AUBURN — Adam Griffith couldn’t see over his line when he prepped for a 50-yard field goal with less than 30 seconds left in the first half. He couldn’t see the Auburn return man, ready to try to recreate the 2013 Iron Bowl ending.
“I can’t think about that,” Griffith said. “I just gotta take my stance and kick the ball.”
In the end, it didn’t matter.
Griffith’s kick sailed over the defensive back’s head and through the uprights with 24 seconds left in the first half in No. 2 Alabama’s 29-13 win over Auburn on Saturday in the Iron Bowl.
He said he thought it could’ve gone for 60 yards.
“It’s just another field goal,” Griffith said.
Officially, Griffith is 5 of 6 in Jordan-Hare Stadium. But on a warm Saturday in November, Griffith made everything he tried and didn’t let Auburn return a single kickoff until the game was all but put away.
When Auburn’s kicker Daniel Carlson, also known as “Legatron,” broke his streak of consecutive field goals, Griffith came through. He has made the last 19 of 22 attempts.
“I’ve always had a lot confidence in Adam, and even when things weren’t going well for him earlier this season, I had confidence in him because I see him work every day, I see him make kicks every day,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
Griffith started a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, tying him for most by an Alabama kicker against Auburn. He made two from 26 yards, one from 40 and one from 50. His final field goal was a 47-yard effort in the fourth quarter, giving him the school record against the Tigers.
Alabama scored the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter after quarterback Jake Coker scrambled, avoided getting sacked twice and connected with wide receiver ArDarius Stewart 34 yards away in the end zone.
Auburn answered less than a minute later on a 77-yard pass from Jeremy Johnson to Jason Smith, who tipped it twice before catching it.
“They’ve got a lot of good players and they’re all capable of making a good play,” Saban said. “Certainly, that play reminded me of the play they made against Georgia the same year they made the kick return against us, but it was a good play and it counts for seven.”
When Alabama couldn’t get anything going in the red zone, Griffith came through, but to get inside the 20-yard line, running back Derrick Henry plowed his way to 46 carries, capped by a 25-yard touchdown on his final carry of the night to extend his streak of consecutive games with a rushing touchdown to 17.
“That was huge,” center Ryan Kelly said. “The guy, he never gets tired.”
Henry’s 271 yards put him at first in the program record books for rushing yards in a season. He now has 1,797 yards rushing with at least two games to play.
“What Derrick has done for this team because this team needs him to do what he does, I would say he’s made as significant an impact on this team as any players that we’ve ever had,” Saban said.
Alabama had 286 total yards rushing and 179 yards in the air. Coker was 17-of-26 passing and wasn’t sacked.
Auburn had 260 total yards, 169 of which came through the air..
The Crimson Tide finished with 57 total tackles and three sacks. The defense registered seven quarterback hurries and four pass breakups.
Alabama (11-1, 7-1 SEC) won the SEC West on Saturday and will face No. 12 Florida in Atlanta on Dec. 5 in the SEC Championship game.
