Alabama vs. Auburn score, takeaways: Mac Jones explodes as No. 1 Tide win Iron Bowl in rout without Nick Saban

No. 1 Alabama annihilated No. 22 Auburn 42-13 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the 85th edition of the Iron Bowl. Alabama’s biggest stars shined bright over the 60-minute game, which saw quarterback Mac Jones make his latest statement for Heisman Trophy consideration completing 18 of 26 passes for 302 yards with five touchdowns.

Jones became the first signal caller in Iron Bowl history to throw five touchdowns in one game, and it was his seventh game in 2020 with 2+ scores through the air.

Coach Nick Saban was unable to lead the Crimson Tide on Saturday after receiving a positive COVID-19 diagnosis during the week. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian stepped in as interim coach, but Saban watched along from home and was impressed with his team’s performance.

“I’m really happy with the result, I can tell you that,” Saban told CBS Sports’ Jamie Erdahl by phone after the game. “… We didn’t finish exactly like we’d like, but I’m really proud of our team and proud of our players. … It’s a great win. It’s always great to win this game, the Iron Bowl. It’s something special to the people of Alabama.”

The first of Jones’ touchdown passes came midway through the first quarter when he hit star wide receiver DeVonta Smith over the top for a 66-yarder. He followed it up with a 7-yard score to John Metchie III early in the second quarter and hit tight end Jahleel Billingsley for a 24-yarder on a beautiful touch pass under pressure to push Alabama’s lead to 21-3 at halftime. 

There was more where that came from in the second half. Jones hit Smith again to make it 28-6 and regain momentum after Auburn kicked a field goal. Metchie caught his second touchdown of the day early in the fourth quarter in a game that got sideways in the second half. Running back Najee Harris had 11 carries for 96 yards and one touchdown run for the Crimson Tide.

Auburn’s offense struggled to get going, and when it did have hope, it seemed to shoot itself in the foot. QB Bo Nix had WR Seth Williams open on a double move over the middle shortly before halftime on what would have been an easy touchdown. But Williams couldn’t hang on to the perfectly-placed pass. Instead of going into halftime down 11, Auburn was left scrambling to get into field goal range.

Nix threw an interception four plays later in what was a disastrous sequence of events just before halftime. He finished the day 23 of 38 for 227 yards with two picks, while no playmaker gained more than 60 yards on the afternoon.

Keep it locked here for takeaways coming up from the 2020 Iron Bowl. CBS Sports was with you the entire game updating this story with analysis and highlights.