Auburn football grades: What mark does Cadillac Williams get in season-ending Iron Bowl loss?

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TUSCALOOSA — Auburn football's defense had only given up 36 points in its last 10 quarters heading into the Iron Bowl. Against Alabama on Saturday, however, it only took the Crimson Tide until halftime to nearly match that.

Alabama (10-2, 6-2 SEC) scored 35 points in the first half of the 49-27 blowout, led mainly by quarterback Bryce Young, who went into the halftime locker room with 264 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Crimson Tide outgained Auburn (5-7, 2-6) 348-193 in the opening two quarters and averaged 9.2 yards per play. The offense was humming.

Auburn's offense tried its best to keep up, but some self-inflicted wounds didn't help.

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Here's our grades for Auburn's loss to Alabama:

Offense: B

Quarterback Robby Ashford began on a positive note. He scored the first points of the contest on a 24-yard scramble and dropped a pass in a bucket to receiver Ja'Varrius Johnson for the Tigers' second score. Ashford and running back Jarquez Hunter also each totaled more than 100 rushing yards. All of that production only resulted in 27 points, though, which typically wouldn't be too bad − but against Alabama's high-powered offense, the Tigers simply needed more to keep up.

Defense: D+

Auburn's defense pitched a second-half shutout against Western Kentucky last week and even scored some points via a pick-six from D.J. James. But that wasn't the case against Alabama. Not even close. Young and the rest of the Crimson Tide offense took it to the Tigers, scoring on four straight drives in the first half and ultimately throwing up five touchdowns before the first two quarters were wrapped up. Alabama took its foot off the gas a little in the second half, only scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter and another in garbage time, but the damage was already done.

Special teams: B

The special teams play for Auburn wasn't egregious in either direction. There was a muffed punt in the second quarter, but it wouldn't be fair to characterize that as a negative to the Tigers because it was such a bang-bang play and replay showed Keionte Scott may not have even touched the ball.

Coaching: B-

Saturday was likely the last time interim coach Carnell "Cadillac" Williams will be leading the Tigers. If nothing else, it's definitely his last game with the interim tag. The performance of the coaching staff was solid. Johnson's touchdown was a creative call, but a questionable decision to settle for a field goal down by three scores late in the game was puzzling.

Nov 26, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Carnell Williams reacts after his team scores against theAlabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Carnell Williams reacts after his team scores against theAlabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Overall: C-

Auburn should've lost this game, and it did. But the odds were stacked against the Tigers given the talent disparity between the two rosters and the hostile environment they were playing in. It's tough to get anything higher than a C- in a loss, especially with a margin of three scores, but given the opponent and circumstances, anything less wouldn't be fair.

Richard Silva is the Auburn beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football grades: Cadillac Williams, Robby Ashford in Iron Bowl