Put down the turkey leg and pumpkin pie. The Iron Bowl is here. Alabama and Auburn have been bruised and battered in a scrappy SEC, but fans have plenty to keep them thankful in 2024. The Crimson Tide remain part of the College Football Playoff conversation.

The massive national stakes we've come to expect with the Iron Bowl are mostly gone this year. After losing to Oklahoma last week, No. 13 Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) will miss the College Football Playoff unless chaos unfolds around the sport.

If Alabama can stop the run and force Auburn into must-pass situations, there are opportunities to be had. However, Alabama had one combined sack (against Tennessee) in its three losses, due in large part because it didn’t force those teams into many third-and-long situations.