 days. I don't think the revenge factor is the best form of motivation, but it certainly plays into a guy who's a good competitor."
Said senior outside linebacker Christian Miller: "It's a new season and a new team. It's a new everything."
Tide tidbits
Senior running back Damien Harris (mild concussion) and sophomore right guard Alex Leatherwood (twisted ankle) were held out of Monday's practice, while redshirt sophomore left guard Deonte Brown (turf toe) and redshirt junior safety Deionte Thompson (knee bruise) practiced. Sophomore inside linebacker Dylan Moses was named Monday among the five finalists for the Butkus Award, joining Kentucky's Josh Allen, Michigan's Devin Bush, Clemson's Tre Lamar and LSU's Devin White. Moses leads the Tide with 61 tackles and also has nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.