TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 2 Alabama really owns the state now.
AJ McCarron passed for four touchdowns and Eddie Lacy rushed for 131 yards and two scores to lead the Crimson Tide to a 49-0 beatdown of rival Auburn on Saturday in the most lopsided Iron Bowl in 64 years.
The Crimson Tide (10-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) clinched the Western Division title outright and a spot in the conference title game against No. 3 Georgia with the winner likely getting a national championship shot.
None of that will come as easily as this one. Auburn (3-9, 0-8) completed the worst season for any team within two years of winning an Associated Press national title in what might have been the last game for embattled coach Gene Chizik.
University President Jay Gogue has only said he’ll evaluate the program at season’s end. That end came in a painful way for the Tigers.
Chizik met Tide coach Nick Saban briefly at midfield, hugged McCarron, and walked off the field with cameras following his every move.
The biggest Iron Bowl margin was Alabama’s 55-0 victory in 1948.
This one could have topped that but Saban played subs for much of the second half. The Tide lost a fumble inside Auburn’s 10 and then ran out the final seconds after getting to the 5.
Alabama outgained the Tigers 483-163 and had 25 first downs to Auburn’s seven.
Auburn hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in the last two meetings since Cam Newton &Co. completed the rivalry’s largest comeback in the last visit to Bryant-Denny Stadium two years ago. This one supplied another milestone of sorts.
It’s the first time Alabama has scored 40-plus points in two straight Iron Bowls, following last season’s 42-14 win when Auburn managed to score on a kick return and fumble recovery.
The halftime score was the same as the Tide had last week against FCS team Western Carolina, which finished 1-10.
McCarron completed 15 of 21 passes for 216 yards in 2-1/2 quarters, including a pair of touchdowns apiece to Amari Cooper and Kevin Norwood.
Lacy ran 18 times for 131 yards, frequently pinballing off defenders from a defense that ranks last in the SEC against the run.
Auburn freshman Jonathan Wallace completed 5 of 14 passes with two interceptions against the nation’s top scoring defense. He’s only the third freshman quarterback to start an Iron Bowl for the Tigers and first since Gabe Gross in 1998.
Tre Mason ran 21 times for 82 yards for Auburn, topping 1,000 for the season on the game’s final play.
The Tide produced an array of big plays running and passing. McCarron and Cooper — who had five catches for 109 yards — connected for touchdowns of 37 and 29 yards. Norwood scored on a 7-yarder and a 38-yarder that completed the scoring with 24 minutes left.
Alabama produced touchdowns on its first seven possessions until a fumble deep in Auburn territory ended that streak.
The Tide also converted its first 11 third-down tries.
The worst news for Alabama was on the injury front. Saban said wide receiver Kenny Bell sustained a broken left leg and will have to have a rod inserted.
Auburn only pushed the ball across midfield once, making it to the Tide’s 41 in the first quarter before punting. The Tigers have been outscored by 129 points in their last three SEC games, all against Top 10 SEC opponents Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama.
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