Despite putting up 44 points and 630 total yards of offense, that was not enough for Auburn to leave Tuscaloosa with a victory.
"We're very capable of being a top team, but it just hasn't worked out for us this year," Nick Marshall said. "I'm proud of myself and the rest of my teammates and the coaches for putting us in the best position to win the game. That's all I can ask for."
Marshall threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns against the No. 1 team in the country.
After Auburn led by a score of 26-21 and 383-178 in total yards at halftime, Alabama's offense responded in the second half by reaching 541 total yards on their way to a 55-44 victory, which is the highest score in Iron Bowl history.
The Tide's second half offense was led by wide receiver Amari Cooper, who had five receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter alone. The Heisman hopeful finished the game with 13 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, Roc Thomas fumbled a swing pass on the first offensive play of the game. This is the third time this season Auburn has opened the game with a turnover on their first possession.
Alabama took over on the Auburn 35-yard line after the initial turnover and then completed the quick five-play scoring drive with an eight-yard rushing touchdown from T.J. Yeldon.
The Tigers defense continued their trend of committing penalties with two 15-yard penalties, a face mask and late hit, which set up a 17-yard touchdown catch by Cooper. That drive for the Tide was five plays good for 80 yards in less than two minutes, but 30 of those yards came from Auburn penalties.
Auburn's next two long drives reached the red zone but the offense continued by scoring three points, with two consecutive 24-yard field goals from Carlson to make it 14-9.
Then the Tigers found the end zone twice on similar plays, both being touchdown passes from Marshall to Sammie Coates on deep routes.
The first one was a 34-yard touchdown pass to Coates after Jermaine Whitehead's interception gave Auburn field position on the Alabama 35-yard line.
Marshall doubled the next completion to Coates with a 68-yard touchdown.
After Yeldon scored another rushing touchdown to make it 21-23, the Tigers' offense responded again with Marshall to Coates, this one being a 41-yard pass to set up a Carlson field goal to close out the half.
Coates has four receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns at the half. He finished the game with five catches for 206 yards and two scores.
"We got in the red zone a couple times and we got three points, but we needed touchdowns," Coates said. "That hurt us big time."
Auburn opened the second half on a positive note with an interception from Jonathan Jones, which set up the eventual five-yard touchdown catch from Quan Bray to give the Tigers the 33-21 lead.
Then Cooper began to torch the Auburn secondary, starting with a wide-open 39-yard touchdown catch.
After Auburn was denied a touchdown opportunity in the red zone for the fifth time of the night, they settled for another Carlson field goal to make it 36-27.
Cooper responded on the next play with a 75-yard touchdown catch.
Then the Tide began to roll after intercepting Marshall and scoring touchdowns on two consecutive drives, with an 11-yard Sims rushing touchdown and a touchdown pass to DeAndrew White to make it 48-36.
After Derrick Henry's 25-yard rushing touchdown, Alabama went on a 34-3 scoring run since the middle of the third quarter.
Corey Grant ended the game by scoring a five-yard rushing touchdown against his former team.
With the 55-44 victory, Alabama will represent the SEC West in the SEC Championship next weekend and Auburn finished their 8-4 regular season and will wait to see which bowl game they are placed in.
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